Hometown, exotic places inspire menswear designers at NY Fashion Week

By Gloria Tso and Andrew Hofstetter

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York Fashion Week Men’s Day returned to live presentation Wednesday, with nearly a dozen new designers showing off their 2022 collections.

The model poses like a statue as the viewer walks within touching distance of the design. Sometimes, there is a central character that conveys the theme behind the display.

Some designers this year seek inspiration near home, while others draw in the tropics further afield.

Tristan Detwiler cites the sands and beaches of his hometown of San Diego as inspiration for his STAN collection, which features colorful patterns and quilt-like fabrics in earthy, neutral tones.

“I searched all the textiles myself, I met people, I learned their stories, I learned about the culture,” says Detwiler. “Textiles come second, it’s really a story that comes first.”

Bright colors, sultry landscapes and striking shapes dominate designer Teddy Vonranson’s collections.

“I’ve always wanted to create exotic collections that took me to the South Seas and I was really inspired by Tahiti and the work of Paul Gauguin,” says Vonranson.

Meanwhile, designer William McNicol of the William Frederick collection said all of his works were designed, developed and produced in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.

The presentation featured a model painting a canvas while wearing a neutral-toned casual outfit.

“Most of our collections are based on creativity, curiosity, intelligence, intimacy,” says McNicol.

“This collection is specifically about the artist’s life, and clothes that work as well on artists as they do in their spaces. So that’s why I wanted neutral colors and things that would just disappear in an artist’s studio or loft or space.” he added.

This biennial event features ten new brands debuting their collections, with five in the morning and five more in the afternoon.

New York Fashion Week runs through September 12.

(Reporting by Andrew Hofstetter and Gloria Tso; Editing by Karishma Singh and Gerry Doyle)