You could call Mitchell Evan Sandler a World War II buff.
The catalyst behind the 31-year-old filmmaker-turned-designer’s first men’s collection was a military trunk filled with memorabilia that had belonged to his grandfather, a WWII sergeant who fought on the beaches of Normandy. “I was always in the attic playing war,” he said. Sandler found yellowed photographs, love letters and perfectly starched uniforms, the latter of which became the seed of the idea for his collection, which is debuting for fall.
“Film was my first avenue; I went to school for it,” he said. But fashion was always in the back of his mind. A self-professed shopaholic, Sandler frequents stores such as Fred Segal and Mohawk in California and Dover Street Market in New York. But he always found something lacking in the assortment.
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So he created Mitchell Evan Collection, a 16-piece line that offers outerwear such as a leather bomber with removable shearling collar, a slim-fit pant in a gray camouflage pattern, a shawl-knit sweatshirt and a long-sleeved Henley.
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The pieces, which are manufactured in New York, offer a modern interpretation of Sandler’s grandfather’s World War II pieces.
Sandler believes his collection can hang next to Greg Lauren or Rick Owens at retail, and he is targeting a man in his 30s who can afford the price points, which range from $395 for the Henley to $3,700 for the leather bomber. The “pinnacle piece,” a leather “highwayman coat” lined in black shearling, retails for $4,990.
To continue the WWII theme, Sandler is working with the Veteran Art Program and has commissioned five artists to create content that will be used on the brand’s Web site and, beginning next year, also be printed onto a collection of T-shirts. The majority of the proceeds from the sale of these shirts will go directly to VAP, a nonprofit organization that works with artists who are also veterans to bring their work into the mainstream.
“We felt if we were going to have a canvas of World War II, then it was necessary to give back,” he said.