adminNew York played catch-up with Europe in launching its first men’s fashion week yesterday, a four-day showcase for US spring/summer 2016 collections in an rapidly expanding market.
Big-name labels Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors and Polo Ralph Lauren rub shoulders with the up-and-coming such as Public School, Thom Browne, Michael Bastian and Rag and Bone.
Designers will present more than 50 shows, spread across four days and concentrated at the Skylight Clarkson studio in trend-setting West Soho.
The menswear market is champing at the bit for recognition after being drowned out for years by the twice-yearly fashion weeks in the Big Apple, which feature hundreds and hundreds of womenswear shows.
“American menswear has never been stronger or more creative,” said Steven Kolb, CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
“New York Fashion Week: Men’s” will now be held twice a year, in July and January, following established events in London, Milan and Paris.
Kolb called it “an opportunity to demonstrate the collective talent of an important segment of our industry”.
Patricia Mears, deputy director of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, said interest has picked up in recent years for menswear.
Bloggers have led the way in driving interest, filling a void left by the fashion press and travelling to Europe to see the shows.
“With so much interest, a huge number of American retailers, bloggers and followers, it just made sense that that needed to happen here,” she said.
Menswear has seen phenomenal growth in the last six years. Sartorial tastes are more developed than a generation ago. And all sectors of the market – luxury, casual and discount – are buoyant, experts say.
From 2009 to 2015, US online men’s clothing sales grew at an astonishing average annual rate of 17,3 percent to $9,6 billion.
In-store sales in the US grew at an average annual rate of 4,1 percent to $10,9 billion from 2010 to 2015. – AFP.
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