New York menswear designers brought their A-game to the Fall 2018 men’s shows with a slew of heavy-hitting designers that had jaw dropping shows all over the city. John Varvatos held his men’s show a day before the Grammy’s and had a star studded front row including the Jonas brothers. Varvatos had us dreaming of fall with the coziest layers of sweaters, velvet and scarves. Tom Ford kicked things off with the most glamorous show of men’s fashion week. Ford debuted a line of sexy men’s underwear that almost outshone his evening wear and iconic Tom Ford sunglasses, but not quite. Hollywood star quality shone brightly at Joseph Abboud with handsome suiting and a return to classic American tailoring. One of the most anticipated shows of the week was Raf Simons, with his Caravaggio still life set of an orgiastic feast and flowers that all but distracted from the barrage of drug references on the clothing. If streetwear is more your style, then the ultra-futuristic styling of technical fabrics combine to make C2H4 a brand you should have on your radar. Of course it wouldn’t be New York Fashion Week without some sort of social message: Sanchez-Kane shined a spotlight on the repression of gay rights in Mexico with plenty of overtly sexual statement pieces. Scroll down to see our picks of the top 10 designers at New York Men’s Fashion Week Fall 2018.
Tom Ford
Unsurprisingly topping our list of the top 10 New York men’s shows is Tom Ford’s Fall 2018 collection; the epitome of luxury. This season Ford expertly combines elements of streetwear with his sophisticated styling to create the perfect city guy wardrobe. Monochrome is the name of the game with neutrals taking center stage in color schemes such as blush, nudes, and gray, many of which were elevated by a python print. Super slim cut trousers and chicly tailored suits were layered under shearling coats and pillowy bomber jackets were rendered in silver, blue and rose gold lamé. Tom Ford’s show exuded refinement and polished masculinity.
Raf Simons
Raf Simons debuted an explosive Fall/Winter 2018 menswear collection to a full house of fashion industry glitterati. Simons set up his own interpretation of a Drug-Fueled Last Supper resembling something like a Caravaggio still-life painting. The opulent tableaux featured artfully arranged fruits, sugary waffles, loaves of bread, half poured bottles of red wine and luscious floral bouquets as the set for his runway show titled “Youth in Motion.” The show marks Simons’ one-year anniversary since moving his label from Paris to New York Men’s Fashion Week: where Simons has become the most anticipated show of New York men’s fashion week.
Todd Snyder
Todd Snyder hit the ground running with a strong Ivy League centric collection and collaboration with Champion. Snyder artfully combines loungewear with polished athletic silhouettes, imbuing the clothes with a timeless vintage appeal. many of the time honored American classics are present — stripes, varsity sweaters, denim on denim, turtlenecks, and preppy coats. It’s a retro prep school uniform meets the “too cool for school” jock. Jumpsuits and sumptuous velvet track suits bring the inspiration into 2018, all while maintaining the nostalgic familiarity of autumn.
John Varvatos
John Varvatos’ fall collection celebrates everything we’ve come to love about autumn in the city, injected with the sort of haphazard spontaneity that somehow still reads meticulously orchestrated. The silhouettes are soft and romantic with concentrated layers of velvet, knits and shearling. Varvatos 2.0 offers a fresh update in the form of blazers, sport coats, bomber jackets, and even joggers with a supple, crushed effect. Scrunched socks and knit cardigans underneath sport coats topped with knitted beanies and dark tinted aviators lend a cool toughness to the looks.
Joseph Abboud
Joseph Abboud’s collection epitomizes the sex appeal of old Hollywood actors like Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Stewart, and Gene Kelly. The clothes harken to the golden years of male movie stars dressed to the nines in waistcoats, topcoats, sport coats and neckties. Bespoke suiting in luxurious tweed came in a variety of pinstripes and glen plaids — all in shades of grey. The looks are romantic and far from mundane with pops of vivid red and deep sapphire blue on jackets. The most opulent metallic fabrics bring a richness from past decades into the modern world without reading as a throwback. With a collection focused on preserving the art of dressing up, Joseph Abboud shows us that streetwear still has some competition.
C2H4
Emerging LA label C2H4 was largely inspired by alchemy this season and the concept of combining materials to create something entirely new. C2H4 unveiled not one but two collections; one titled “Chemist” and the other “Potential Ego.” The collection featured plenty of Hypebeast worthy cargo pants and lab coats trimmed in weatherproof, technical fabrics. In addition to an MA-1 bomber jacket, a streetwear must have, the label also collaborated with cult Japanese brand, Number (N)ine to add a rock-grunge aesthetic to the brands futuristic fabrications. Though C2H4 is only just emerging, they are already developing quite a reputation and featured rapper “Bloody Osiris” and singer Jesse Rutherford as models. Not to mention, Jaden Smith wore C2H4 to the Grammy’s earlier this year.
N.Hoolywood
Just when you thought Timberland’s popularity had come to an end, Timberland rolls out a fresh new Pro line. Japanese designer Daisuke Obana of N.Hoolywood put a fresh spin on the iconic brand and cast real construction workers to model the line, providing a level of refreshing authenticity. Oversized workwear staples such as slouchy cargo work pants loaded with pockets and chunky overalls felt right at home in the worksite-turned-runway. Colors were mostly neutral, save for the trademark “hazard yellow” and “safety orange” traditionally seen on construction sites. There were also graphic plaids, camo prints and pocketed t-shirts that fell far below the knee. The styling maintained an authenticity of heavily layered protective workwear staples topped with knitted beanies, just like they wear on the field. With so much inspiration derived from the streets lately, we’re excited to see fashion becoming more democratized.
Luar
In only his second Men’s Fashion Week presentation, designer Raul Lopez continued his exploration of abstract and sometimes bizarre concepts. His rapidly evolving label featured sculptural tailoring as Luar ripped apart conservative suiting and deconstructed the silhouettes into complex geometric pieces that caused more than a few double-takes. One of the more outlandish looks features a model in an understated long gray, wool sheath dress with a matching duster coat. Rather than zeroing in on her outfit, what really stood out were the industrial stilts strapped onto ultra-trendy, chunky sneakers. In another look, a model sported a fur trimmed tricorn hat over long boxer braids wearing a kimono-inspired wrap coat and wide-legged trousers.
Sanchez-Kane
Talk about NSFW: Mexican designer Barbara Sanchez-Kane caused quite a stir with her sexually charged runway show complete with half naked ballet dancers dancing around giant white phallic sculptures. The show was Sanchez-Kane’s creative approach to addressing the repression of gay culture in Mexico. Models wore nipple exposing shirts and deconstructed suiting inspired by school uniforms rendered in abstract sculptural silhouettes and topped with ornamental headwear. Copious amounts of facial jewelry and exaggerated lined makeup added to the eccentricity of each model; though there were only 21 looks, the show was filled to the brim with curious details and more than enough shock value.
Carlos Campos
Carlos Campos shook things up a notch in New York with a collection honoring late mariachi singer and fashion icon, Juan Gabriel. “I love mariachis and their music and I wanted to reinterpret what Juan Gabriel would have worn today,” the designer explained of his unique source of inspiration. The details and silhouettes were distinctly influenced by “charro” and mariachi culture, yet kept modern with a pared down minimal approach and bold graphic lines. Campos’ sublime fall men’s collection is perfectly on trend with the southwestern influence we’ve seen on other runways this season.
If you like this post, see more New York Fashion Week Men’s Fall 2018 here.
