Breaking Down Aimé Leon Dore’s “Summer ‘24 in Hydra” Drop

Breezy garms, surprise hits, and ART THEFT?!

Reception for this release was strong. I saw many comments in the various online forums with similar sentiment, that the earlier spring releases had been underwhelming but that Teddy was back with the sauce on this one. Personally, I thought this one was just okay. Nothing reached out through the screen and grabbed my wallet, demanding that I put responsibility aside for a necessary jawn. If money had been no object, my eyes would have been on a crochet tote and a pair of the linen leisure pants, but the two items that I came closest to grabbing were the linen tee and the loose knit striped crewneck. Those will remain in the shopping cart until further notice, as I imagine either would look superb aboard a catamaran in Spain later this summer. 

The Lesvos camp collar (probably the most hyped item of the season) made its way online but is still listed as “coming soon.” I understand the draw, and it’s one of the few ALD garms that feels priced appropriately, but beyond the obvious Bode comparisons I could make, I’m also having a hard time grappling with the information I stumbled across this week on Reddit. Turns out, almost every graphic from Aimé this year was “inspired” by works from actual famous artists. We’re talking Picasso and Miro here with pretty much zero credit ascribed to them. It’s a little gross, but on the other hand, it was Picasso himself that famously said, “good artists borrow, great artists steal,” so maybe there’s some intentionally meta level to this season’s inspo and I should just get over myself.

Meanwhile, with the Lesvos shirt only available to window shop, a surprise hit emerged from the pack. The retro ringer tee was all anybody on the subreddit could talk about, and it quickly drew ire from the masses after it sold out almost entirely to the early access crowd. Consider me flummoxed. Yes, footie fashion is trending: soccer shirts are all the rage and Sambas, Gazelles, and Spezials show no real signs of cooling off, but this tee would look more at home on the set of Dazed & Confused than it would on the backs of the fellas standing in line on Mulberry Street. It seems to have a much snugger fit than anything ALD’s ever put out, and frankly, I’m just not sure how I’d style it. I guess you could go Cold War Cowboy with it, do a little Mark Wystrach from Midland type thing, but it’s already 97º in Austin so jeans and boots are out, I’m afraid. The more I talk it out, the more I understand how it plays off of the vintage trend as well, but that’s the other thing – it’s so replicable! I still fail to understand why this tee is the one that made waves, but hey, I do turn 37 and a half this weekend, so maybe I’m just losing touch. Are ringer tees about to be the hot microtrend of the summer? Do I need to get on board and immediately cop this one from Wythe now? Maybe. Maybe, I do.

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