BOSS orange 2009

New creative director Eyan Allen has aimed for a more high-fashion image in his overhaul of Hugo Boss’s casualwear label

Hugo Boss has revamped its Boss Orange collection for spring 10 under the German casualwear brand’s new creative director Eyan Allen. The range’s clean and contemporary look was given its first showing at a catwalk event in Berlin last week.
Allen has made sure that Boss Orange, aimed at 20 to 40-year-olds, retains an “unpolished” feel compared to other Hugo Boss ranges and is more contemporary than previous collections.
“I wanted to bring more high fashion into the range but still have a commercial look,” Allen says. “Before, the look changed season after season. Now I want to make the look more consistent.”
For spring 10 the Boss Orange range has a clear, less streetwear-influenced handwriting and includes denim, jersey and leather. While still 278 pieces strong, the suiting options have been reduced to eradicate overlap with the tailoring-focused Boss Black sub-brand.
The colour palette for the season is inspired by the vintage cars and architecture of 1950s Miami. Pastels, pinks and creams feature, along with touches of silver. Allen cites the styles of actors Johnny Depp and Sienna Miller, and model Kate Moss as influences, and is keen to grow the size of the womenswear collection which currently makes up just a fifth of the total range.
“I wanted a collection where the individual has such a choice that they can buy into the range in an interesting way without it all looking like it’s from the same brand,” says Allen. “There are brands that may be great in certain parts of their ranges but I wanted to have great denim, outerwear and jerseys.”
Denim is a major part of the Boss Orange offer - in menswear, a denim trench coat is one of the key pieces. But while the styling is casual and comfortable with different washes and some destroyed looks, a tailored feel to jeans and trenches has been retained.
Allen says: “There is denim on denim but in different weights, so jeans are paired with a chambray shirt. Light and heavy, old and new. People want to feel relaxed and comfortable and a bit smart.”
Boss Orange’s pricing remains unchanged, sitting a little lower than Boss Black, although Allen says the quality of design has improved.
The brand has more than 100 stockists in the UK and Republic of Ireland, and a standalone store in London’s Carnaby Street. A new shopfit and concession concept has also been created to fit the brand’s revamp, and Allen says he would eventually like to see flagship stores in more major cities in the UK.
Essentials

100 Number of stockists in the UK and Republic of Ireland

278 Number of pieces in Boss Orange’s spring 10 collection

1999 Year when Boss Orange was launched