New York Fashion Week: Men’s (NYFWM) took place for the first time last week, running from July 13th-16th, and proved to be a true fashion success story. This was the first time New York City has ever dedicated a fashion week solely to American men’s fashion, following in the foot steps of men’s weeks in the other fashion capitals of the world, including London, Paris and Milan.
NYFWM was a huge step forward for the American menswear community and a coup for the CFDA, who organized the week as a way to capitalize on the menswear buying season (which falls much earlier than womenswear, in June & July), and a way to let the menswear community shine (instead of being overshadowed as they often are in September).
For many of the bigger corporate brands that were able to afford to move their shows to Europe for Men’s Week in the past (i.e. Thom Browne, John Varvatos, Ralph Lauren, etc.), this was the first season back home on American soil in many years, and it held a great deal of significance through the newfound respect for American men’s fashion. With more then 40 menswear labels showing over the course of 4 days, ranging from new independent labels to big names, the week’s success proved that it deserves its spot on the global men’s fashion calendar.
With the majority of shows taking place within one downtown event space, Skylight Clarkson SQ (which will soon play host to the September womenswear shows), Men’s Week turned out to be one of the most civilized, painless, and frenzy free experiences most show goers have ever experienced. Additionally, because the menswear community is just that, a community, the week was filled with a general sense of camaraderie and excitement about the fashion on the runway.
While NYFWM was mainly about reestablishing menswear’s place in this country, it had the added bonus of drawing the eye of the international community. Editors from the international editions of publications like GQ, Esquire, and the Financial Times were present, as were buyers from British retailers like Harrods and Selfridges.
AMP3 PR was lucky enough to attend NYFWM and we couldn’t have been more impressed. We were especially excited to see our client Cat Footwear as the footwear partner for 2 presentations during the week. In the Kenneth Ning SS16 presentation, the designer explored the balance between subversive youth culture and clean tailoring, while being inspired by faraway desert lands. For this presentation the brand pulled two styles of Cat Footwear industrial boots, the Shelk and the Inherit. For the Gypsy Sport SS16 presentation, which Paper Magazine described as “post-apocalyptic athleisure”, the brand pulled the Streamline Composite Toe work shoe and the Interface Hi Steel Toe Work Boot.
With success though, comes the real work. Now it’s time for the American menswear community to buckle down and up it’s game for next season. It’s time to prove that American menswear deserves it’s newly earned reputation. The dates have been set for January 28th-31st and we’ll all be waiting with bated breath to see where things go from here.
Share this Post