Just a fraction of the hundreds of shows at New York Fashion
Week are devoted to men's lines, and they attract far smaller
crowds and less coverage, yet the menswear scene is flourishing.
Driving sales are younger men shedding traditional looks in
favor of color, casual styles and quirky twists on classics.
"The men’s market is steadily growing and for many retailers it
has outsold their womenswear," said Matt Feniger, associate
editor for menswear at WGSN, which predicts trends and style for
the fashion and retail industries.
"Men are much more willing to experiment with fashion and
try new things and this is reflected in sales," he said.
In the United States, men’s apparel sales outperformed
womenswear last year, market research shows. Menswear grew 5
percent in 2013 to $60.8 billion, according to the NPD Group, a
trend and sales tracking company. Womenswear retail sales grew 4
percent to $116.4 billion last year, NPD said.
"It's a really, really great moment right now. Men are dressing
differently," said Lucio Castro, an Argentinian-born menswear
designer who just showed his collection in New York.
Fashion Week in New York runs through Thursday, when it wraps up
with shows by Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs.
"Men don't really want to be uniformed anymore," Castro said.
He noted the popularity of sweatpants, trim and skinny, which he
showed in his collection that evoked Soviet-era summers on the
beaches of Odessa and Sopot.
Timo Weiland showed linen sweatpants topped with a classically
styled button-down shirt and blazer. Todd Snyder matched
sweatpants with a tailored jacket and mixed sweatshirts with
tuxedo pants.
[to top of second column] |
Sweatpants were popular as well in the debut collection of tailored
athletic looks by Grungy Gentleman.
New York-based Duckie Brown had some fun with outsized plaid
overshirts and high-waisted trousers. Richard Chai mixed slouchy
shorts with a tailored jacket.
David Hart showed argyle-patterned polo shirts and flashy
luminescent suits, while W.R.K. took inspiration from Formula 1
racing with prints drawn from garage oil stains, racing flags and
tire marks.
"I think men are experimenting a little more and caring more about
how they look, the way clothes fit, the fabrication, the way they
feel," said Michael Maccari, the new creative director at Perry
Ellis who showed his debut collection this week.
"Even if they are not daring, they appreciate quality, details, fit,
fabrication, hand feel and things like that," he said.
At one time, the only playground for fun or color in menswear was
ties, and then socks and now sneakers, said Castro.
"There's definitely a comfort zone that expands and grows really
slowly," he said.
"It's definitely a very fine balance in menswear," he said. "Men
will not feel comfortable if it's something too new or too strange."
(Additional reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|