Michael Bastian's Lowering his Prices

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Designer Michael Bastian won this year's CFDA Award for Menswear last week and today scores a profile in the New York Times which focuses on the rethinking of his eponymous collection's pricing structure. Bastian's luxurious men's basics carry heft price tags—$540 for a pair of khaki cut-offs, $425 for dress shirts—and now, after taking a couple of seasons off to restructure his company, he tells the Times' Eric Wilson: "“They were just a little too high. You don’t have the opportunity to explain to every customer what goes into the design.” Bastian will debut a new men's collection in Europe this month and has actively been seeking out new Italian factories to work with in order to reduce his prices. [NY Times]