Simon Spurr's latest creations lined the back of Nolita's Openhouse Gallery as though on a religious altar—and at first, onlookers kept a respectful distance. Soon, though, guests gave into the urge to examine the designer's trademark craftsmanship up close. Without a single wayward stitch, Spurr's suits and separates were the most rigorously fitted—and expensive-looking—clothes we'd seen in a long time. "When you spend a lot of money on something, it should be worth it," a dapper Spurr told us. "It should have quality Italian construction, horn buttons, functional cuffs on the suit jacket." The looks supposedly spanned the British social classes, but even the pinned, tugged, and knotted T-shirt of the street punk looked more elegant than everything in our closet.
