Stephan Schneider is a very specific brand. It's not crazy popular, but it's penetration rate amongst the menswear literati is strong. Schneider is the quintessential "awesome menswear brand that nobody knows about"...yet. It's not stocked in too many shops, so its presence at large is but a speck of dust on the menswear map. But that doesn't deter Stephan from slapping down a collection worth, like, 72 points in Scrabble. That's a good score, right? I'm terrible at Scrabble even though I write for a living and consider myself well-educated in terms of my vocabulary. Believe it or not, Schneider's F/W 15 line is actually inspired by Scrabble—you can see the board in the background of the lookbook throughout and in both small and large patterns on the clothes themselves. There are also a few close-up shots here, which is absolutely vital for a brand like Schneider. Most of his designs are subtle and intricate, focused on material and texture as much as shape and silhouette. You can see his strong knits and the slight variations between shades of blues and greens in detail. As far as standouts are concerned, the cropped, hooded, shawl collar coat and pair of plaid topcoats are just loud enough without being obnoxious, unlike, you know, somebody who beats your ass in Scrabble.
