Good riddance July. Now American men’s designers can only hope things get better next June.
Todd Snyder wrapped up the spring 2019 edition of New York Fashion Week: Men’s on Wednesday night with an upbeat show that embraced America — and proved to be one of the handful of shows that could legitimately compete with those in London, Florence, Milan or Paris. Otherwise, the three-day affair continued to be devoid of most of American fashion’s major names and was a haphazard mix of shows and presentations that often lacked energy, generated little buzz and continued to raise questions over where New York fits into the men’s calendar.
But the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the organizer, is hoping to resuscitate things next summer when it moves the show dates to align with women’s resort in early June — before the London men’s shows start.
Related Galleries
Holding the men’s and women’s shows at the same time worked well for the men’s brands in February when the CFDA staged a successful 10-day dual-gender fashion week, with the men’s-only or men’s-heavy brands kicking off the week. That’s the plan for this coming February as well.
And although the June women’s resort shows are not as established as the spring shows in September, it will at least allow the men’s designers to latch on to some energy.
Mark Beckham, vice president of marketing for the CFDA, said: “We are really happy with our seventh season and feel that we have settled into an impactful platform that continues to be inclusive for designers to show their collections — from designers of color to brands led by women.”
Even as the last July shows limped home, some designers did stand out. Among them were Abasi Rosborough, Jahnkoy, Bode, Willy Chavarria, Dyne, David Hart, Snyder and Public School, which reemerged on the men’s scene by teasing a new retail concept and direct-to-consumer collection that will launch later this month on Howard Street.
Justin Berkowitz, men’s fashion director of Bloomingdale’s, attended a lot of the shows over the event’s three-day run. “True, there were not a lot of big names, but there was a lot of exciting stuff that felt fresh,” he said. And although the energy was dimmed by the lack of an international presence, Berkowitz nonetheless found some brands that caught his attention.
He pointed specifically to Christopher Bevans, the designer of Dyne, whose collection fit into the store’s focus on “athletic lifestyle merchandise.” He also liked the “superfun and lively” show staged by Jahnkoy and gave designer Maria Kazakova props for effectively appropriating a number of cultural references into her collection. “That can be tricky, but she pulled it off,” he said.
He also thought Abasi Rosborough was “very strong” this season, particularly the softer feel and color palette that complemented the “articulated tailoring” the designers have done in the past. Berkowitz also liked the carefree spirit of the Todd Snyder show and the designer’s ability to blend athleticism and sport with more classic pieces. “And the branding was great,” he said. Not only did Snyder create koozies with his name on it, but a new “Snyder’s” logo showed up on shirts and other pieces as well.
Although Berkowitz didn’t find new trends, the New York designers did cement those he’d already seen in Europe, including “urban utility” and tie-dye.
Regarding the moving of the shows earlier next summer, Berkowitz said he’s concerned that while the timing will put a burden on the designers in terms of production, for him, “it will be a nice shift.”
Bruce Pask, men’s fashion director for Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, agreed.
“The show schedules today are so disruptive and it’s going to be hard for designers to move up their production dates, but I think it’ll make for a more robust presentation, so I’m all for it.”
Pask also said although there was a “thinner schedule than usual this season and we didn’t have the tentpole designers we’ve had in the past, there were still a lot of great and inventive presentations.”
He was impressed with the designers’ ability to transform the raw second-floor “warehouse” space at Industria studios to create their own identities. This was especially evident at Jahnkoy, a brand Pask said was “a highlight of the week and the New York design community” as a whole.
“Her style is very consistent, but when she began, there was a lot of heavy embroidery and everything was handmade,“ he added. “But she’s shown a nice progression into scaling up production and used printing for the first time.”
In contrast, he also liked Bode, which staged a “very sweet, charming, poetic and pensive walk-through,” and Chavarria, who flawlessly executed the launch of his soccer collaboration with Hummel by having models working out on the runway before the start of the show. Robert Geller’s Gustav von Aschenbach was “really relevant” this season, he said, by using street dancers to cement his message home.
Ovadia & Sons’ decision to abandon a runway show and host an intimate presentation at a space in SoHo was also effective, he believes. “I felt it was very original and shows how much they’ve grown and matured as designers.”
Tom Kalenderian, executive vice president and general merchandise manager of men’s wear at Barneys New York, did not attend the shows, but said highlights for his buying team included Ovadia & Sons, Landlord and Willy Chavarria.
Durand Guion, group vice president and men’s fashion director for Macy’s, said, “It is clear that NYFW: Men’s is evolving and changing and we approach the week with an open mind and to support the creative efforts of both new and existing American brands.”
Although he personally was out of town, his team found many of the trends that have already been identified for the season were reinforced: utility, looser silhouettes, print mixing, African influences and bold color, he said. In particular, the Macy’s team singled out Willy Chavarria, Landlord, Ovadia & Sons, David Hart and Dyne as standouts of the week.
Guion said he’s looking forward to getting an early start on the spring 2020 season next summer. “I believe that synergizing with the women’s resort shows in June, particularly with the advantages of the earlier timing, should be a positive for retailers as it is the start of our buying season,” he said.
Josh Peskowitz, owner of Magasin men’s store in Culver City, Calif., attended the third day of the shows and found “some things to like.” He was especially impressed with Bode, which he said was “terrific, superinteresting and relevant.” He pointed to her “repurposing” of fabrics into something usable and relevant, something that the designers from Abasi Rosborough also embraced. Peskowitz also liked that show, which was accompanied by a one-man band on a didgeridoo.
“People often ask, ‘why not just do showroom appointments?'” he said. “But I believe that if you can go to a fashion show that feels emotionally moving, it’s still worth doing.” He believes that aligning with women’s next summer “is supersmart. Paris is sucking a lot of oxygen in men’s these days so if you’re going to do something else, you’d better make it work,” he said.
One large retailer, who opted out of attending the shows this season, summed it up this way: “I do feel that in order for this week to be strong, it needed more of the bigger American brands to help maintain the need for men’s-only events versus showing in Europe and fragmenting the message. Many European brands are aligning the showing of their men’s and women’s collections simultaneously during women’s runway market. The brands feel it delivers a stronger message.” So aligning with women’s in New York next season, even if they’re men’s-only shows, may help them gain more recognition, the merchant added.
A second major retailer said that after returning from the European shows, the team was “energized” by the “exciting time” that is enveloping the men’s market. “There is a lot of talent that can be nurtured in men’s wear in New York, but you need mass to have a strong stand-alone men’s fashion week. It will be more impactful if it’s part of women’s.”