The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Style
Thursday, February 9, 2017 — 5

As far as style goes, January 

2017 is the month of the man. The 
fashion industry raked in millions 
after shows in Paris, Milan, New 
York, Florence — you name it. 
The farthest reaching fashion 
media 
feeds 
gave 
menswear 

its due, Vogue publishing its 
usual glorious photo slides of 
each collection and hundreds of 
articles were published raving 
over or criticizing this season’s 
batch. Yet as relevant as it may 
be, I simply haven’t kept up with 
men’s fashion, really at all in 
comparison to the way I keep up 
with women’s fashion. The most 
I’d seen or paid attention to it was 
in unisex collections or styles 
because simply put, androgyny is 
in. 

But before scrolling through 

the slides of the most popular, 
recent runway collections whose 
designers I’d at least heard of, I 
made a number of assumptions 
about my expectations for modern 
menswear, namely in comparison 
to womenswear. It would be more 
practical, less flashy and, above 
all, boring (sexist, I know). But 
upon finally thinking about it and 

scrolling through the collections, 
I wondered why I hadn’t at least 
viewed 
men’s 
fashion 
week. 

From a personal standpoint, I 
buy plenty of men’s clothing at a 
thrift store and would agree the 
men’s section has infinitely better 
sweaters. 
Entertainment-wise, 

the spectacle of menswear runway 
shows rival the finesse, detail and 
extravagance exhibited in any 
women’s runway collection. The 
men’s fashion industry currently 
stands valued at $440 billion and 
incredibly famous and acclaimed 
designers like Raf Simmons and 
Marcus Wainwright made their 
debut in menswear.

So here are a few thoughts of 

my favorite menswear collections 
of the season, interpreted by an 
almost completely blank slate.

Nick Graham, apparently the 

maker of some of the greatest 
suits to walk the earth, debuted a 
Mars-themed collection for New 
York Fashion Week, hosted by, 
you guessed it, actually probably 
not: Bill Nye. The patterns and 
colors were bold and inventive 
but just understated enough to 
maintain the integrity of a dressy, 
professional suit. I completely 
agree with the hype.

Raf 
Simmons: 
because 
of 

his work with Dior and Calvin 

Klein, this is biased in his favor. 
His 
recent 
immigration 
and 

succession of Calvin Klein has 
garnered plenty of attention. 
Regardless of whether or not his 
menswear collection expressed 
any of the recent uproar in regards 
to American immigration policy 
or sentiment about his new status 
as a U.S. citizen, the collection 
was unmistakably themed with 
pieces like an unforgettable “I 
heart New York” sweater and 
working class overcoats donned 
by especially thin models. His 
work was oversized, occasionally 
cinched with caution tape and 
plastic belts emboldened with 
trademark New York sayings. 
Much of it included exciting 
graphics and a remarkably unisex 
appeal.

Hugo Boss, unfortunately, was 

what I expected to dislike about 
menswear. Everything was clean-
cut but nothing remotely exciting. 
Maybe I’m simple-minded or 
misinformed for wanting some 
color, any color.

My 
brief 
encounter 
with 

menswear forces me to conclude 
that I’ve been missing out. As 
womenswear 
and 
menswear 

continue to collide and mix, 
menswear 
just 
might 
reign 

supreme one of these days. 

JOHN VARVATOS

New York Fashion Week 
2017: Men’s in review

Men’s Fashion Week in New 

York was an eventful time — with 
shows representing every designer 
from Fear of God to Vetements 
(seriously, check this one out). 
While there are many shows worth 
discussing, I want to focus on 
NYFW:M on a broader scale:

Raf Simons
Raf unveiled his Fall 2017 Men’s 

Collection in New York this past 
week. Having recently moved to 
New York for his new position at 
Calvin Klein, he seemed to draw 
from the feel of New York City, 
combining boxy and checkered 
topcoats with “I heart NY” 
sweaters. “I wanted to go back to 
how I experienced New York in the 
beginning and combine it with how 
I experience it now. So this fresh 
young direction to the city and 
everything it stands for—and what 
is happening now,” Simons said 
when asked about his inspiration for 
the show in Vogue. In reference to 
the current political climate, Vogue 
asked Simons if President Donald 
Trump’s election has influenced 
his work, and while he says it has 
not, his desire to represent the 
rich history of the city and all of its 
people is an inherent celebration 
of the immigrant narrative in this 
country. “Ask me do I think that 
you should stand up against what 
is happening in this country, then I 
say yes,” he also added. 

While Simons gave credit to 

the beauty of the city and its rich 
history, it wasn’t the NYC sweaters 
that stood out to me. The detail 
that made many of the looks was 
the cinching on the outerwear. It’s 
something that has become a staple 
of many Dries van Noten shirts, and 
it really allows some outerwear, 
that could otherwise be viewed as 
somewhat plain, to shine.

Simons’ coverage in the news 

has not been exclusive to his 
eponymous line, though. Calvin 
Klein has also been making waves 
these past few weeks, giving the 
Belgian designer a jam-packed 
schedule. Coming off of showing 
his first designs since taking over 
as Calvin Klein’s Chief Creative 
Officer, where they announced 
that customers could schedule 
appointments for made to measure 
clothing, the fashion house recently 
took to Instagram to let the world 
know that they have changed their 
logo. This is all in anticipation for 
the Fall/Winter 2017 ready-to-
wear collection which is set to show 
on February 10th in New York.

The Runway Gets Political
There has never been a more 

fitting time for fashion shows to be 
in New York than this past week. 
While President Donald Trump’s 
proposed immigration ban was 
sending 
shockwaves 
through 

the country, there were dozens 
of fashion houses with foreign 
designers, foreign employees and 
foreign models showing their 
collections for, among other people, 
Americans. To me, it perfectly 
encapsulates the point that many 

people have tried to drive home 
over the last week: Our country is 
strengthened by all of the people 
from all over the world who come 
here to have an impact. While most 
of these designers will soon return 
to their respective countries, they 
did not waste any time to voice 
their opinions (both on the runway 
and off).

Detroit-raised designer John 

Varvatos told the New York Times, 
“Half the people in my company are 
from someplace else” in response to 
Trump’s executive order, echoing 
the fears of many people in this 
country, especially as we await the 
court decision on the ban. Of the 
most on-the-nose demonstrations 
on the runway, Nick Graham 
welcomed Buzz Aldrin and Bill 
Nye to his Mars-themed show, 
where Nye addressed those who 
deny climate change. Meanwhile, 
Robert Jamesmade statements on 
the immigration ban, with models 
sporting signs with messages like 
“Made in a Sanctuary City” or 
“Bridges not Walls.” Both can be 
seen here.

Fashion, like other forms of art, 

can be a powerful way to send a 
message. There are thousands of 
people who go to the shows, write 
about them online and end up 
purchasing the items when they 
hit stockists. For many people in 
the United States and around the 
world, this is a tumultuous time, 
and it’s reassuring to see designers 
using their platforms to express 
their discontent, even at the 
potential cost of customers.

An outsider on menswear

Style writer Sarah Agnone explores Men’s Fashion Week 
piece by piece taking a look at designers, costs and clothes 

SARAH AGNONE

Daily Arts Writer

STYLE REVIEW

NYFW designers consider political implications of fashion

DAILY FOOD COLUMN

There are no quick & easy 
shortcuts in the kitchen 

Don’t be mislead by those Tasty videos — fast and good are 
mutually exclusive according to the Daily’s food columnist

When it comes to cooking, 

fast and good are generally 
mutually exclusive. By fast, 
I’m not talking about the 
impossible rate at which Iron 
Chef contestants chop carrots 
(At the speed of light. Don’t 
fact check that). I’m talking 
about clickbait articles like “10 
Cooking Shortcuts Everyone 
Needs to Know” or “30 Dinners 
in Under 30 minutes.”

Fast and easy are often used 

interchangeably, but lists of 
tips and tricks that boast speed 
are the ones to look out for. Yes, 
maybe some recipes are more 
easily and quickly prepared 
than others, but by nature, not 
by method. If you’re taking 
more than several minutes 
to fry an egg, you’re probably 
doing something wrong.

As food and cooking have 

becoming increasingly present 
online and on social media, 
the 
discussion 
surrounding 

them has changed. We’re a 
technologically driven society 
obsessed with what’s fast and 
easy. We don’t have time to 
dedicate to cooking — we’d 
rather have our Apple Watch 
make our dinner for us or 
watch someone make dinner in 
a Tasty video instead.

“Drunk Uncle” digression 

aside, I’m here to tell you (in 
my very professional opinion) 
that in cooking, as with life, 
there are no shortcuts. That’s 
right, call your mom to tell 
her she was right. Alert the 
press. Or just tweet about 
it. There are no shortcuts. 
Stop microwaving your eggs 
and putting frozen chicken 
straight into the pan (it has 
to thaw first, c’mon). While 
some shortcuts are kitchen 
experiments executed at the 
hands 
of 
desperate, 
time-

crunched cooks, others are 
much more nefarious. Into the 
latter category fall clickbait 
disguised 
as 
time-saving 

hacks. 
Less 
experienced 

cooks fall victim to these 

hacks, shaping their culinary 
experience with two-bit tricks 
designed 
to 
garner 
views 

rather than inform readers. 

Growing up, I frequently 

visited my grandmother for the 
sole purpose of learning how to 
make her signature rugelach. 
They were fluffy, oozing with 
a rich chocolate filling and 
sprinkled with a sugar, butter 
and flour mixture that turned 
golden brown in the oven. They 
bore little resemblance to the 
dense, dry cookies of the same 
name sold in many grocery 
stores and even traditional 
bakeries. 
They 
were 
an 

entity of their own, stealthily 
categorized 
in 
the 
same 

group of recipes defining the 
traditional Ashkenzi pastry. 

The process of making these 

rugelach-sweet 
bun 
hybrid 

was nothing short of involved 
(mostly on my grandma’s part 
as I was only seven or eight 
at the time of my interest in 
making these treats). To save 
me the anticipation of waiting 
for the dough to rise — I was, 
predictably, quite impatient 
during the whole ordeal — 
my grandma would make the 
dough the night before. To this 
day, I still don’t know how she 
made it.

It was just this magical, 

massive ball of risen yeast 
and flour that was revealed 
in its enormous bowl under a 
checkered towel every time I 
arrived for our day of baking. 

I was in awe of the bowl’s 
contents. Somehow, by some 
process of adding ingredients 
and shaping them, my grandma 
created the foundation for 
what we would spend hours 
assembling 
and 
baking. 
It 

was hard for my young mind 
to grasp the actual work that 
went into making something 
like that, and looking back now, 
I regret taking it for granted.

To assemble the rugelach, 

we’d 
carefully 
roll 
out 

the dough and cut it into 
triangles, slather each piece 
generously 
with 
chocolate 

spread (something mysterious 
that came out of a plastic tub 
with Hebrew lettering) and 
roll them up before dabbing 
them with melted butter and 
sprinkling the crumb topping 
over them.

Waiting for the rugelach 

to rise again then bake was 
agonizing. I would watch the 
oven and try to will it to turn 
the dough golden brown faster. 
It was a trying several minutes 
even waiting for them to cool 
out on the counter once the 
fragrant, 
steaming 
pastries 

were removed from the oven. 

This process took countless 

hours of preparation, but it 
was worth it. Not just for the 
final result, but for the time 
spent making them (however 
impatiently 
passed). 
The 

memory of making rugelach 
is one that I hold on to dearly. 
No shortcut could replace or 
even resemble that. In an era of 
increasing instant gratification 
and dissociation from reality, 
it’s easy to forget that cooking, 
however 
time-straining, 
is 

a grounding and nourishing 
process. Using shortcuts only 
detracts from its benefits.

Rather than following those 

“lazy cooks” guides for “quick 
and easy meals,” try making 
your meal with a different 
adjective. And please, please 
stop using the microwave to 
cook raw food.

SHIR 

AVINADAV

Can we dig a six-foot-deep 

ditch 
for 
ill-fitting, 
light-

wash, 
high-wasted 
jeans? 

Specifically, 
those 
that 

resemble 
something 
your 

grandpa would wear to senior 
breakfast with a matching 
pair of white orthopedic New 
Balances.

While mindlessly perusing 

the internet, I came across an 
image of Malia Obama on her 
first day of her new internship 
with the Weinstein Company 
in New York City. The image 
was upsetting. First, because 
it served as an unwanted 
reminder that I still do not have 
an internship for this summer 
(yes, mom, I am working on 
it). But primarily because she 
was wearing a pair of jeans so 
heinous your mother wouldn’t 
even touch them. I’ve seen 
these jeans walking around 
every day, but this particular 
pair heartily shoved me over 
the edge. Their unabashed 
ugliness served as a gamma-
ray machine, transforming me 
from a mild-mannered style 
writer into a green monster 
seething with distaste for the 
style.

If you have a pair of mom 

jeans, I implore you to burn 
them.

The appeal of mom jeans 

lies in their rebellion. To my 

knowledge, no one has ever 
purchased mom jeans under 
the impression that they are 
good looking. What makes 
them cool is their ugliness, and 
the undaunted attitude that 
accompanies wearing them. I 
think this notion of “cool” is a 
fallacy. 

You have to have a semblance 

of originality to be a non-
conformist. Mom jeans, once 
bold and unique, have firmly 
dug their gnarly toes into 
the mainstream mud. Their 
moment has passed. No one 
is applauding your sartorial 
bravery 
and 
distinction; 

unfortunately, 
because 
the 

trend has become so widely 
adopted, you’re left looking 
unoriginal.

I should clarify, my main 

issue is not that they are 
fundamentally 
unflattering. 

I 
subscribe 
wholeheartedly 

to 
man-repelling, 
wearing 

aggressive 
and 
eccentric 

styles even if — especially if 
— they are deemed ugly by the 
opposite sexW. At the core of 
man-repelling (a term coined 
by Leandra Medine) is the 
notion of dressing exclusively 
for yourself based singularly 
on your personal style.

My dispute with the pants 

is that I perceive them as a 
superficial imitation of this 
stance. When I see a girl 
wearing baggy trousers, I do 
not view it as an empowered 
statement, a declaration of 
independence from a beauty-
oriented 
style 
of 
dressing. 

When I see a girl wearing them, 
I view it as an appropriation of 
a trend in an obvious attempt 
to look alternative.

There’s nothing less cool 

than trying desperately hard 
to look cool.

However, I may be in the 

minority on this. The article in 
which I initially saw the image 
lauded 
Malia. 
Comparing 

her 
outfit 
to 
something 

that 
Rihanna 
would 
wear 

(primarily for her choice of 
coat and shoes, but still). And 
this was Vogue, no less. All 
fashion is subjective if you 
wear mom jeans and love ‘em, 
you’re in your rights to tell me 
to ‘eff off.

TESS TOBIN
Daily Arts Writer

Put away those mom jeans and defy the ugly fashion trend
Bad Jeans, Good Genes

STYLE NOTEBOOK

NARESH IYENGAR

Daily Arts Writer

STYLE REVIEW

When I see a girl 
wearing them, 
I view it as an 
appropriation 
of a trend in an 
obvious attempt 
to look alternative

