The other day, I headed uptown to the Barneys flagship to preview BASCO, aka Barneys Sportswear Company, a modern in-house approach to classic and accessible sportswear. However, this is not the first, but the second time that BASCO has been sold on the floor of Barneys New York. BASCO was first launched long ago, and stopped being produced in the mid-90s. After a hiatus of almost two decades, Barneys has brought it back under the creative eye of VP Jay Bell.
After seeing the first collection yesterday, I can tell you that Barneys has done a magnificent job. The clothes are beautiful and of a lovely quality. Colors center on neutrals and basics, as in navy, grey, tan, and black. The fabrics incorporated are rather luxurious, but simple.The leather goods that accompany the collection are produced by Nashville-based artisan Emil Erwin. Stronger elements of the collection are the bomber jackets, which harken back to another era long ago, or as Jay basically described, they are a mix of modern function and classic utility.
In my opinion, this collection can best be described by the executive who came in and said: “I still have and wear sweaters from 1996.” Talk about timeless! On sale now at Barneys New York.
