Five heads are better than one. Loden Dager isn't the work of a designer, it's a creative collective that includes Matthew Sandager, Melissa Vail, and Alexander Galan, with Oliver Helden and Paul Marlow as the primary designers. Helden and Marlow envisioned the idea of Loden Dager while working at Marc by Marc Jacobs. With so many artists on board steering a single collection, skimping on the vision isn't an option. Loden Dager's concept richness is unique. While other designers loosely affix patchwork stories to their collections just to have something, Loden Dager took off on a road trip through the South, searching for images of America circa 1940. They found a small, "sleepy college town" to shoot their campaign.

The spirit of the Loden Dager Spring 2008 collection is in the field--inspired in part by Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath--channeling authenticity through the simplicity and utility of classic work wear mixed with lightly tailored jackets and basics with personal details.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK

We caught a glimpse of Loden Dager Menswear Collection Presentation for Fall/Winter 2008 during New York Fashion Week last month at The Hoffman Refectory on the grounds of the General Theological Seminary. Loden Dager's inspiration is Robert Peary, the American Admiral who claimed to be the first to reach the North Pole. The looks were colorful understatement, clean and era stamped, capturing the exploration and travel of the '20s with shoes tucked into worker boots and scarves hung loosely around the neck. Cotton was the fabric story in magenta, khaki, and shades of blue. Check out the pics!

Our favorite? The blue suit! And we're not alone.