NYFW Wrap up #Menswear

As another Fashion week has flashed by, and we are left with the aftermath of 'runway' picture,  fashion week party hangovers and stacks of runaway programs. New York maybe not have the massive pull cards of the European fashion elite like Balmain, Hermes or Prada, but this leaves room for the new age designers to flaunt their runway style and breath fresh ideas into a sometimes predictable showcase.

New York also has Raf Simons, who is basically the Karl Lagerfeld of menswear so Europe can suck it. Even if he comes from European roots, but let us live our fantasy. There was a lot that went down at New York fashion week, so we are here to sort through the crap and give you the top picks and ideas that sprouted up in the fall offering. Hang tight cos we have a bit to get through.

Linder hit an interment cord, with an unconventional showcase in Manhattan. An internal movement has seen Kirk Millar taking the menswear line for Linder and it paid off, with his first solo delivery hitting an emotional note. Millar pitched a massive tent in the center of the Standard High line hotel function space.

"[The clothes] examine the pressure young homosexual men feel to fit within culture's idea of what makes a man. For example toughness, aggression, physical strength, et cetera," said Millar.

The tent concealed 6 full looks from the collection, the Idea of the internal struggle shown through softening fantasy of soldiers, the centerpieces were focused on military jackets and parkers, a hard silhouette, offset with linings printed with poems and flowers from books of Constantine Cavafy, Hart Crane, and Walt Whitman. There was a playful use of the heart symbol shown on a hoodie and pants, a neat design detail. While the collection concept was very dramatic Millar did an amazing job, to keep the individual piece highly wearable for the everyday fashion guy. Pale Pinks, daisy yellow and tone of bone white were heavily featured, silhouettes remain masculine in shape with a few experimental aspects that keep the ideas fresh. The dropped pockets a particular elevating design detail.

The idea of war and rebellion seems to be the main focus of the New York scene, not that surprising considering the current political state of the country and the undertone of unease everyone feels right now. Dyne, Private Policy and Death to tennis all played with the idea end of war and rise of rebellion.

Dyne is becoming the go-to brand for athleticwear outside the grips of the large corporations. Their potential to dominate the stylised athleticwear space is massive right now. Their fall offering centered on streetwear ideas and less conceptual than their previews showings. Christopher Bevans stressed that the company always started with fabrics and the technicality, ensure their garments are made to move.

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The new collection was in reaction to "a world that is a bit crazy, with political rhetoric that's not the most positive," said Bevans backstage.

The idea was driven home by plenty of 60's youth culture iconic, in particular, the reference to the black panther uniform, in the placement of black berates, military cut jackets and badges aborning the civil rights movement icon, 'the raised fist'. Mixed with peace symbol that was 3D printed into the thread of tracksuit. The design could easily be the mistaken as simple, however it the level of great detailing that Bevans infuses into ever garment that really elevates the individual pieces. Altogether the line-up was little rebellion, a little bit of flower power and a whole lot of perfection.

In keeping with the idea of rebellion PRIVATE POLICY dedicated the FW18 collection to the bravery of Charlie Chaplin.  Again the black panther uniform made an appearance, with a mix of military uniforms, blended with iconic New York Youth silhouettes and hints of grunge styling in the form of heavy metal finishing and leather harnessing styled over tartan. This fresh, up and coming brand have become known for their genderless silhouettes, Private Policy, much like Dyne, walks the line of streetwear and high fashion thanks to the clever use of end fabrics and accessories.

"Once again, we want to dress up our fellow revolutionaries to be empowered to fight for our faith in Love and Equality!" said Haoran Li and Siying Qu.

Mexican style icon Juan Gabriel may be gone, but he's not forgotten The latest from Carlos Campos presented a collection influenced by the late singer Juan Gabriel and his unique "charro" influence. That influence translated to sleek architectural outwear, volumes silk shirts with impressive print detailing, pointed western style collars and free-flowing baggy pants. A lot of the styles walked the line between feminine and masculine shapes, I believe too much on the feminine side for most men to go crazy over the silhouettes. The showstopper was an AMAZING white long coat that graced the runway last. The elongated pointed collar and central black paneling made this finale piece a knock out.

It was not all glowing reviews and massive hits. There were a few flops in the mix. Death to tennis designers Vincent Oshin and William Watson explained their latest effort was in reaction to, they now deem too streetwear. For this showing, they wanted to present a more robust, elite, "neoclassical" collection. It's kinda hit the mark, with far more relaxed silhouettes, sophisticated suiting, gorgeous denim basic and rich dark floral jacquard that featured heavily throughout the show. Thank god it did, as it cared the whole collection. The closing of the show was a complete miss, with the idea of 'style war' showing up in the form of a bandage bride, followed by a wounded worrier look-alike that was carried down the runway by two medics. It was not the classic nob to the complexities of war that Linder achieved and was generally not need to complete the whole show. The iron that the 'war ideal' centerpiece was the casualties of the showing, is not lost on me.

I will briefly mention Philipp Plein if you follow fashion runways I'm assuming you do if you're reading this article. Then you know that Philipp Plein is known for extravagant shows that often outshine the actual clothing. However, this show took it to a whole new self-indulgent level, even for Plein. The basic rundown was a stage covered in snow, a giant UFO floating above and bulldozers plowing through a wall of foil boulders. Migos performed, a robot came out and spat awkward dialogue at people in the front row asking if they were wearing Philipp Plein. Then Irina Shayk emerged from the UFO walked around with the robot in hand, very awkwardly. Then, finally, the cloths surfaced, and surprise it was another namesake show. A series of fur coats, puffer jacket and ski gear plastered with playboy log go and of course Philipp Plein. Overall it just seemed trashy and an easy grab for the designer, but hell, he is catering to a market and he is most likely making a shit tone of cash. So power to him.

Another miss in my mind was Tom Ford. Now before you go all crazy, I agree Tom Ford is a legend in his own right and I get his shtick. His designs are luxury (even though he has a diffusion line that technically disqualifies him from being truly luxury, just saying) But this collection was just awaked. I'm assuming the inspiration for the collection was derived from the 6 feet something, equinox guy who lives, eats and breaths new York lifestyle. The runway showing throwback to a more traditional suit fit with large lapels, featured in satins in pale pinks, yellow and snakeskin print, I have no idea why the fuck snake print has shown up in a collection targeted at a younger audience. I really appreciated the sneaker and suit combo, creating a more contemporary vibe of a very traditional look. There was a strong influence of 80's rock styling with rippled slim plants and biker boots. A touch of ski wear but all together the whole collection just seemed out of touch. I'm sure there are a small group of guys that would wear these design but it seems like Ford is attempting to reach a young audience and no young contemporary guy who could afford Tom Ford would wear a snake print suit.

Now to the shining lights of New York fashion week, Raf Simmons (who can do no wrong in my eyes), Sanchez-Kane and Abasi Rosborough, these three designers FUCKING KILLED IT on the runway.

Let's start with Raf Simmons, this man is a fashion genius and his 2018 Fall offering did not waver from the standard. He took his audience to a new measure of high, with a strong commentary on youth drug culture, inspired by the 1981 German film Christiane F. A film that explored the heroin epidemic in the late-1970s in Berlin. The stage was a sprawling banquet of regal proportion, an elixir to set the show that was to come. The reference to the film Christiane F appeared in large pint panels of the characters faces on pants and tops, along with clever use of a patch's showing the periodic table design of LSD and XTC on jeans. The outwear, tailored but softened with enlarged proportion, was outstanding. Combined with the vivid colors and ultra-sheen of skinny gathered cargo pants,  glossy gloves, and medical styled boots formed the idea of negativity. Noting a glamourized clinical aesthetic.

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With false sweater fronts that clutched the model in form of turtlenecks and layers over tailor to great dynamic effect. A defiant throwback to Simons final collection for Jil Sander. This mysterious and alluring showing will surely open a dialogue about addiction, at the very least have Raf Simons fans begging for another fix. The complete concept compiled the idea to glamourize substance use while representing a discerning reality of pushing your mind to its complete limits. All in all, another HIGH fitting show from the legend Raf.

SEX was the main name of Sanchez-Kane game. Ranchi, complex, outrages and surprisingly refresh showcase from this Mexican designer. The sexually charged show, inspired by the designer's interpretation of sexual oppression in Mexico, went in on the idea of adequate sex education to gay love. The designs showed a compelling revealing twist on traditional tailoring, playing with silhouettes and twisting detailing. Combined with plaid suiting taking notes from Catholic school uniforms and fetish inspired pieces. There was a clever use of customer accessories playing with the ideas of gender, a neat detail to tie the whole concept together. Although I do worry about how the designs will translate to a commercial setting, often a few design elements could have been removed from garments and still create an impactful message while remaining versatile.

Abasi Rosborough the darling of New York fashion week and the debut debutant. "Utopia/Dystopia" was the play they ran with, conceptual sportswear is what they are known for and the 2018 Fall collection's execution, furthered the designers' intrepid experimental approach. The collection was a commentary on the evolutionary arc we are travelling on as a society "we kind of have simplistic and then it gets more complicated" said Rosborough. Commenting on the question-mark above the advancements in facial recognition technology, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence and all the other newfangled stuff that ever has you excited for the future or living in perpetual fear of the end of the world. The collection presentation followed the same arc, with the start of the viewing feature soft tailoring, commos and robe-like pieces, mirroring the idea of a more similar time. The show then transitioned into a futuristic styling with heavy use of paneling and blocked color jackets and angularly bionically paneled pieces entered the runway. all together it was a fresh change to see sportswear undergoing experiment while remaining wearable.  

Well, there you go. We are now left to dream about the upcoming collections and the new ages of rebellious utopian styling to conclude in fall 2018.

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