Menswear designer Robert Geller didn't happen to spin songs by defunct '80s English band the Sound during his New York Fashion Week show by chance — he tells SPIN the band's music was a core part of his process while he was crafting his Fall 2012 looks.

"The collection ended up being my interpretation of English style, stuff you'd want to wear on a rainy day," the New York-based designer says backstage at Manhattan's Pier 59, minutes before his models began striding down a dirt catwalk. "The whole thing started because I discovered the Sound. They had this sense of romance and the lead singer has a really beautiful voice."

The nonstop soundtrack might have irked his employees, but it successfully launched him into 1980s England. Pulsing riffs from the band's "Where the Love Is" served as a fitting opener for the show as models showed off thick wool trousers, fitted knit sweaters, and dark, dapper caps with bursts of color splashed between earthy tones.

"I think I'll have to shelve the band after this," Geller (pictured above right with pal Scott Mou, who DJ'ed the show) laughs. "Everyone in my office will kill me if I don't. I need to find something new to listen to. On Monday we start the new collection." — Alyssa Noel

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