Despite
a growth in the menswear sector, New York based designers are struggling to
find a platform to debut their work. While other major fashion cities stage
fashion weeks for men's collections (Milan, Paris and London), NY has been slow
off the mark to launch their own dedicated fashion week. Many designers based
in NY have opted to show their designs in another city as a result. It was
expected that the city might finally set up with a dedicated event this July,
but now the plans are on hold.
Michael
Bastian, former men’s fashion director of Bergdorf Goodman, commented that NYFW
has dropped in importance for buyers and industry insiders when it comes to
menswear: “When I first started at Bergdorf, there was an American half
and a European half on the men’s designer floor, and slowly it just became all
European with an American corner, which was really just John Varvatos, and the
sad truth was that, here I was, the men’s fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman
and I could have missed New York Fashion Week. There was nothing I hadn’t
already seen, we’d already done the buy.”
Eric
Jennings, Saks Fifth Avenue menswear buyer, commented that bringing a proper
Fashion Week for Men to New York would help to boost local labels because
they're currently struggling to get out there without a physical show: “It
would be really beneficial. The new brands get the short end of the stick when
they’re showing during New York Fashion Week, and those will be the ones that
benefit the most. The bigger brands will always get the press and the buyers
are going to be able to write those orders, but it’s the emerging designers
that would really benefit from having a men’s fashion week in New York.”
