GANT by Michael Bastian World Premiere

We hit up the world premiere of the GANT by Michael Bastian Fall 2010 collection on Saturday. It marks the first of at least two seasons of collaborations between the man and the company. Inspired by lacrosse, the collection presents Bastian at his best, yet accessible to more people.

“It’s Michael Bastian for every guy,” Creative Director of GQ Jim Moore told us. “He’s done an amazing job.”

Read on, or check out the Prepidemic video interview with the man himself right below. (Apologies for the background noise – it was a busy venue, so try to bare with it here and there).

“I see my version of the GANT guy as the younger brother to the Michael Bastian guy. He’s more casual, and a little more athletic, but with a modern edge that feels both approachable and sophisticated,” Bastian said in a press release.

The collection was not unlike the sport that inspired it: rugged, all American, and, well, sporty. At the same time, there were plenty of tailored goods, and it represented the perfect balance of GANT’s iconic past and Bastian’s dressed-up washed-down American classics aesthetic. Prevalent pieces: a washed moleskin military peacoat, down puffer jackets, and tailored blazers with soft unstructured shoulders and squaredoff elbow patches. Chunky hand-knit sweaters were mixed with jaquard. Intarsia crew-necks. A broad selection of classic and multi-pocket woven shirts in oxford cloth, poplin and flannel. Embroidered corduroys. Destroyed denim, destroyed chinos.

An interesting item was a lace-up rugby shirt. Not entirely wearable, but pretty damn cool. Along that sporty line were an array of pique polos, graphic t-shirts (one of which said “FOGO” — as in “Face Off, Get Off”), and thermals. There were even mesh shorts, sunglasses, and accessories.

Elbow patches abound on sportcoats and sweaters alike. A lacrosse player icon and lacrosse stick patterns scattered about. Colors were perfect for fall with orange, muted green, mahogany, navy, gray, and shades of brown.

Our favorite pieces: a tweed jacket with mahogany elbow patches (surgeon’s cuffs galore throughout the collection – yep, they come standard), a rugby shirt with a lacrosse player icon, and an elbow-patched green sweater with lacrosse sticks and some fair isle-esque stitching. Plaid button-downs were beautiful across the board – from red and white, to blue and white, to blue and red, to black watch. A great knit tie, some fun orange trousers, and an awesome dinner jacket. Not to go unmentioned: a tweed suit, a brown tweed sport coat with orange elbow patches, sweaters, a puffer jacket, a trench coat, and chinos.

The collection will launch in August, and Barney’s has already bought it all. Bastian informed us that he is now designing the Spring 2011 collection. He would not, however, tell us what inspired it.