SEPTEMBER 2024 NEW YORK MEN’S DAY PREVIEW

For 22 seasons, New York Men’s Day has functioned as the unofficial kick-off to New York Fashion Week. This Friday, September 6th, MR Award honoree Erin Hawker and the team at Agentry PR will work their distinctive magic yet again, spotlighting eight up-and-coming designers. We got a sneak peek at what to expect at the Spring/Summer 2025 presentations.

A. Potts

The A. Potts collection “expresses the designer’s love of beauty that unites and celebrates people of all races, sizes, ages, and gender expressions.” The Parsons graduate and Fashion Group International award-winner has worked for Ungaro, Escada, and Badgley Mischka, launching his collection in 2019. For this season, “URBANOCEANA is inspired by visions of the deep sea, the beauty of aquatic life, the warrior Princess Diana on Themyscira, beachy ’70s supermodels, African gods and goddesses descended on the sandy beaches of Zanzibar, traditional Japanese workwear and the work of South African photographers Jessica Madavo and Tanatswa Amisi. The collection is a convergence of that dream state with the practicality of urban life, designed through our lens of ‘everyday editorial,’ designed for creative professionals. Join us where the sea meets the city.”

Clara Son

Clara Son’s Reminiscence collection is “inspired by a recurring dream that offered solace during one of the most difficult times in my life. This dream, which returned to me after years, became a sanctuary and a reminder of hope and beauty amidst hardship. Simply put, this collection is about how a dream can become our beautiful sanctuary and a reminder of hope and beauty during times of struggle and hardship.”

 

Earthling

This collection, making its NYMD debut, is sold at H. Lorenzo, The Webster, Patron Of The New, and As You Are. “This season is inspired by an era of classics. We are pulling from a time in history that touched everyone’s hearts, capturing the energy, essence, and style of Janet Jackson’s ‘Rhythm Nation,’ Michael Jackson, and Prince. Our chosen family, the Earthlings, reflects the spirit of warriors and the powerful energy of beings coming together to leave our footprint on this journey of expression. This season, we are bridging the gap between that iconic era and infusing it with new life for 2024.”

The Salting

One of our favorite new collections, The Salting, was awarded FGI’s Rising Star award earlier this year. The CFDA and the St. Regis Hotel also selected it to showcase its collection at last June’s Pitti. The brand is carried at Bergdorf Goodman, Peoples, Aerin, and other US retailers. The collection is co-owned and co-designed by design veterans and married couple Michael Ward and Manuel Smaldone. “Our Spring/Summer 2025 collection is titled Il Mare: following our recent trip to Italy with the St Regis Hotel/CFDA, we took inspiration from the Italian seaside. drawing inspiration from the Italian film directors Visconti, Fellini, and Antonioni and their masterful portrayals of the sheer beauty of seaside life.

Sivan

Brooklyn-based designer Jack Sivan founded his brand in 2021. “This collection is a garden party, a collection of springtime menswear tailoring inspired visually by a few John Singer Sargent paintings, and styled as some cross between the 1880s and 1980s.”

of–nothing

Self-taught designer Jack Fullerton’s unisex brand is carried at & Son. This season’s inspiration comes from examining the nature of experience and connecting with it in a direct, material sense.

Stan

In 2019, Stan designer Tristan Detwiler created his first chore jacket from a 19th-century quilt for a school project. Eight months later, using his mom’s old Singer sewing machine, he crafted 18 jackets and showcased them at New York Fashion Week. “My inspiration comes from the laid-back allure of the Southern California beach lifestyle and the rich narratives of textiles from around the world. I travel globally to find story-rich antique textiles, bringing them back to my Los Angeles atelier to transform these forgotten pieces into fashion through the lens of the Southern California surfer, intertwining history with contemporary design.”

Sermon Series

Designed by Santanna Hayes and Tormier Jordan, this New York-based brand debuted in 2022 during Paris Fashion Week at Place Des Vosges. This season’s collection “draws on the holistic connection between spirit, soul, and body, reflecting these elements through fashion that embodies confident masculinity characteristics. This line is designed for the modern man who leads with strength, integrity, and style, embracing both traditional and modern masculinity while staying true to values of sustainability and spiritual depth.”

Tarpley

This is the third season showing at NYMD, and it is the first collection shown there by a Tennessee-based designer. Apparently a designer of few words, the collection’s inspiration is cited as “Aura +1000000.”

Terry Singh

Receiving the FGI President Award for Excellence earlier this year, Singh says “For the past few seasons, I’ve explored the possibilities in menswear, but I realize now that I’ve been stuck in a loop, circling the same ideas. This collection is my way of breaking free, turning inward to rediscover the essence of my personal culture. A celebration of my journey from growing up in New York City in the late ’70s to now, engaging with life in a more authentic and graceful way, where I’m welcoming others as reflections of my own experiences. The icons of New York—the Knicks, the Yankees, and the enduring spirit of Kobe Bryant—have all been constants in my life, connecting me to people from all walks of life. This season, I’m stepping away from what I’ve done before and presenting something raw and real: my own wardrobe. This collection is not just about clothes, but about breaking free from repetition and embracing a new chapter of creativity and connection.