On the first day of fashion week, New York Men’s Day provides emerging designers a platform to present their vision of the future.On the first day of fashion week, New York Men’s Day provides emerging designers a platform to present their vision of the future.
It’s an unfortunate truth about New York Fashion Week today that the men have mostly flown the coop. Many bigger names in American fashion—Willy Chavarria, Ralph Lauren, Thom Browne, The Row—show in Europe, while the commercial juggernaut that is Todd Snyder now presents a lookbook in place of a traditional runway show. So how does one get a pulse read on the current state of men’s fashion in the US—and, more importantly, what it all says about where the male psyche is in this fractured age? Well, perhaps one should carefully mull over the fresh faces at New York Men’s Day, the annual group presentation that opens the week and serves as a spotlight for emerging designers. Look to the youth, and you’ll see a glimpse of the future.
This year, at a sleek and shiny Mercedes-Benz dealership in the far reaches of midtown Manhattan, there were two sessions of budding talents on display, coming from many different walks of life and expressing very different visions of how men want to be perceived.
To contrast this, streetwear and some nods to the avant-garde were also on display. Clara Son’s self-titled collection played with twisting, draped, and knotted details, while Yuchen Han’s Alieant had a punkish, defiant air that seemed connected to the street, even if the oversized hoodies, track jackets, and baggy trousers felt a little old hat.
The most intriguing of the presentations, perhaps, came from Andy Yu, who worked with Big Ocean, Korea’s first deaf K-pop band, on an eccentric blend of British militaria, Victorian romance, and workwear. Floral appliqués dripping off a cropped blouson, denim cadet jackets, a loose shirt with an overlay of lace—it had whiffs of SS Daley’s irreverent take on Britannia, but given a slightly harder edge.
Taken together, the collections provided a quick snapshot of what young designers think men will want in the coming months. That could be classic or kooky, swaggy or subversive. In fact, perhaps the most telling reading is that there was no real connecting thread, just different visions of the future—a fitting response to our fractured times. And walking out of the presentation to see, on the bustling streets of New York, the sheer breadth of styles worn by passersby, this writer couldn’t help but think that these enterprising minds were on to something.
