Patrick Michael Hughes Senior Fashion Editor, Men's Fashion Writer
NEW YORK: "Come what may"......Fashion Week has basically come and gone in the Big Apple, in spite of overwhelming critique that its dead, New York is not a fashion capital, the city has no style and its not even on the conscious radar of New Yorkers anymore....blah, blah, blah .etc ... It would be wise to never underestimate New York's communities of creatives in fashion nor the ambition that New York still embodies....its still all about what it takes to get here and even more now than ever, what it takes to stay here.
The dynamic may not be the same as some veterans of a different generation recall, as the glory days of the centralized Bryant Park or the slick facilities at the Lincoln Center omitting memories of the lingering fragrances of the lavatory throughout the entire venue. Its key that current criticisms don't become 'code' for less than because of the current rich diversity and wide ranging inclusivity form gender expression to racial identity and the pierced ,tattooed and swaddled in one of a kind pieces making sustainable and technical statements. If this were a trend report it would be clear the trend in New York and America. This fashion and market news has been consistent for several seasons at IRK we see you, all of you, "beautiful humans".
A few of the highlights from NYMDY - presented by Agentry PR in partnership with VICTORINOX a Swiss company known for well-thought-out products with precision and care for more than 140 years, were a number of returning brands to New York Fashion Week and new brands form the mid-west.
Fashion veteran and genderless designer Aaron Potts was back at NYMD this season with a collection entitled Urbanoceana. Spring 2025 is inspired by "visions of the deep sea, the beauty of aquatic life, the warrior Princess Diana on Themyscira, beach- seventies- supermodels and African Gods and Goddesses who have descended on the sandy beaches of Zanzibar. There was also traditional Japanese workwear in outstanding rich denim in true dark indigo saturation. The collection also featured South African photographers Jessica Madavo and Tanatswa Amisi.
A.POTTS' collection was a convergence of a "dream-state with the practicality of urban life, designed through a lens of "everyday editorial". The designer states that the collection is for everyday professionals, a nod no doubt to the legacy and heritage of of Seventh Avenue Fashion and the craft and work established by other gone too soon, Black designers such as Willi Smith and Scott Barrie.
There were moments in this collection where the draping, knotting and twisting of fabric recalled the fashion techniques of Mme. Vionnet, the musings of Cleopatra Jones by di Sant Angelo and Barrie's iconic cover for the first anniversary of Essence Magazine. What is particularly fabulous and consistent about Potts's clothes is that they look good on every race, expression and age .The shoes were from Stacy Adams for men and Aldo for women.
Jack Sivan is much more than a tailor he has a strong appreciation for art and the narratives within paintings. Spring 2025 was a 'Garden Party' which took its influence from John Singer Sargent's picnics of traveling companions completed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was an ideal musing and a timely one since Sargent has been on the consciousness of art historical discussion with major retrospectives traveling from the Museum of Fine Art in Boston to the Tate in London. The work is viewed through the generalized lens of fashion studies in Boston and in London through the lens of fashion history making connections to the portrayals of wealth in early modernist American niches at the top of the twentieth century. SIVAN's color palate was inspired by the painter's soft tones ideal for glowing summer light admiring perfect pastoral settings.
The attendees of SIVAN's garden party were dressed in a wonderful rage of cotton, linen and light weight worsted fabrication. The over all look of the collection exuded a quiet luxurious modesty. The fully cut trousers. ankle grazing dresses and skirts and light cape like items created an interesting and accessible mix of fashion statements and pieces clearly geared toward wardrobe longevity.
Jack Sivan is a sustainable men's designer whose work is inspired by traditional tailoring with a full lean into the craft of garment making. The brand embraces the expanding , definitions of men's fashion and sustainable manufacturing, which is inherent in good design. What was notable about this season was the greater movement towards a range of cuts and fits suitable for a fashionable set of different ages, bodies and stories to share.
THE SALTING was another NYMD luxury highlight, founded by Creative Directors Michael Ward and Manel Garcia Espejo. Spring 2025 was a simply stunning collection which highlighted tailored and polish looks and items for the forthcoming season.
The vocabulary associated with the brand is "ease', flowing silhouettes in lightweight stripe fabrications, with branded details of bound patch pockets. The color palate for Spring 2025 ranged from neutral colors to a whimsical nautical print featuring tall white clipper ships on a vibrant red background. The brand has a strong connection to luxury resort and truly fantastic destination chic. It caters to a well healed clientele and is found at top tier retailers and well as by appointment through the brand.
The reason this season was so striking was not just the upswing in tailoring but the way the looks came together in a tremendously American vocabulary. IRK has admired THE SALTING for a number seasons and has enjoyed the voluminous silhouettes well suited far away vacation style. This collection felt closer to New York City and even a bit of classic Seventh Avenue American Sportswear. The informed fashion eye will see skillful and adept items recalling the craft of Geoffrey Beene and classic clean lines of early Calvin Klein. These clothes are not historic revisits of the past but a continuation of an American fashion conversation with a nuanced vocabulary looking to the legacy of American style. The brand has a bit more of a savvy market nuance this season, seen all the way down to the toes with the inclusion of Florsheim RUCCI Moc Toe Penny Loafer in Burgundy for all the looks.
STAN Los Angeles founded by Tristan Detwiler is an honorable mention. The brand was also back for another season at NYMD after a hiatus. The brand is a full-service tailoring business featuring an extensive range of century-old textiles from lace to quilting which are transformed into another iteration of hand crafted custom up-cycled garments.
Located in downtown Los Angeles the atelier has a vast and well curated collection of antique textiles. Detwiler is a craftsman whose business is expanding to include not only the high-end bespoken garments but the inclusion of RTW items such as denim shorts, t-shirts and clothing items for everyday wear and use.
It was clear that sustainability is hard and expensive and in order to maintain a business one needs new items as well to expand a client base that can't afford the truly one of a kind museum quality masterpieces. STAN Los Angeles specializes in taking "dirt stained remnants of tattered, worn textiles, ingrained with stories of hand woven fibers" ....in every textile there is history and a global experience.Antique and globally sourced textiles enables the designer to peer into faraway culture, ritual, religion, and family histories.
The strength of STAN Los Angeles is the imprint of memories and the projected stories from the past it is an oral history and a tactile artifact of material culture. The brand states that the goal of STAN Los Angeles is to "re-contextualize stories into clothing and allow long lost memories to live on."
For Spring 2025 the brand presented a number of looks on everyday people as well as numerous dress forms, this clothing needs people to bring the lost and living memory alive. It would be best if the models did not speak or have to engage with observers about the brand save that for Pitti Immagine Uomo.
"How can you just leave me standing......Alone in a world that's so cold? ...Maybe I'm just too demanding..Maybe I'm just like my father, too bold. Maybe you're just like my mother ...She's never satisfied... Why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like .....When Doves Cry"
These iconic lyrics of a generation and in the history of Rock and Roll were part of the inspiration for the first time presentation at NYMD, EARTHLING . A fashion brand worth taking note of from Minnesota marked its debut at New York Fashion Week.
EARTHLING states that its ultimate goal is to "transcend societal norms and discover the essence of each individual. This means solidifying the wearer's self and identity beyond the dichotomous perceptions and roles imposed by society." EARTHLING celebrates" individuals who live in a world where the wearer themselves becomes the standard, not others." its founder and co-owners Jihoon Kim and Tracey Mills are interested in embracing diversity, finding beauty through respect and inclusivity rather than exclusive standards. EARTHLING is a space for expression and freedom.
As the brand name suggests, EARTHLING cherishes and respects nature, advocating for sustainable fashion rather than a disposable garment system. Every action and choice we make considers the future of Earth and humanity. The brand aims to avoid mass production and strive towards a direction where everyone can find happiness rather than solely pursuing profit.
The collections name and look highlighted a middle American rock fashion aesthetic. These felt like the edgy student and the creative urchin in a large public school high school from a number the rural towns and neighborhoods in the state. The feel of the garments was making do out of, consignment, thrifting and some tremendously inventive DIY. The Spring 2025 collection titled "Doves Cry" featured biker leather pieces 'We're big on leather, and we're big on, like, warm color palettes," said brand co-founder and designer Tracey Mills. "So every color that you see is like the warm version of a color palette, because when you use warm colors, they can all mix and blend together seamlessly."
Also featured were re-worked varsity jackets, paint splattered trucker jackets, multiple washed patchwork denim and repurpose seat worn valor track suits. Much of the collection was also inspired by the nineteen -seventies. This was a good and well presented dive into the NY fashion scene a voice we don't always hear nor see but the global urban edge and concern for Humans was tremendously on point with IRK.
