Enfants Riches Déprimés Trousers

Enfants Riches Déprimés began in late 2012 in Los Angeles, started by Henri Alexander Levy, an artist who had just finished fine art studies at UCLA. That background explains a lot. The label behaves less like a normal clothing company and more like an art project that happens to make leather jackets. In June 2017 it became the first fashion house to stage a presentation at Christie's Paris, and for AW24 Levy filled nine floors of an abandoned brutalist parking garage in Paris's 8th arrondissement. The clothes carry that same dark, theatrical streak, and the outerwear is where it shows most. The Black 'Combattimento' leather jacket, the Malcom leather hooded jacket and the Side B leather jacket are the anchors, and the Académie embellished suede jacket is for the man who wants the drama without a biker shape. Not everything is black leather. The Discipline and Serge track jackets, the Young Wasp jacket in navy and the Initiation Into Nothingness mechanics jacket give the same attitude a lighter build, and the Chiens De Chasse denim jacket sits between the two camps. For tailoring, the See No Evil blazer in ivory, the Fireman linen blazer and the Western Perfect striped wool blazer are the ones to try over a plain tee. If you are choosing a cut, my leather jacket guide walks through the shapes, and the suede jacket guide covers the softer route.

Levy came out of a fine art program, so the graphic pieces read more like small artworks than logo tees. L'Antipsychiatrie, Brian's Heart and Philosophy Of Imperialsm all arrive as printed or shrunken cotton-jersey tees, and the zip-up hoodies, Daughter's and Rock / Paper / Scissors II, are distressed and printed too. The Streched Out thermal lined zip-up in washed black and the Pit Bull hoodie round out that group. There is a quieter side. The Broken Rope turtleneck in indigo and the Che sweater in burgundy and gray are the knits, and the striped cotton Oxford shirts, including the Repaired Everyday version and Henri's Mother With Child shirt in green and white stripe, are what I would hand to someone who thinks the brand is only for the stage. A simple test for a graphic piece: wear one loud thing at a time. A printed hoodie works with plain dark trousers, and a striped Oxford can carry a worn leather jacket on its own. What I would skip is layering a distressed hoodie under the embellished suede jacket, since both want all the attention. For more ways to wear a shirt, see the best shirt tops.

The accessories are where the label's gothic side gets small enough to carry. Silver does most of the work: the X sterling silver ring, the Wreath Cross sterling silver ring, the St. Teresa ring, the Knife earring and the Enamel Cross bracelet. Wear two rings and no other metal, and they read as a point of view instead of a costume. The bags follow the same logic, with the Medical Waste leather belt bag, the Belt Shoulder Strap bag in black, and the Croix De Fer wallet in bordeaux and in gray ostrich. The 3.5cm studded leather belt and the Belt Scarf in bordeaux finish the waist, and the Kansas leather Chelsea boots are the one pair of shoes here, which is plenty because they go with every trouser below. Levy's shows get the headlines, from Christie's Paris to that parking garage, and these small pieces are how a person takes a bit of that home.

Trousers are the practical center of the brand. Henri's Everyday straight-leg trousers come in virgin wool twill and in linen, and the tapered virgin-wool trousers are a slimmer take, so there is a real tailored option here. The Antique Work trousers in washed gray, the Double Knee pants in purple and the Rose Buckle track pants in green are looser and louder. The Flare jeans in true blue and the Wicked Game flared leather trousers go the other direction, toward a rock silhouette with the hem opening over a boot. A fit test for the flares: the hem should just touch the top of the shoe when he stands straight, so the Kansas Chelsea boots are the easiest match. What I would skip is pairing the flared leather trousers with a leather jacket in the same black, because the two blur into one flat shape. Put a wool blazer or a striped Oxford on top instead. If you want more ideas for the tailored pair, my edit of wool trousers is a good next stop.

The last four pieces do not fit one category, which suits the label. The Effigy embellished leather belt is the dressed-up cousin of the studded belt above. The Point De Croix chemise in black is a shirt with a name that sounds like a chapter title, and the Oklahoma City Church afterhood in burnt red is the loudest name and color in the group. The One Class Act hockey jersey in dirty white is the easy one, the piece that makes the rest of the wardrobe feel less serious. In our fashion dreams he is walking out of a gallery opening in the jersey, the flare jeans and the Kansas boots, and nobody can tell whether he is the artist or a guest.

If I were building around Enfants Riches Déprimés, I would pick one jacket, the Combattimento leather or the Chiens De Chasse denim, and keep everything underneath plain: an Oxford shirt, Henri's wool trousers and the Kansas boots. Then I would add one piece of silver and let the drama come from the label's own story, a fine art graduate from UCLA who ended up staging AW24 in a parking garage. For the denim route, my denim jackets for the in between is a handy companion.