It's been decades since there was a fashion week dedicated to New York menswear designers.
So where was the inspiration on the runways that would set New York men's fashion apart from the world? Apparently not at the shows last week.
"So far it's just okay," said Noah Johnson, fashion features editor at Details magazine, at the Perry Ellis show. "I'm still not sure if it's a particularly strong season for clothes."
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It's ironic, given this fashion week was meant to herald American designers as important and entering the overall international style conversation. Designers like Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne's Public School, which took home 2014's international Woolmark prize, are shutting down designers from across the world.
Previously, designers either opted to present in Paris or Milan in the summer, at September fashion week when the season closed for men's buyers, or not show at all.
New York Fashion Week: Men's certainly comes at an appropriate time. Menswear, after all, is quickly growing and catching up to the women's market. The economic impact on New York is also substantial: Fashion Week events bring in $887 million each year.
"No one has revolutionized fashion for me this week," said Brian Trunzo, co-owner of menswear boutique Carson Street Clothiers.
Those opinions seemed to be the overarching theme of the week: The runways shows weren't very exciting, rather crowded with designs that were both wearable and functional -- perhaps to an extreme. True, New York as a fashion city is known for its commercial approach, where being sellable is paramount, trumping artistic expression or imagination. It's a place where designers like Victoria Beckham show for that very purpose. But it also makes for uninspiring fashion. For New York Fashion Week: Men's, four days were dedicated to repetitive runway shows that felt more gratuitous than anything else, where cardigans paired with khakis, and classic suits in every color became commonplace.
And if it wasn't a runway, it was a presentation that lacked imagination. Thom Browne, arguably New York's most revered designer, who once singlehandedly created a new cropped trouser length for men, showcased a handful of models in a small mirrored room. The setup was beautiful and the models perfectly styled. But as a colleague off-handedly remarked, "The same suits could have been seen at Bergdorf Goodman." At least Browne attempted a real show, unlike Calvin Klein and Rag & Bone, which both underwhelmingly showcased designs on mannequins.
New York is unlike its sister city of London, where designers like Bobby Abley, Sister, Christopher Shannon and Nasir Mazhar recently held dazzling shows that dared to push the boundaries for menswear and the industry.
Not all designers had bland shows. Public School showcased its cool silhouettes with models in police lineups; Richard Chai showed off a mix of different baggier cuts that made for a more interesting collection; Edmund Ooi presented bright knits with reflective materials and drawstrings with models in speedos.
Aesthetics aside, New York's menswear is healthier than it has ever been. The interest in the American market on an international scale is apparent. And fashion week for men's has been affective for younger designers in terms of reaching buyers they've had not had an opportunity to get into their showrooms.
"It's been incredibly successful to me," said Steven Kolb, chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. "[Designers] have gotten the attendance...and it's apparent fashion week is working."
Young people represent the market being helped the most. It's why big designers like Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford and Calvin Klein are more restrained at showing during New York Fashion Week: Men's — they see no big need to do so.
To attract them, and to make New York City a destination for men's fashion, selling clothing cannot be the only factor in making a fashion week a success. That makes it one step above a trade show.
New York needs loud, unabashed disrupters who take bold risks and bring vibrancy to the city. Until then, fashion week for men's will be a vanity project for designers who want to support a cause — just because.
