Richard Chai (Q9026)

While not a newbie anymore, forever-young Richard Chai manages to reinvent himself all the time, and Spring was a very fine reincarnation. When asked to be a part of the new-and-_him_proved men's collections, Chai said he reflected on his adolescent years in '90s New York and its surrounding suburbs. He harked back to his youth, (mis)spent skateboarding around in 501s and secondhand Burberry trenches from the now-defunct Canal Jeans on Broadway. To help with his recollection, Chai reached out to childhood friends, including the artist Wook Kim, his partner in crime since they were 10 years old.But of all his teenage obsessions, Chai said indie album covers had the most impact on his malleable psyche. Abstracted from their original, well-known glory, they made their way into his Spring collection in the form of trippy graphic tees and tanks, which Chai paired with oversized striped or plaid suits, usually with truncated and oddly belted pants. Sneakers were worn with run-of-the-mill white tube socks, as if an afterthought. The overall effect was endearingly gawky: This is the stuff the Peter Pan of New York fashion was made to make.