In three short years Canadian based designer Rad Hourani has earned a cult-like following thanks to his razor sharp focus and concise direction making his New York Fashion Week Fall 2010 during outing one of the weeks must-sees for the fashion forward downtown set.

What sets him apart from obvious futuro-goth predecessors Helmut Lang and Rick Owens is that Hourani’s pieces are straight forward, less avant-grade for avant-garde’s sake, yet just as strong, which is exactly what makes him so special.

>> Check out our complete fashion show photos and runway reviews

Rad Hourani menswear look Fall / Winter 2010 from his New York Fashion Week show.

Working with black & blue-black, each unisex look featured ingenious styling tricks.

Jackets came with interior straps to be worn on the back creating a sculptural effect, a clever idea for those of us left holding our coats all night while sleeves came with zippered cuffs making the pieces profoundly versatile, in fact, one jacket made 10 different appearances throughout the show worn in a thought-provoking myriad of ways.

Hourani’s previous styling stints have payed off, it’s more than clear that this young designer knows how to wear the clothes he makes, in many, many ways that are far from tricky. So much ingenuity along with season-to-season continuity has made this label one of the strongest young ones around. – Naveed Hussain, VagabondNYC