Before the collections kick-off in the afternoon of the first Friday after Labor Day— New York Fashion Week—there’s New York Men’s Day offering a no fuss start to a week packed with, well, a lot of muss.
This time the seasonal menswear showcase, which is put together by Agentry PR, was once again hosted across two floors—that otherwise serve as separate photographic studios—of an industrial building in Hudson Yards. There were ten designers in the lineup, covering menswear, genderless, and a touch of womenswear. These brands were all relatively indie, with a distinct take on what constitutes “menswear,” and ranged from new (as in launched last year) to established (operating for nearly a decade).
The last couple of years have seen menswear evolve away from collections designed as companions to women’s lineups into a highly directional category. There’s the genderlessness of it all, which continues to evolve as our own perspective does, and therefore serves as one of fashion’s most precise cultural barometers; the retro and upcycling-friendly sensibility introduced into the mainstream by the likes of Bode that changed the way men dressed seemingly overnight with its lace button downs and patchwork separates; and trends like Gorpcore, which started as niche and insular style subcultures and exploded onto the streets and runways. Menswear today is arguably as defining and tone-setting as womenswear, and New York Men’s Day offers an edit of what that looks like from the city’semerging voices.
