Designer interviews: New York Men's Day NYMD / NYFW

Ten designers, ten collections and multiple sponsors gathered on one day during NYFW to bring you SS22 New York Men's Day (NYMD). The Art Institutes were there, front and center.

See all the fashion presentations, an alternative to runway, and hear from the designers as they discuss sustainability, trends and creativity with Ai LIVE's E. Vincent Martinez.

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Off-White FW20 Menswear

For his Fall/Winter 2020 menswear collection, titled “Tornado Warning,” Virgil Abloh significantly deepens— and anchors—Off-White’s established identity.

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Abloh’s sensibilities continue to pull away from the term “streetwear,” but he is not discarding his hand of in-the-know familiarity. In this lineup, the designer pushes the idea wheel forward, layering in singular silhouettes, innovative suiting, and dressier formal and outerwear.

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Theory Fall 2019 Menswear

As luxury houses commit anew to tailoring and champion a certain masculine elegance, contemporary brands that tend to traffic in more casual fare face a quandary: to follow suit or not. Theory, a brand with its roots in officewear, back when offices required suiting, would seem to be better positioned than many other labels to succeed in 2019. Indeed, the company’s menswear designer Martin Andersson noted a behind-the-scenes focus on improving fabric quality. It was noticeable in a pair of suits, one black, the other a deep shade of burgundy. He showed layered knits, crewneck on top of mock-neck. The label isn’t giving up on that casual fare entirely.

Design and art world names both relatively unfamiliar and famous were among Andersson’s references for Fall. Faye Toogood’s Roly Poly fiberglass chairs, with their scooped seats and thick legs, seemed to inform his tailoring. A bonded twill duffle coat was cut with rounded kimono sleeves, and an unlined wool jersey blazer was constructed with raw edges. The results in both cases were clean and structured yet yielding—easy to wear. The painters Soulages and Rothko, meanwhile, informed the palette, with its understated emphasis on black layers and varying shades of red. All around, this Theory collection felt in step with the season’s dominant themes and talking points.

Source: VogueRunway

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ROMEO HUNTE SPRING 2019 RUNWAY MEN

Designer Romeo Hunte showcased his first Men’s Ready- to- Wear collection at PHD, Dream Downtown Hotel New York. The Spring 2019 collection was inspired by the Brooklyn streetwear style, that is to the Romeo Hunte collection. This Spring, Romeo was inspired by luxe streetwear meets swimwear, made for the everyday man who wants a classic outerwear piece with a luxurious vibe and twist.

The modern yet classic silhouettes, which are the designer’s true aesthetic were matched beautifully with the Brooklyn street style inspired silhouettes and swimwear. Hunte focused on bringing out the defiant look in his garments by incorporating oversized coats on his models. The designer focused on impactful functional Neoprene wetsuits paired with his signature powerful outerwear that ruled the runway.

Hunte’s fantasy was to add two juxtaposing elements together- Swimwear pieces and Fur to create innovative garments. The collection consisted of light overcoats, mix media jackets and wetsuits. This collection personified the strong nature of water and fur through powerful and impeccable creations. Pops of primary colors- blue, red and yellow were seen in luxe mix media fabrics including mink fur, denim, camouflage, cotton and French terry and the reinvention of the designer’s signature pieces. The models walked down the runway, featuring an array of Hunte's collaborations with Swarovski, Look Mate London Socks, Kopenhagen Fur, and Teva.

The Spring 2019 Ready-To-Wear collection offers an array of styles for everyday men who is looking for signature outerwear pieces with a twist at a luxury vibe. Romeo Hunte the brand has been seen on celebrities like Victor Cruz, Evan Turner, Trevor Jackson, Zendaya, Beyoncé, Halle Berry, who appreciate high-quality craftsmanship.

ROMEO HUNTE NEW YORK the brand is a definitive lifestyle brand created for all. It is a line that is cool, and intricate. Powerful and impeccable outerwear such as the signature shawl is one of the core elements of Romeo Hunte the brand. The vision is to create modern classic apparel that is luxurious, practical and transitional at a contemporary price point.

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Loewe Spring 2019 Menswear

Loewe's lookbook for their 2019 menswear collection was shot by famed photographer Duane Michals. [Look for the cameos!]

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[My] "Style Signature" Shoot with Atlanta-based photographer Ralph Collins

A couple years back, a young photographer caught my eye at the Ragtrade Atlanta runway show. Ralph Collins was framing his shots in an unconventional way by using different angles and suggesting art and movement.

Recently, he contacted me and offered a photo shoot but gave me a challenge at the same time. He wanted to capture "my style" and gave me three parameters to feature: brunch, casual day and formal. This wasn't the challenge! The challenge was that I had to pull from my own wardrobe - yep, my closet. At first I thought damn, I like when I get to play with labels from Saks or Jeffrey Atlanta - I'm tired of what's in my closet. You understand, right? Ralph's request made me think a little harder and appreciate what I already had. For the "formal" look, I knew I didn't want to do black tie so I opted for a suit and tie. Gucci suit, YSL coat and a crisp white shirt from Nordstrom. The safari jacket and green sweater for brunch and for a stylish casual look I went with joggers and a Chanel sweatshirt, sneakers by Tods.

Ralph was pleased with my choices. This is what he said about the shoot: 

The man himself, Mr. Fashionado, E. Vincent Martinez, stands in front of my lens for the very first time and it was a true experience. What is very understated is the level of personal style that the titled "style bloggers" have, due often to the assumption that their style is birthed from the necessity of their profession. With this photoshoot, I challenged that paradigm and requested that Vincent would come to the shoot prepared, given only the parameters of three occasions "Brunch" "Casual Day" and "Formal Dress". When we arrived at the studio for setup, and he began to display the wardrobe, he spoke with such assurance, such understanding in each piece and the meaning behind them and the memories that were attached to them; completely in awe I hung on every word while imagining exactly how I wanted to showcase them. 

Vincent's signature style became clear to me as we began to shoot. Simple staples with characteristics that reflect the functionality in which they're meaning to be used. No item brought simply for the sake of a logo, name recognition, or the need to prove one as "fashionable", but all items brought as a reflection of the necessary functions. 

I'm flattered and humbled. Thank you Ralph Collins. Keep doing what you're doing!

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Julien David Fall 2018 Menswear

“I wanted to take a step and look at the sociological aspect—how we behave,” he confirmed. “I [thought] to abduct specific characters and just study the human species.” 

Julien David / Vogue

Julien David Fall 2018 Menswear - David featured 20 looks and 20 breeds wearing "normal" clothes. The models were hanging out in a presentation playing cards, drinking whiskey and exercising. Per Vogue, the masks proved to be more expressive than your average model.

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