Patrik Ervell designs in esoteric terms—coded messages, crypto-kitsch, references to references. It makes for an odd yet oddly commercial vision of men’s sportswear. So while he’s once again mined the ’90s for Fall—as other men’s designers regularly do, namely Raf Simons—Ervell gives his retro nod a peculiar, anomalous spin, approaching the era with a wink-nudge detachment devoid of emotion or nostalgia.

The abstruse contradiction of elements translated into several extraordinary pieces, most notably a peacoat in microchip-green mohair; several nylon bombers, some with contrasting mohair collars; a white alpaca velvet jacket; and a wide range of geeky-cool mock necks. The standout was a metal-gray mackintosh in slick polyurethane, an unsettlingly skin-like material that reappeared in extra-wide raver pants, a silhouette Ervell has been toying with for several seasons.

Ervell also speaks in esoteric terms. “I’ve been thinking about the future vintage, high-tech relics sitting on the edge of memory,” he said during the showroom visit. He also invoked that most cringe-y of ’90s words, cyberpunk, articulated precisely for its grating “ick factor.” Similarly, Ervell merged the corporal with the digital in the collection by inventing a plausible-sounding software company, Indegen, whose faux branding he emblazoned across wool sweaters and the back of stonewashed denim jackets.

Lately there’s been unofficial talk of Ervell heading up the men’s division of a large label, after so long toiling in the indie realm and building sizable street cred. Maybe that’s what he’s up to with all this corporate make-believe—referencing speculation while neither confirming nor denying it, leaving us to wonder whether it’s soon-to-be fact or merely more fiction.