THE PREVIEW CIRCUIT: A Closer Look At Fall From Burkman Bros, Caputo & Co., and Dockers

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Last week, The Shophound hit a few more of the Fall Collection Previews that are put on by brands who either don't participate in Fashion Week or want to give press a chance to see their wares in a more informal way. Sometimes it's a lot easier to get a handle on a collection this way rather than squeezing it in during the chaos and crush of Fashion Week. Also, sometimes there's food (and swag)

On Friday, we made our way to the Meatpacking District showroom of Caputo & Co. where we got a close look at designer Alex Caputo's leathergoods and accessories as well as his pals, the Burkman Bros apparel collections for Fall (both pictured above). In a sense, it's fitting that the two lines should be shown together as they are both inspired by their designers' travels. While we were familiar with Doug and Ben Burkman's burgeoning label from seeing it in ever more stores, we gained a new appreciation for it by being walked through the line and having all of the details pointed out to us from custom woven jacquard fabrics and intricately patterned knits inspired this season by a trip to Iceland.

As you can see in the photo, Caputo's two-year-old line of cleverly designed bags coordinate effortlessly with the Burkmans' line despite taking their inspiration from half a world away. The Venezuelan-born designer took his cues from Laguna de Atitlàn, a volcanic lake in the mountains of Guatemala whose name translates from Mayan as "where nature gets its color". Caputo works subtle shades of blue and green in with traditional brown leathers and custom handwoven South American textiles in classic totes and duffels with colorblock details and deceptive hidden features like reversibility and convertible straps. To fill them, there was an array of smaller leather goods including iPad cases and leather and waxed cotton bracelets offering bright pops of color. He manages to walk the fine line in Men's Accessories between the kind of practicality men demand and making things interesting without being too flashy or overdesigned. For his efforts, Caputo has garnered some impressive clients in his few seasons on his own, including Bloomingdale's, Scoop, Barneys Co-op and Unionmade in California. All of these previews typically make us want to run out and shop, an urge that was helpfully tamped down when, as we were on our way out, we were handed one of Caputo's striped cotton totes that contained, along with the usual press materials, one of his handwoven leather bracelets, an ikat-striped woven shirt from the Burkman Bros Hawaiian-inspired Spring collection and a few of their signature woven bracelets.

The night before, we went up to the Levi's showroom near Times Square for a look at the continuing repositioning project that is the Dockers brand. The label that once stood for boxy, pedestrian khakis is now sufficiently cool enough to attract the likes of menswear icon Nick Wooster, who appeared to be sporting the camo-print chinos that caused such a stir at last season's Docker's preview. Fall brings a utilitarian point of view to what is now a full sportswear line, with workwear and military touches and lots of plaid shirts. Have the ideas been filtered through a legion of stylebloggers? Probably, but an upscale but well-priced line could certainly do worse, and the line looked appealing as we perused it on mannequins throughout the showroom. As is expected at a Levi's brand event, there was plenty of food and drink, this time focusing on picnic style classics with mini sliders and fried chicken wrapped with bacon on a stick. We really had to get out of there before we gorged ourself on those, but also because of the unseasonably warm weather which made the office, like many others around the city, swelter a lot more than anyone would have predicted given the time of year. Sadly, we couldn't wait around for the custom monogram to be finished on the complimentary pair of khakis each guest received, so they promised to send them to us. Seriously, we were about ready to melt, but between the two events, we have at least one Spring outfit marked off our list.