GANT goes “Back to Boston” for the GANT by Michael Bastian Fall/Winter 2012 campaign. The images journey back to Boston and its Mod revival scene during the 1980’s. The campaign was shot in and around Boston and recreates the feeling and memories of Bastian’s own personal experience as a student attending Babson College. The collection and campaign tell the story of three friends: The Prep; The Mod girl; and The Boxer boyfriend. The trio is inspired by friendships Bastian actually had during his time at school as a shy college guy (Michael) met his new friends and they quickly became inseparable. The Mod girl was inspired by a woman named Dena Bancroft whose great style sense became an inspiration for the collection. “To me, Dena will always be that strange, beautiful, amazing creature strolling down the cafeteria ramp,” Michael remembers. Michael invited her along for the campaign shoot to help him recreate their experience. She and her daughter joined the team for almost the entire shoot.
Of the campaign, designer Michael Bastian explains “Boston is a preppy city, and I was a very preppy business school student. But back in the ’80s there was this amazing mod scene going on, and me and a lot of my college friends really got into it. Mod and preppy overlap more than one would think, and it ended up in a very collegiate look, but with a cool edge mixed in there,” says Michael Bastian. “We wanted the campaign to represent all the different elements of inspiration, so we had two hectic days driving across the city from location to location: a really cool boxing club in the South End, cobblestone alleys between beautiful brick houses in the Italian quarters, a traditional Oyster House and last but not least a really cool diner at South Street.”
The Fall/Winter campaign for GANT by Michael Bastian, shot photographer by Oscar Falk, features models Sam Homan of Red Models, Danny Beauchamp of Select Models and Dace Burkevica of Ford models.
The collection of updated men’s and women’s American Sportswear incorporates the elements of Boston from the 80’s: mod era revival, a touch of boxing and a little Irish luck. The collection is constructed of carefully selected fabrics such as washed and shrunken Shetland wool for blazers and knitwear, pinwale and washed moleskin for pants, and twill and flannel for shirts. The base of the color palette is made up of muted grays, earthy brown/greens, navy and burgundy, spiced up with splashes of bright orange, red, school bus yellow and shamrock green. Monochrome pieces are mixed with pieces in classic rugby stripes and plaids, as well as modsy prints such as houndstooth and tartans. Shamrocks, a ’60s Vespa, the lucky coin and a The Who-inspired GANT logo adorn many of the garments.
Here’s to hoping today is your lucky day!
