6 Surfer-Bro Style Moves to Steal From New York’s Hottest Menswear Debut

The Society Archive’s Marcus Allen has had a remarkable rise, growing from a dialed-in vintage dealer to one of New York’s most influential stylists in just a few short years. Now, after getting the fashion world’s attention with his artfully trashed baseball caps and plaid boxers, Allen has taken The Society Archive to the runway with his debut ready-to-wear collection, “Dogma,” which premiered at New York Fashion Week on Sunday.Society’s design language draws from the brand’s deep well of vintage references, which is really just an extension of Allen’s ever-expanding personal closet and styling trunk. These pieces—chunky flannels from the ‘60s, ‘90s sportswear, suede vests, toasted tuxedo jackets, and a plethora of golden-era Abercrombie—draw from Allen’s formative teenage years in Boston spent playing high school sports and hanging out at the mall. But Dogma isn’t merely an archival rip. He, along with associate creative director Izaake Zuckerman and design director Lucas Randall, adds another layer to the Society universe by mashing its disparate references into a singular version of prep, one that’s decidedly less buttoned up than the norm. As Allen describes it, “it's like you're in a tuxedo at McDonald's.”The debut, which blends beach culture with Napoleonic flourishes, leaves no doubt about who the Society guy is: a hot jock with an appetite for the beach, vintage flannels, and fancy nights out. Square-jawed, washboard-abbed hunks strutted through the room, decked in plaids and palm-tree prints that morphed into button-ups, pajama bottoms, and sarongs. Plush orange vests buddied up with layered boxer shorts and aqua socks, while printed terry cloth fused with Edwardian velvet to make a cape-turned-beach-towel fit for a surfer king. It’s a hell of a mix. Here are some of the coolest pieces from the collection.Silk Board ShortsThese board shorts are among the clearest distillations of what the Society Archive’s collection is all about. With their cargo pockets, a lace-up fly, and Velcro waist adjusters, they reference classic surf shorts, but instead of quick-drying, abrasion-resistant nylon, they use luxurious silk taffeta in a classic beach patrol red. Silk and Velcro? Tension is right.Kenyon Parks / Courtesy of The Society ArchiveKenyon Parks / Courtesy of The Society ArchiveSeashell-Strewn Bags and CapsPuka shell necklaces were emblematic of the suave surfer guy look in the late-90s and early 2000s, and could’ve been an easy lay-up, had Society opted to bring them back in their original form. But the team decided to take it to the nth degree, bedecking its popular merch cap with a curtain of shells that looked like something a surf-rock Orville Peck might wear. A shoulder bag covered in layers of seashells, meanwhile, offered a similarly freaky take on the beach bag.Kenyon Parks / Courtesy of The Society ArchivePlaid, EverywhereWe anticipated a plethora of plaid shirts, but we didn’t envision it showing up as hand-beaded pajama bottoms or tiny little skirts layered over cargo shorts. We’re into it.Kenyon Parks / Courtesy of The Society ArchiveKenyon Parks / Courtesy of The Society ArchiveGussied-Up Drawstring BagsThese bags, Randall says, were an early breakthrough for the team as they worked through the collection's materiality. The simple form becomes a luxurious silk sack worthy of something more glamorous than the gym.Kenyon Parks / Courtesy of The Society ArchiveKenyon Parks / Courtesy of The Society ArchiveSarongs and Beach TowelsThe blending of beach towels and sarongs was another feature of Society’s first collection, which amounted to a bougie, elegant take on the post-surf dry-off. Rather than making another straightforward beach towel or another piece of merch, Allen and team take the beach accessory more seriously, dignifying it with tassels, cutting it with luxurious materials, and even fusing it with plush velvet, like a prince on a beach day. Styling them over leather pants doesn’t hurt, either.Kenyon Parks / Courtesy of The Society ArchiveKenyon Parks / Courtesy of The Society ArchiveTailoringA theme Allen describes as “broken-down tailoring” runs through the collection, from vintage regimental jackets used as styling pieces to in-house suits cut from soft Italian linen with waistbands grafted from board shorts. The tension Society achieves isn’t just within the suiting itself, but in how it’s paired with surf attire, water shoes, and maybe a shirt.Kenyon Parks / Courtesy of Society ArchiveKenyon Parks / Courtesy of Society Archive