Manning it up in New York

February 21, 2012

Menswear, the perennial poor relation of women's high fashion, stepped it up a notch last week, as New York runways reflected men's rising interest in fashion.

At New York's Fashion Week which ran last week, designers and style watchers said suits were the hot sellers.

"It's about guys who are 30 buying suits," said Tyler Thoreson, head of Gilt Groupe's menswear editorial and creative divisions.

"The sort of traditional boxy suit your dad wore to work is not what these guys are wearing. What these guys are wearing is less formal and it's much more stylish."

Men have started following fashion blogs and they're looking to dress up, said menswear designer Michael Bastian.

"The customer, this young guy, is really educated, reads every blog, is all over the internet and he really has high expectations with his tailored clothing," Bastian said.

With the luxury menswear market growing at about 14 per cent a year, or nearly double that of luxury womenswear, according to consultancy Bain & Co, the financial stakes are high.

"High fashion menswear used to be a bit of a joke, but it's becoming a genuine influence. It's beginning to duplicate women's wear," said David Wolfe, creative director of retail consultants Doneger Group.

A demographic that was once "style conscious young men and very label conscious," is "now grown up, and bringing that same style sensitivity and label snobbery as adults," Wolfe said.

Tom Julian, author and retail trends expert, noted growth in the expanding $US50 billion-plus menswear arena for clothing such as jeans, knits and accessories.

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Julian cited major retailers like Saks adding a denim room, and Ralph Lauren's new Rugby concept. With about a dozen stand-alone stores, Rugby specialises in edgier styling and lower prices targeting younger shoppers than Ralph Lauren's traditional clientele.

"There is more interest in tailoring touches for sportswear," he noted. Accordingly, "casual has shifted beyond what was - khakis and button-downs. Unstructured or knit jackets, sweater jackets and the like allow for layering and individualising."

The collections at New York's Fashion Week, when hundreds of designers show both men's and women's fall lines, bore that out.

And like the women's shows, some of which displayed hallmarks of popular 1920s-era films, menswear took a page from the popular Downton Abbey British TV series, set on the eve of the 20s, with heavy use of cord, velvet and grosgrain trims and round-collar shirts.

Dressed up casual

Wolfe characterised the looks as "much more well-behaved than 'rebel rocker,'" while Julian noted that "men have embraced colour in unexpected ways - a bright coloured check shirt, the coloured chinos, the coloured shoes."

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"Many men today like the idea of taking a tailored item like a blazer or a necktie and making it less formal to play into their look," Julian noted.

Tommy Hilfiger's ambitious show on Friday reflected trends seen throughout the week: quilted sleeves and vests, lots of narrow horizontal stripes, high-collared doubled breasted coats topping striped vertiginous turtlenecks.

While Hilfiger showed a lot of leather, it was softer, nonthreatening and decidedly non-biker. Unstructured jackets suggested English schoolboys, while colours included dark rose, grays, mustard, teal and lots of reds.

John Bartlett, who once hewed closely to militaristic influences, showed plaid vests, checked pants that suggested pyjamas and blanket coats that paid homage to LL Bean's Hudson Bay classic. Even his motorcycle and racing jackets revealed softer, less-structured tailoring. Splashes of yellow and orange livened the looks even more.

Plaids and checks also figured highly at Duckie Brown's show, which made heavy use of textured gray and charcoal fabrics including tweeds. Crocheted sleeveless tops typified many of the relatively un-macho looks.

Richard Chai's show meanwhile was dominated by denim and blue work clothes, featuring car coats and separates in a range of somber tones of gray, black and charcoal.

"Even affluent men are questioning whether fashion is the best use of their money," noted Candace Corlett, president of retail strategies consultancy WSL Strategic Retail.

"That says there has to be a semblance of utility, function and longevity - it's got to span a few seasons, even a few year and withstand the hot and cold of trends."