SOCIAL: Combatant Gentleman Party
New York City in December can only mean one thing - holiday parties galore. A stroke of good fortune put us at the Combatant Gentleman #7nightsinNYC VIP Pre-opening party, sponsored by Ketel One Vodka. As soon as we walked in and saw a "$160 Suit Wall" that looked that dapper, we knew where all men in New York City should be shopping to stand out at their holiday parties. The cleverly named drinks "The Minted Gentleman" and "Orange Your Dapper" fit in perfectly with the theme of the store...which naturally felt like it had been there all along.
At every corner, there was a new surprise in store for us, reminding us this wasn't your typical "boxed into one specific category" menswear line. The tuxedo wall with the theme "Never Rent Again" had us wanting to outfit our men in the luxurious suits and array of bow-ties. With their brand new Shawl Collar Tux at $200, Classic Herringbone Tux Shirt at $45, and an array of bow-ties at $16 a pop, why would any man ever rent again?! While we were dreaming up our wish list for all of our #labels, we knew we had to learn more about the collection and the inspiration behind their sleek lookbook "2 Nights in Montreal". We met with three out of the four co-founders Mo, Imran, and Scott to talk about just that.
LM: Tell us about this holiday collection.
Combatant Gentleman Co-Founder Mo: This holiday collection is something a little new for the brand...We focus on the essentials and things for guys that they can wear right out of work...This season we wanted to add some flare to the brand and show that even though it is a suit, it can be dressed up and be categorized in different ways...It can give that holiday look...or with our new overcoats that we just released, which can be thrown right over which work really well with colder temperatures...
The holiday shoot in Montreal really gives a versatile kind of options for the guys and what they can wear, whether it be spring/summer or fall/winter...We accessorized it with some new offerings, like the coats that I mentioned, the flannel suit which is a little bit heavier, works well in the winter, as well as the tuxedoes that we released which are really great for this holiday season and guys at their holiday parties...They are a really great add-on for the season, I think they are a great year-round staple but they make a great impact now...Scarves as well, something we released with the outerwear?
LM: Those are new?
Mo: Those are new as well.
LM: They look great, really everything does.
Mo: Thank you so much! We really wanted to show the versatility of the clothing...Mixed and matched and paired in any season...We really wanted to show through the photography and through the website that this clothing works well across season, especially if you can accessorize it for that specific season, guys can really connect with it and say "Hey, I can build that outfit and make it look appropriate for the winter."
LM: We love the lookbook "Two Nights in Montreal". Explain your inspiration to us.
Combatant Gentleman co-founder Imran: One of the things that inspired us for the "Two Nights in Montreal" specifically is that our guy or all of us, we go home usually for the holidays, you're in New York or San Francisco, you're working, you're grinding, and there comes that time of the year where you get nostalgic, you come back home, you see all your old friends, hang out spots, corners, old girlfriends, all that stuff! There is a sense of nostalgia that comes with that, with going back home...For us, we thought of Montreal, a beautiful city, European influence, got good weather, great architecture, to build a story around going home for two nights in Montreal and what happened to the four guys back home, what kind of antics they get into...What we found was the clothing line, the products that Mo mentioned- the overcoats, the tuxedoes, the scarves, all of those things were used during the shoot because one night you think "Hey, we're going to go out, go nuts, get bottle service, lets wear tuxes." Next night, we want to get Chinese food at 3 in the morning, we're drunk off our ass, lets put on our overcoats, lets get some casual denim going on, we kind of built the story around the products that we were launching and that is the inspiration behind the "2 Nights in Montreal"
Shop the collection for your holiday party outfit at 72 Gansevort Street 11am-9pm, today through December 16th.
If you can't make it down there or don't live in New York, shop their site at www.combatgent.com and follow them on Facebook at "Combatant Gentleman"
