THE TENTS NYC SS17 – DIRECTOR’S CUT
Yesterday was a historic moment in menswear: the first time Project and MRket have ever presented side by side. With the acquisition of Business Journals by UBM plc only two months young, walking the floor this time felt special. On the magazine side, we’ve always walked all the shows and covered them all with a view to unbiased reporting, and while MRket has always been our HQ, the personal relationships with both brands and people that we’ve made throughout the years at Project are in many cases as strong as those we’ve made at our own MRket. Now there’s an inclusivity, and we’re all part of something bigger, and despite that striving for objectivity before the merger, there is a definite feeling of a closer link with the Project brands and the Project team. There was a lot of love on that show floor yesterday as I walked the Tents for the first time as “part of the family”. Pretty cool.
MICHAEL BASTIAN GRAY LABEL
Michael Bastian has consistently been the must-see menswear show at New York Fashion Week. Now, Michael Bastian Gray Label offers the same Bastian aesthetic at a more accessible price point, between $125 and $195 for dress shirts, $795 and $1,295 for suits and $150 to $300 for shoes, which by the way, look fantastic.
[metaslider id=115237]PARSONS PROJECT – NEXT IN CLASS
In a partnership between Project and the New School’s Parsons School of Fashion, five of the school’s recent graduates presented their collections at the Tents, and perhaps expectedly, they were some of the most exciting and creative lines at the show (Private Policy, Ming Peng, Adi Mucktar-Barnes, Ace Kim, Raymond Natale).
[metaslider id=115242]HARDY AMIES
Of the heritage Savile Row brands, Hardy Amies has done one of the best jobs keeping up with changing times. Many brands with significant tradition struggle to stay up to date, but Hardy Amies, from their dress pants with cargo-style pockets to their denim and bomber jackets, continues to offer the excellence of Savile Row tailoring reimagined in an appropriately contemporary way.
[metaslider id=115248]ANDERSON’S
What began as an Italian belt company back in 1966 has grown to include some of the best bags on the show floor this season.
[metaslider id=115270]PRIVATE WHITE V.C.
Another British luxury brand, Private White V.C. is hand-made in England, using fabrics mostly sourced from the mills in the countryside surrounding Manchester. Designed by Nick Ashley, son of Laura Ashley, the collection is made up of items based on classic wartime pieces, updated with added functionality and detail for the modern man.
[metaslider id=115255]TROUBADOUR
Gone are the days when a guy could leave home with just a set of keys and $20 in his pocket. We need laptops, gym kits, iPads and myriad other essential extensions of ourselves. Bags can be a struggle for guys, but Troubadour’s architectural, functional designs sit comfortably in the masculine space.
[metaslider id=115259]VINCE
I’ll be honest, there were a few years where Vince struggled a touch to match the levels of excellence they were originally known for. This season though, Vince is back, with stylish silhoutettes in luxurious fabrics that are worthy of the Vince label and the luxury we’ve come to expect.
[metaslider id=115263]HUGO BY HUGO BOSS
There aren’t many menswear brands as ubiquitous as Hugo Boss. A juggernaut with stores on every major street, the brand has the kind of infrastructure across the breadth of the supply chain that make business a breeze. The red label looks fresh, with significant application of active elements that the brand has had for years. And now that the rest of the industry is catching up, Hugo by Hugo Boss is poised well for solid expansion in the sector.
[metaslider id=115266]GILDED AGE
Inspired by the early Industrial Revolution, textile production techniques and craftsmanship of old New York, Gilded Age is a casual luxury brand rooted in organic, handcrafted, and artisanal approaches to fashion design, fabric and product development. And the color palette this season gets a solid 10 out of 10.
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