"It isn't much warmer inside," a publicist leading us into the Commonwealth Utilities Fall 2010 show at the Nomad Hotel warned Sunday evening. Haven't heard of the Nomad Hotel yet? That's because it's still under construction.

Guests entering the space off 28th Street found a raw, unfinished lobby with exposed beams, stripped walls and peeling paint on the ceiling. The man next to us half-joked that it looked like the ceiling would collapse upon us. Ushers offered hand-warmers and warm (non-spiked) apple cider. We mention the virgin apple cider because the gift left on the seats was a Commonwealth Utilities flask, wrapped in a paper bag.

The show began with flashing spotlights, like those out of a prison-escape film, and the blaring sounds of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Two Tribes." The "Officer and a Gentleman" collection is a riff on the uniforms sported by Wall Street bankers and Fleet Week sailors. There were heavy fisherman's sweaters paired with comfortable-looking slim jeans and knit hats. For the stay-at-home cold evenings, models padded out in long johns and thick socks. The slim-cut blazers in gray and dark plaid caused murmurs of admiration from the preppily dressed audience.

"I thought they were heroic uniforms," designer Anthony Keegan said, of his launching point for the collection. He said that suits and uniforms have a long history in menswear. "I took that idea of those staples but I wanted to make it younger, cool and fun, for my generation."

Showing in the unfinished Nomad Hotel fit into the collection's masculine edge, Mr. Keegan said. "I really think the texture and the rawness [of the space] was like what we were doing in the fabric. It's really masculine. I thought this was raw and strong."