Amiri often showed menswear and womenswear together on its runways in Paris, with women in longline seafoam suiting and boxy leather jackets slotting almost anonymously into Mike Amiri’s men’s lineup. The pandemic and its related lockdowns gave him a moment to reconsider exactly who the Amiri woman is and what she’d want to wear. The 22 looks shown here, for spring 2022, are no longer the addendum to a cool dude parade, but their own sure-footed proposition for how women should dress.
Amiri’s year of meditation on womenswear resulted in a collection with what he called a “direct and narrow focus.” It’s not revolutionary, with its button-up trucker jackets tucked into slouchy blue jeans, but a reliance on All American style—and specifically Los Angeles art gallery minimalism—gives Amiri enough of a niche in the market. Leather yoked jeans and a gorgeous chocolate double breasted suit are instantly wantable.
Still, for all the polish Amiri’s new woman has, you can’t help but wish she had a little grit. Beautiful, austere clothing feels like something we’d all willingly leave in the Before Times in favor of garments that reflect the lives lived within them. His menswear has that mojo, carrying memories of a life well lived. Amiri is a powerful creative director; chances are his womenswear will have its own mojo soon.
