Amiri does Lautner 'n' Roll in Beverly Hills

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Oct 16, 2020

One brand keeping very busy despite the pandemic is Amiri, which opened its debut boutique last week on Rodeo Drive, and followed that up with a Friday morning show in Los Angeles.

 
In the past few seasons, Mike Amiri has shown in Paris, but this season saw him in the Sheats-Goldstein Residence in the hills of Beverly Hills.
 
Opening the 9.49-minute show video with overalls, tank and reading glasses, the model posed at the pool of the famed location, before slinging on a Saigon soldier bomber jacket.

Dudes strolling purposely across a basketball court; in preppy shorts and knit aertexes with cloche hats and loads of bags. Cutest of all, a new mini guitar man-bag with a Fender shape; and a mini basketball man purse.
 
A live DJ - legendary LA producer, The Alchemist - mixing some chill tracks as the hirsute boys march in leather shorts and overalls – all worn under polite rocker redingotes. 
 
Los Angeles glinting in the background, as the cast gradually strides up onto the villa by master architect John Lautner, a glass vessel of a dwelling that huddles in dense vegetation. A classic example of American organic architecture for a show that climaxed with some great floral prints. A James Bond set that’s been used in movies like Charlie’s Angels and The Big Lebowski that looked just right with Amiri.
 

Mike Amiri began his garage punk label back in 2013. His is a blend of LA Urban Cowboy meets laid back rocker, composed of far classier fabrics than one normally associates with grungy rock 'n' roll.
 
Historically, Amiri is a novel encounter of careful tailoring and distressed materials; of classy blazers and silken soul singer shirts. Under sleek tuxedos, Amiri generally favors jeans so skinny they look glued on. His dudes even enjoy cardigans, though finished in intarsia skeletons.
 
Of Iranian origin, Mike was born in Los Angeles in 1976, and began his career by hand crafting stage outfits for the likes of Axl Rose and Steven Tyler. That led him to developing a capsule for Los Angeles most noted concept boutique Maxfield, before then creating his own eponymous collection.

He has been nominated for the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Emerging Designer Award and in 2019 nabbed the CFDA’s Menswear Designer of the Year title.
 
Underlining Amiri’s commercial appeal, OTB, the key investment wing of Italian billionaire jean entrepreneur Renzo Rosso, acquired a minority stake in Amiri last year.
 
He may not be the next Azzedine Alaia or Giorgio Armani but Mike Amiri does have a signature look; a compelling DNA and plenty of ambition. This is one brand we will be hearing plenty of this decade.