New York Men’s Day Offers Eclectic Assortment of Emerging Brands
More menswear is appearing on the New York runways this season than in the past several years. The spring ’25 whirlwind has been marked by the return of Todd Snyder and John Varvatos and even some of the stalwarts, such as Libertine, have offered up more men’s looks.
While men’s has struggled to gain a footing in New York as a stand-alone entity, and has long been overshadowed by womenswear, there has been one constant: New York Men’s Day created by Agentry PR. The biannual showcase of emerging menswear designers has been held every season since 2010 and this edition featured 10 brands showing men’s and unisex pieces.
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Here, some of the highlights for spring ’25.
Tristan Delwiger’s first commercial collection for his label Stan was close to the heart of the Los Angeles-based designer. The models he used at the presentation were his customers and much of the embellishment on the pieces came from his mother’s collection of crystals and jewelry from the 1980s that she agreed to let him use.
The family connection is nothing new for Delwiger who got his start molding waxes in his mother’s jewelry studio and woodworking with his father. His first foray into design came in 2019 when he created a chore jacket from a 19th-century quilt passed down from his great-great-grandmother.
In the past the pieces he created were one-offs, a necessity dictated by the scarcity of the materials, but he has found a commercial deadstock source, allowing him to expand his reach.
Among the pieces he showed was a suit made from late 19th century ticking as well as a coat and suit created from French linen bedsheets. A standout was a suit that had 250 of his mother’s pearls on the jacket as well as the same number on the pants.
Stan has created a cult following since its debut five years ago and this new source of deadstock materials means his unique pieces will now be available to a wider audience.
Aaron Potts centered his spring A. Potts collection on the theme of “Urban Oceana,” taking his design codes and interpreting them in a range of textures and shades of blue.
“I started looking for all of these fabrics that not only were shades of blue, but fabrics that also mimicked light reflecting on the water and fabrics that looked like the waves moving,” he said. “I wanted to do that in a way that’s not so literal, so more of an inspiration than literal.”
Potts utilized a range of fabrics like jersey, cotton, denim and sequins for his men’s and women’s offerings. His strength in structure and construction came through the denim pieces, such as an oversize jumpsuit that he highlighted as a key look.
The designer also experimented with new fabrics and silhouettes, particularly with his formfitting jersey pieces that he’s gravitating toward to add balance to the more oversized styles. Another new silhouette was a color-blocked gown, another key style.
The Salting designers Michael Ward and Manel Garcia Espejo continued their nautical inspiration for spring 2025, giving a nod to the Italian seaside after showing at Pitti Uomo this year.
“We are celebrating the Italian seaside and the Italian life — village life by the sea,” Ward said. “We leaned into ‘60s and ‘70s Italian film and we studied mostly [Luchino] Visconti, [Federico] Fellini and we pulled a lot from the film ‘Death in Venice’ — the opulence of it, and we landed with this.”
The designers worked with an Italian print mill to source an archival nautical print seen on key pieces like short-sleeve button-ups and loose-fitting trousers. The Italian vibe was enhanced with a seersucker fabric used for caftans, dresses and separates.
The collection updated the brand’s signature knotted detail, which was used as an embellishment on both men’s and women’s styles.
Designer Jack Sivan returned to NYMD with his label Sivan, a sustainable menswear brand grounded in functional looks that aim for timelessness over trends.
For his spring outing, which counts as the designer’s second ready-to-wear offering, Sivan’s inspiration arrived via men’s tailoring that is modernized, with “one foot in the 1880s and the other in the 1980s,” described Sivan during his presentation, which was aptly segregated into distinct vignettes depicting a garden party.
“It’s menswear for anybody,” exclaimed Sivan as he referenced some of the key looks, which were worn by a mix of male and female models.
The range featured more curvier and shapely pieces, tailored jackets that are meant to fit more relaxed on the body, seen on double- and single-breasted suiting in both jewel and natural tones, and even a brown micro-check three-piece version. Also seen: Bell coats in a raglan trench style, workwear utility references in cropped sport jackets with oversized patch pockets paired with a pleated skirt, as well as a navy tuxedo option with overly wide peak lapels.
The Sivan brand has been in business for roughly five years, with most of his customers originating from the “custom” base, but he is continuing his efforts to develop ready-to-wear, with a pop-up event taking place next month.
“Our custom clients up to this point have been geared towards men, very diverse in identity, and I want that to be reflected in my ready-to-wear line as well,” said Sivan.
Sermon Series brought sustainability to the forefront of its spring 2025 collection, creating styles in upcycled and recycled materials.
“It’s called ‘Sermon Series,’ so we try to do inspiration for men that’s faith-based a bit with the messaging,” said designer Santanna Hayes, who codesigns the brand with Deklyen Tormier. “We take simple silhouettes and try to make it very creative. They’re pieces you won’t see anywhere, but for individuals who want to stand out.”
Standout styles included several patchwork denim pieces, a pleated vest made of old belts and jackets designed with a wavy silhouette.
One of the additions to New York Men’s Day this season was Earthling, designed by Earth Crockett and Nicholas Baier, who took their inspiration from rock ‘n’ roll in the 1980s. So it was no surprise that the duo, whose collection is sold at The Webster, H. Lorenzo and Patron of the New, titled their collection “Doves Cry,” a reference to the Prince song of that era.
The designers used that song title to embellish a bomber jacket and they showed their commitment to sustainability by using recycled vintage fabrics in denim — including a patchwork pair of jeans — jersey and leather. Many of the pieces were hand-painted or hand-beaded using Swarovski crystals whiile safety pins, studs and staples were also part of the offering.
The collection was intended to be a tribute to an era of cultural rebellion and Earthling managed to pull that off.
Another newcomer to the showcase was Of Nothing, a line designed by the Brooklyn-based Jack Fullerton, who also serves as the patternmaker and creator.
The collection consisted of just two shirts, two trousers and two jacket styles along with one short and a long coat, all offered in different fabrics, most of which were sourced from Japan. While the silhouettes were the same, the use of different fabrics, mainly cotton, wool and linen, helped each piece look distinct.
Fullerton said his line was intended to be “mindful, meditative and pared down,” and he achieved that with the small but interesting assortment.
Challenging times can also be a source of inspiration and such was the case for South Korea-born menswear designer Clara Son, who presented a lineup that was inspired from a dream that she recalls experiencing during a troublesome time, hence the title of the collection, “Reminiscence.”
The lineup consisted of literal cues from Son’s dream, a bike ride along the seaside with landscapes that include the oceanside, mountains and flowers galore. She used these elements to inform her color palette which ranged from sandy browns to sky blues and pastel pinks to greens. These translated into design elements such as curvy harnesses seen on blazers, chunky knitwear and hats that mimicked the shape of a bike seat.
Bib-like sculptural details were incorporated into the collection via shirts and knitted vests.
Another highlight was the knitwear, which included jacquards with graphic elements of mountain scenery and embroidered rose buds on crewneck styles.
The designer was also among one of the finalists selected in the graduate category for Fashion Trust U.S., the nonprofit organization supporting emerging design talent.
Emotions were running high for designer Terry Singh, who this season reflected on himself and his business as a whole as he pondered his early beginnings versus today.
“I just make the same thing over and over, building a brand image around a man who can wear a wrap, but I think that’s been established already, and I’ve been stuck. I didn’t know I was stuck, and I had this catharsis of emotions and had to deal with it,” confessed Singh at his presentation.
Since his first appearance at NYMD, Singh has been promoting the ideals of men wearing skirts and the liberating feelings that come with it. But to give credit to Singh, his skirt designs aren’t just your standard pencil or tennis structures — they have an impressive character and a stylish twist that uplifts the wearer.
The lineup reflected the designer’s life journey, and also paid homage to some of his heroes such as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, as many of the skirt looks were paired with basketball jerseys from the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls or military-style fitted jackets. This time around he also introduced two looks that contained wraps over wide-leg trousers paired with structured topcoats.
The “models” that Singh used this season were all dancers who belong to the American Ballet Theater or Alvin Ailey, in a sequence choreographed by Singh’s fiancée, who is herself an Alvin Ailey trained dancer.
Brooks Tarpley Jones presented a men’s-only lineup this season for his brand Tarpley.
“I really took a big leap this season and I focused on just men’s looks so I could get a full cohesive energy out,” said Jones, as his collections have normally been men’s with a few interpretations worn on women.
Jones’ collection explored the idea that garments can serve as extensions of our energy, as seen in his signature tech looks, tailoring and streetwear.
Highlights included a form-fitting biker jacket in a cotton twill; three-piece suits with angular cuts that allow the jacket to remain true to form when the wearer places his hands inside the trouser pockets; hoodies with heavily padded shoulders for a stronger look, and a utilitarian all-black tech suit with multiple visible and some hidden zipper details.
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