(8/2018) The opportunity to attend New York Fashion Week was the prize. To attend the shows as a writer, report on the collections and share a telling tale of my experience outside of interning and assisting with the production of the event was the start of something new. A cloud filled with possibility floated above me, releasing my visions and showering me with blessing: Men’s Fashion Week New York was that opportunity to see my dreams of fashion come to life.

Among a dynamic industry that often distracts itself with the unusual and unconventional – forever searching for the contemporary brand, designer and style of expression to represent its voice, this short-lived, compact week of menswear presented a different pace towards fashion. The rush of New York Fashion Week in February and September feels like a sprint. The aftermath of early morning call times, volumes of high stress and the crowds lends to a wipe out. Not only is it a competitive city, but also a town entered around action, the New York fashion scene reflects its home’s hunger for innovation and loud expression. The beauty found in Men’s Fashion Week New York, delivers in the stride of a sustainable jog. Among this madness is but a rapid three jam-packed days of presentation with artful and dramatic fashion articulation.

Unlike the rush out of the venue at the show’s end, in my first season of men’s fashion week I found community. Where influencers casually hung out after shows to schedule unceremonious conversation between presentations, a fashion show that introduces the latest collection by means of having models stand collectively on platforms wearing the clothing, this still life, off the catwalk style to showcasing fashion encourages socialization, a particular engagement with the clothing, and model behavior. It also lends to a slower pace and creates the opportunity to make a connection: to experience the room as fashion dictates.

This was my experience two years ago. On my recent return to the genesis I discovered a change of heart. The relaxed, cool and collected atmosphere became a questionably ostentatious tenor, whose vibrations have left me pondering the function of fashion in a modern man’s world.

Practicality is the mastery of men’s fashion

Now, more than ever, we see the world of men’s fashion founded upon physical expression. Cutout leotards, exposing skin breastplates, groin length shorts resembling undergarments, or the original European Speedo were among the designs of traditional commercial sportswear looks. Thigh length swim trunks with tie drawstrings, knit pullovers and anoraks presented by Tommy Hilfiger for spring 2019 were designs overwhelmed with printed expressions and lively colors.

Neil Patrick Grotzinger, the name behind the brand NIHL, presented a collection for spring 2019 that resembled athletic uniforms in the boxing culture. Full length skin-tight jumpsuits with a shrunken torso stretched off the center of the body, exposing the chest, baggy mid-thigh sized shorts paralleling athletic shorts, and avant garde one –suits were fashions made in the image of athletic apparel but with a fashionable touch. Grotzinger adorned pieces with his signature spurts of dyed coloration and beading, bringing a softer expression to the uniform look culture defines for this overtly aggressive sport. In NIHL’s Spring Collection there is reconsideration, arguably an argument with solution for what society defines as masculine, without losing the practical elements of this costume.

Practicality themes drive menswear design – the nucleus of men’s fashion remains the reason the clothing is worn. Despite the greater expression there is an inherent sense of functionalism linked to every piece of fashion, providing it with purpose. In fact it is the dramatic expressions of fashion – the synched peacoat, open chested work shirts that surface discussions of sexuality and masculinity in the industry. Declarations of grungy, physical and aggressive contact without a doubt come to mind when thinking about boxing. Grotzinger and his latest collection consider differently without sacrificing the functionalism inherent to the DNA of menswear.

Engaging with art and its different forms

Among the debates and criticisms of fashion is the conversation circulating around the relationship between fashion and art. Questions such as: can fashion be considered art? Where does the functionalism of fashion design and society’s necessity for clothing account for if fashion is indeed art? Without solution, this men’s fashion week season engaged with different art forms to present fashion. Ryohei Kawanishi of Brooklyn label Landlord sent male models stained with paint down the runway. His militant-inspired cargo pants made outfits with shirtless models covered in sorbets of colors – lime green, iridescent white, yellow, pale pink and tangerine orange colors — that supported the look of this collection. Aside from presenting a complement to the graphic tees, jumpsuits and jogger pants the paint splatters across the lips, chest, cheeks and head of modeled looks appears as a rebellion to the precise street wear looks Kawanishi has made of Landlord. As one would contemplate art, I consider this stylistic approach to fashion. With the support of splatter paint Landlord utilized art to share a new collection and project a new message for fashion.

Jahnkoy was another show on the Men’s New York Fashion Week calendar that incorporated art as a support system. The visual artist orchestrated a showcase of fashion, music and dance, artistic expressions uniting together in the name of fashion. Guests were invited to sit on benches and to experience the city of New York as a coed group of young artists – performers, cheerleaders and break-dancers - led the show. Dressed in all black, as New Yorkers do, the entertainers captivated the audience with rhetorical dialogue, picket signs, modern dance and spiritual chants – all actions that elevated the experience of a fashion show like never before. With lion masks, beaded jewelry, and dressed in exercise uniforms – black leggings and sports bras, basketball shorts to graphic tees and traditional martial arts garb - with the support of PUMA, Jahnkoy gathers a curiosity to the function of athletic leisure wear in the life of men’s fashion.

The epitome of Men’s Fashion Week New York involves a week of fashion and designers on the rise. My response at each season’s close leads me to consider the vision the designers and labels use to spearhead fashion week - exploring new ways to unearth fashion and discover its purpose in a modern man’s life. This summer, as these creative minds embraced art and its many forms including painting, dance, music and performance, the presentation of fashion elevates the fundamental characteristics that lie at the heart of menswear. Such takeaways have kept this compact fashion week schedule a special part of my fashion week experience – for it explores ways to consider fashion more than just an attractive pairing of clothing and trendy pieces. The artful and dramatic expressions with fashion filled any suspicions or question of void.