Fabrics, Bank said on a tour of the office, are Mfpen’s moodboard, and it was cloth that spurred the development of women’s. “There’s not always a reason to do stuff, except for the fact that you just want to,” he says. “Looking at the fabrics it was like, ‘Oh, this would look so great as a woman’s trousers.’” The fall 2023 lineup includes “super-soft deadstock cords” as well as a pair cut from deadstock pinstripe that you might want to pair with an Italian knit Merino wool top or a washed T-shirt, then throw on a coat from the men’s line.
Bank is creative directing the line, but added a womenswear designer to the team to make sure the fit is right. Mfpen for women is an extension of the menswear, it shares the moody palette, favoring colors like chestnut, smoke, slate, and charcoal, and it has that sort of iykyk indie vibe. “It’s the same aesthetics as the men’s because we have to follow the same rules [regarding the] fabric and all these things,” says Bank. “I wouldn’t say it’s more feminine, but we didn’t want it to be menswear sized down either. I feel a lot of men are going to buy the women’s.”
