CFDA designers, Woolmark nominees to shine at fifth NYFW: Men's season

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Jul 5, 2017

Men’s fashion month will come to an end this season with New York Fashion Week: Men’s. As NYFW: Men’s embarks on its fifth season this month from July 10 through 13, top name designers such as Tim Coppens, John Varvatos, John Elliott, and Billy Reid are noticeably absent, making way for emerging stars like Rochambeau and Matiere.

The CFDA first introduced NYFW: Men’s in 2015 to much fanfare. Fashion’s menswear community felt ready and obliged by the introduction of a men’s fashion week in New York City.

The introduction of the men’s fashion week allowed for designers and brands to show their latest collections pre-market in July and August, instead of presenting in September with the women’s collections after the men’s market was fully closed.

The first NYFW: Men’s season included runway shows and presentations from Thom Browne, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein Collection, Michael Kors, Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, Public School, Rag & Bone, Michael Bastian, Greg Lauren, Alexandre Plokhov, and Siki Im among other top names. All have since left the schedule, however, in favour of see-now-buy-now shows, moving to the women’s schedule or other cities, or skipping runway shows altogether.
 
Though the idea of the American fashion capital hosting a menswear dedicated fashion week seemed exciting and the central location of Skylight Clarkson Square in SoHo made show attendance simpler, many were not moved by the inaugural season. Mashable was the first website or publication to express that NYFW: Men’s is “just okay” and High Snobiety declared months after that NYFW: Men’s “Still Has a Long Way to Go.”
 
Mashable claimed that the week lacked inspiration, while High Snobiety said that the week lacked buzz names.
 
The recent addition of Raf Simons to the NYFW: Men’s schedule in February 2017 seemed to be the answer. The Belgian designer brought excitement to the week again, and appeared to be the star name that could entice more international menswear designers to show in New York City. Simons had presented his collections in Paris for several seasons, but he moved his show to New York City in order to not conflict with his Calvin Klein show or his new home base.
 
This season, the CFDA Womenswear and Menswear Designer of the Year is once again the biggest name on the NYFW: Men’s schedule, followed by Patrik Ervell and Todd Snyder, who were both nominated for several CFDA Awards.
 
Snyder will present his spring 2018 collection on Monday, July 10, at 7pm after New York Men’s Day, the bi-annual men’s designer showcase, and designer Teddy Ondo Ella, who is launching his eponymous tailoring label on that day.
 
NYFW: Men’s mainstays Perry Ellis, Nick Graham, N. Hoolywood, EFM Engineered for Motion, Theory, Carlos Campos and General Idea are returning this season, as well as this year’s Woolmark Prize participants Palmiers du Mal, Death to Tennis, Dyne, N-p-Elliott, and Kenneth Ning.
 
Sanchez-Kane, Feng Chen Wang, Hecho, Luar, and C2H4 Los Angeles join the NYFW: Men’s schedule for this time this season, and 2017 CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year nominee Robert Geller will debut his new line Gustav von Aschenbach.