Simon Miller Menswear Spring 2018

Based on both market response and their own instincts, Simon Miller’s Daniel Corrigan and Chelsea Hansford steered their menswear branch this season in a back-to-the-beginnings trajectory. The focus? Denim and luxe basics, which have anchored the brand since its launch in 2008. The move was smart and typically sensible; Simon Miller has proven itself adept at making clothes packed with nowness (but not necessarily trendiness, which is a tough, subtle skill to master). Plus, it’s difficult to resist the backstories around its denim development. Think: hours of experimenting with treatments in tiny dye houses along Japan’s Okayama prefecture, four hours by train from Tokyo, followed by serene omakase dinners overlooking the Harima-nada Sea at twilight. Corrigan and Miller have now moved 100 percent of their menswear production to this part of Japan—considered the birthplace of the country’s much lauded and loved denim.