The one major takeaway you get from New York Men’s Day is that with ten designers, you will get ten different points of view. This year’s crop of designers showcased everything from traditional looks to more non-conforming styles. Earlier in the day we saw the first 5. For New York Men’s Day Part 2, five more designers added their voices to the mix. The 5 included returning designers Todd Hessert along with Ka wa Key while Carter Young, HIM NYC and Official Rebrand were first time presenters.
Ka wa Key
Ka wa Key’s collection was entitled “The Twink Prince” and was inspired by The Little Prince novella by French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The design duo of Key Chow and Jarno Leppanen utilize traditional textile crafts and sustainable materials to rework everyday casualwear. Part presentation part performance art, models moved between the audience and were seen dressing and undressing pieces of the collection.
Official Rebrand
MI Leggett is a non-binary designer who used a predominantly gender non-conforming cast to present their collection, “What is a man.” The idea was to explore and expand traditional menswear through the view that the concept and category “man” is fundamentally unstable. As with Ka wa Key, the Official Rebrand presentation for this New York Men’s Day Part 2 was part performance as the models were free to move as if to the beat of their own drummer. This was opposed to a typical presentation where the models just hold a static pose. Accessories like the bags were an important compliments to the looks.
Carter Young
Carter Young is a unisex clothing line with its roots in menswear. For Fall/Winter 2020, browns, taupes and greens dominated this collection. While other presentations during this New York Men’s Day Part 2 treaded the line to the more gender non-conforming end of the spectrum, the Carter Young brand stayed more to the traditional views of menswear.
HIM
Another designer challenging the notion of menswear is designer Pablo Leon who designs HIM NYC. The designer infuses his queer and Latin identity into his pieces and what results is conversational works of art. To some the looks might be considered controversial such as the half flowy shirt worn with a jock strap. To others, it’s just everyday wear. The HIM presentation also featured a performance by Jovani Furlan, a soloist with the New York Ballet.
Todd Hessert
Coats and jackets were the rage for the Todd Hessert F/W 2020 presentation. Playing with the shapes and textures of the coats made the looks refreshing. The added detailing such as the chains made the coats even more appealing. But even more significant is the how the use of technology embedded in the coats made them even more desirable without hindering the style. Heating elements and mobile connectivity were seamlessly incorporated into the looks, but the design did not suffer.
