NEW YORK FASHION WEEK MEN: AN IMPORTANT STOP ON THE FASHION CIRCUIT

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he New York fashion week is back into action with new styles of fashion, beauty and accessories for men, with designers beginning to debut their latest spring ’18 collections.

David Hart, the New York designer showcased his collection which used tourism in Cuba as the central theme and displayed light summer wear. A romanticised imagery of Cuba exposed through film,photos and music was utilized many times in his 2018 Spring/Summer collection.

New York Fashion Week for Men is fast becoming an important pit-stop on the fashion circuit. Taofeek Abijako, a designer from Nigeria, drew inspiration from the colonial and post-colonial history of western Africa for his label’s ‘Head of State’ street-wear which saw male models dressed in boxy fits and bright colours.

Julian Woodhouse, a military man turned fashion favourite in New York called his collection ‘Field Day’, which showcased shining glitters amidst the confusion and hustle bustle that is common in the world today. Red and blue were heavily featured in the collection and his trademark approach of adding graphic prints and putting a layer of hardware on everything added his individualistic element to the design. A shirt with oversized pockets saying RIGHT and LEFT was the attention seeker for the evening.

Feng Chen Wang, a designer from China functioned as a myth-buster as he redefined the ‘Made In China’ goods while generating awareness about the most reputable textile factories in China with the most skilled craftsmen in the industry. The designer showed some multi-pocketed beige colored bullet vests, 3-D “MIC” lettered fancy fanny packs, mesh-overlaid track pants, shimmery nylon duster coats and wool tartan industrial work shirts.The Spring’18 Men’s Fashion also offered a number of luxurious footwear styles. Classic Italian shoe brands displayed their love of the craft, debuting new collections that put emphasis on the design and the material.

Sneakers have been seen ruling the runways since a long time now — at the New York Fashion Week for Men, designers have focused on the classics, balancing the modern menswear with iconic sneaker styles like Adidas Stan Smith or Gola low-tops. The spring collection also featured three Toms styles, including espadrilles, Huarache slip-ons and a new style called the Deconstructed Alpargatas.

The spring ’18 collections of men’s fashion month has kick started the sandal trend. Classic crisscross and ankle strap styles have been trending since long when they entered the fashion scene. At this year's fashion week, there was some fresh experimentation with new shapes and designs, such as the fisherman sandal. Pool slides and flip-flops also proved to be the season’s breakout stars, done in luxurious versions like the ribboned style by Haider Ackermann.

While several high-profile American brands decided to abandon New York Fashion Week for Paris, at least one major international name did the opposite by bringing her show back to town for the first time. Rihanna presented her first Fenty Puma collection at 23 Wall Street for spring 2018 going from Japanese Goth to frilly 18th-century-inspired sport to stereotypical wayward schoolyard cliques — but always maintaining a sporty, gender-fluid baseline. This year we expect the designer to again keep us in anticipation of her collection.

Teddy Ondo Ella brought his eponymous label to New York Fashion Week for Men, showing at Art Beam. In an era of where Black fashion industry professionals are breaking glass to showcase their collection, to see one of the few Black designers at New York Fashion Week Men's celebrating Gabonese culture was refreshing for the audience to see. The show opened with drums circling while performing acrobatic stunts, stalking on top of each other in a cross formation and tumbling as the show celebrated the country of Gabon. The models walked the runway in blacks and yellow checkered pants, blue suits with village pattern prints and geometric pattern shirts drew the cultural beauty of Gabonese people.

New York Fashion Week has uncovered many new elements giving new look to the people for the season and would continue to do so in the upcoming shows.