The well-segmented distinction among the various trade shows, coupled with an influx of new brands across all categories, provided retailers with a variety of highlights and trend-right pieces to punch up their spring assortments. Here, some top looks from Agenda, Capsule, Liberty, MRket and Project.
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ARMANDO CABRAL
Designer: Armando Cabral
Key styles: The collection is broken into three concepts: the hybrid, a mix of a shoe and sneaker that features classic styling with casual bottoms; contemporary sneakers, designed to replace a regular shoe, and an assortment of leather slip-on espadrilles. All the shoes are made in Italy and are sold in 13 countries around the world.
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Design/aesthetic: There’s more to Cabral than just a pretty face. Although he’s been a regular on runways around the world for years, it wasn’t until 2009 that he truly followed his passion. It was that year that the Guinean-born fashion model launched his namesake collection of shoes. His line of men’s footwear is sophisticated and versatile — styles can be dressed up or dressed down — and above all, comfortable.
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Prices: The shoes retail for $375 to $570.
EFM BY DONRAD DUNCAN
Designer: Donrad Duncan
Key styles: Duncan, who had previously worked for Victorinox, offers a line of sportswear with active influences such as a blouson jacket with a nylon waterproof face; antimicrobial polos in cotton-bamboo; five-pocket trousers in open-weave oxford cotton, and a jogging pant that can double as a dress pant.
Design/aesthetic: Short for “Engineered for Motion,” the line is centered around the ideas of travel, lightweight staples, movement and comfort. Technological fabrics, new garment-dyed techniques, advanced seam finishes and other construction methods are employed in everything from blazers to swimwear.
Prices: T-shirts retail for $100 and outerwear can go up to $995, but most of the collection will sell for $300 to $400.
J. PRESS YORK STREET
Designer: Mikito Takeshima
Key styles: Blazers with patch pockets, pants with updated camouflage prints, button-down shirts, chinos, sweaters and bow ties all work together to appeal to a younger guy with a classic sensibility.
Design/aesthetic: Launched two years ago by Ariel and Shimon Ovadia of Ovadia & Sons, the collection’s design is being handled by Takeshima. Although created in Tokyo, the collection is still authentically American, with updated Ivy League sensibility.
Prices: Shirts are $98, jackets range from $375 to $495, sweatpants are $120, knits are $175 to $195 and outerwear is $450 to $550.
CWST
Designer: Joe Sadler
Key styles: The collection of easy sportswear staples includes high-waisted pleated trousers, linen-paneled blazers, featherweight knitwear and color-blocked wovens.
Design/aesthetic: Billed as “a spirited collection of effortless Left Coast cool,” CWST, pronounced “quest,” is inspired by the Pacific man. It’s made in the U.S. from fabrics sourced primarily in Japan, and has a breezy feel that would be perfect for strolling the beaches of California.
Prices: Knits average $120, pants are $215, shirts are $225 and outerwear ranges from $300 to $500.
VERA LARGO
Designer: David Cockrell
Key styles: The brand’s signature floral print in a lively red, blue and white pattern can be found in a tight, edited collection of shorts, casual pants, tank tops, T-shirts, jersey pullovers, fleeces and bomber jackets. There’s even a cotton-linen blazer for those cool summer evenings.
Design/aesthetic: Founded by four friends from Texas who were searching for a modern beachwear collection, Vera Largo is for men who “don’t want surf, but want modern coastal,” according to Cockrell. Cofounder Hunter Wilson said the brand sees “a niche for a colorful, youthful brand with a modern fit that is inspired by water.”
Prices: Blazers are $228, shorts and polos are $68 and shirts are $100.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY
Key styles: Linen/cotton/viscose pants in solids or patterns in regular or slim fits; reversible jersey to nylon bomber jacket; polos with the brand’s stylized marlin logo; a deerskin and cashmere shaker-stitch sweater, and — of course — Panama straw hats.
Design/aesthetic: The collection is inspired by the ruggedness of the author and his zest for life. Most of the pieces are in cotton, linen and silk, and the collection is manufactured in Italy.
Prices: Suits retail for around $1,500, polos are $79 and up, pants are around $225 and the shaker sweater is $2,500.
DRAKE’S
Key styles: For spring, the British brand is offering a capsule collection of washed linen, chambray and denim shirts produced in its Cleeve of London factory in Somerset, England. To complement the shirts, the company produced vintage-inspired, hand-rolled brushed silk ties that “sit well with the shirts,” said creative director Michael Hill.
Design/aesthetic: The company was founded in 1977 as a men’s scarf maker and expanded into ties and pocket squares. It produces its neckwear in London and thanks to last year’s acquisition of Cleeve, its shirts are now manufactured in the U.K., as well. All products have an English sensibility with a dash of “French chic” and a splash of “Italian style.”
Prices: Shirts retail for $295 and ties for $155.
BERWICH
Key styles: Colorful washed chinos and printed fancy pants in cotton and silk with a touch of stretch. Two fits are offered — a classic with a 16-inch opening and a slim with a 14 1/2-inch opening.
Design/aesthetic: The Italian slacks manufacturer has been in business for more than 30 years, but is just now bringing its line to the U.S. market. The company is known for its innovative patterns as well as its detailing and finishing touches, which include piping and hand-worked edging.
Prices: The pants retail for $240 to $350.
MSL
Designer: Billy Reid
Key styles: The third collection from the Southern designer, MSL — an abbreviation for Muscle Shoals, Ala. — takes its inspiration from workwear. The collection features cotton-linen trousers and shirts, chinos, premium Japanese denim jeans and a suede mustard jacket.
Design/aesthetic: The new brand, which joins the designer’s signature Billy Reid collection, focuses on a “worn-in” look. Every piece is meant to give a six- to 12-month head start to any wearer to provide that aged aesthetic.
Prices: Denim will retail for $225 and jackets start at $335.
LES BENJAMINS
Designer: Bünyamin Aydin
Key styles: Printed shirts and sweaters in the Les is More cut-and-sewn line. The elevated line, Black, includes sweat shorts, ribbed khakis, cotton button-ups, a set of black-and-white or gold, black and green camo prints on bomber jackets, shorts, shirts.
Design/aesthetic: The Les is More line this season is a play off historical icons superimposed with today’s pop stars. For instance, one T-shirt features Miley Cyrus morphed together with Albert Einstein, another, Cleopatra with Rihanna. The Black label was inspired by the political turmoil of Turkey and the riots in the desert.
Prices: Shirts average $101, bomber jackets start at $525 and sweaters are around $269.
MR NIEVES
Designer: Sam Velez-Nieves
Key styles: African-inspired prints in cotton button-ups, knits, trousers, hand-embroidered shirts, swim trunks and hybrid linen-cotton shirts in a guayabera fabric.
Design/aesthetic: Velez-Nieves, who launched his women’s contemporary label, Nieves Lavi, 10 years ago, branched out into men’s to respond to customer demand. “It was selfish and for me because so many people were asking me about it,” he said. The line, which only took him two-and-a-half weeks to put together, was inspired by his grandfather “and the guayabera fabrics he always wore,” he said of the collection that infuses the designer’s Puerto Rican heritage in African prints that are resort-ready.
Prices: Tank tops sell for $75 to $98, wovens for $175 to $250 and bottoms for $225 to $298.
BAARTMANS AND SIEGEL
Designers: Wouter Baartmans and Amber Siegel
Key styles: The collection offers breathable, relaxed items such as shorts with an elastic waistband, formal pleated joggers, ripstop nylon jackets, reversible bombers, and perforated suede shorts with matching coats.
Design/aesthetic: “We were inspired by Charlie Sheen in ‘Platoon’-meets Dries Van Noten,” said Siegel. “It’s really for the masculine urban male who is assertive and has a real hunger for quiet indulgence.” The colors center around navy and forest green and all of the hardware used is custom-made by metal factories that produce goods for brands such as Balenciaga.
Prices: Jersey sweaters sell for around $145, shorts for $478 and the perforated suede coats retail for $1,484.
DOCUMENT
Designer: Jong Soo Lee
Key styles: The eco-friendly line includes unbleached cotton fabrics in jackets, shirts and trousers, along with indigo-dyed blazers, bombers and baseball jerseys, as well as one denim jacket.
Design/aesthetic: The line is inspired by the architecture in Paris, said Lee. The designer — who worked at South Korean brand SongZio — launched his first collection this season, and wanted to reduce the waste and pollution produced from the fashion industry.
Prices: Jackets will wholesale for $220, shirts for $150, and $28 to $32 for T-shirts.
10.DEEP
Designer: Scott Sasso
Key styles: Mesh sweaters, full-body sweatsuits with international flag badges, hockey jerseys in cotton and velvet-suede, tech fleece jackets and cotton sweaters.
Design/aesthetic: The New York-based streetwear line’s spring collection was inspired by an international audience, which it celebrated with flags — everyone’s from South Korea to Brazil — sewn into sweaters in patches.
Prices: Hoodies range from $70 to $100, jackets from $100 to $150 and crewneck shirts from $100 to $150.
VANGUARD
Designers: Sam and Jono Cottee
Key styles: Graphic Ts, jogger-style five-pocket cuffed denim jeans with an elastic waistband, waxed black denim, light khakis, mineral-washed boardshorts, color-blocked “bordie” walking shorts and button-up shirts.
Design/aesthetic: The Australian line, sold in Urban Outfitters and Zumiez, among others, is an intersection of beach and streetwear. The line launched nine years ago, but it wasn’t until five years ago that it ventured into a full cut-and-sewn collection.
Prices: T-shirts range from $25 to $30, jackets from $75 to $120, hats from $30 and boardshorts from $45 to $75.
ASGARD
Designer: Stefan Miljanic
Key styles: Suits, Supima cotton button-ups, sport shirts, blazers, leather jackets, spring trenchcoats, field jackets, denim and boiled wovens.
Design/aesthetic: Miljanic, the designer for Gilded Age, said with this line he wanted a more-streamlined aesthetic and worked to create a look that was clean, architectural and modern. “I always loved architecture,” he said. “I wanted to create a line that was simple, clean, sharp.” The name, Asgard, comes from pagan mythology, he explained. “It’s a place where gods live. This line is for the contemporary gods to wear and live in.”
Prices: Denim retails for $200 to $220, suits sell for $1,000 to $1,300, knits for $200 to $400 and T-shirts for $60 to $70.
120% LINO
Key styles: Shirts, trousers, hoodies and knits, all in 100 percent linen.
Design/aesthetic: The luxury label, hailing from the brand’s Bologna headquarters and made entirely in Italy, is about breathable apparel items that are resort-ready year-round. Spring marks its U.S. debut.
Prices: Long-sleeve shirts start at $215, short-sleeve shirts at $186 and polos for $334.
ASGER JUEL LARSEN
Designer: Asger Juel Larsen
Key styles: Oversize hoodies; bubble-wrap prints in tops and bottoms; Neoprene with mesh jerseys; coated denim that resembles leather, and tailored double-breasted blazers.
Design/aesthetic: The collection is based on punk rock and metal studs. This season Juel Larsen, who just won the European regional International Woolmark Prize, focused on mixing mediums such as Neoprene and mesh or jersey and cotton.
Prices: Tops retail for $808 to $1,078, a jacket for $2,020 and $242 for knits.
FDMTL
Designer: Gaku Tsuyoshi
Key styles: Now in its second season in the States, FDMTL offers raw, distressed and dry denim jeans in four fits: classic, regular, slim and skinny. Its most popular style is the distressed denim, according to Tsuyoshi, and its most expensive is a patchwork style jean.
Design/aesthetic: FDMTL is shorthand for Fundamental Agreement Luxury, the full name of the Japanese denim brand. Its products are all manufactured in Okayama, Japan, the denim capital of the world, where the fabric is sourced and washed.
Prices: Jeans retail from $200 to $700.
MATEO BIJOUX
Designer: Mateo Bijoux
Key styles: For spring, the sterling-silver jewelry collection is themed around “anything you can find in a toolbox,” according to Bijoux. Bracelets that open with a Phillips screwdriver necklace, pendants in the shape of a saw and a nail hook leather wrap bracelet are among the innovative offerings. There are also lower-priced pieces made from brass.
Design/aesthetic: The son of a seamstress, the Montego Bay, Jamaica-based designer moved to the U.S. when he was 16 and soon discovered his flair for jewelry. He launched his line in 2009 and the collection is carried in Nordstrom as well as other retailers.
Prices: Most pieces retail for around $95 to $170.
C.P. COMPANY
Designer: Paul Harvey and Alessandro Pungetti
Key styles: The spring collection moves beyond the company’s trademark goggle-hooded coat into a full dress casual collection, including sport coats in classic fabrics such as overdyed plaids or oxford cloth, along with crewneck sweaters and polos with geometric patterns.
Design/aesthetic: The Italian sportswear company was founded in 1975 with the idea of reinventing urban citywear. Since that time, the brand has become known for its technical outerwear, including its signature goggle-hooded coat. In more recent years, it has expanded into a full lifestyle collection, much of it centering around technological fabric and construction.
Prices: Most of the sportswear collection retails from $195 to $295, while the sport coats and outerwear sell for $495 to $795.
MARCHAND DRAPIER
Designer: Benoit Carpentier
Key styles: For spring, the Paris-based brand takes its inspiration from Southern Italy with its color palette that “mixes the colors of the earth and sea.” Those hues are found in the company’s swimsuits, reversible jackets, shirts with grosgrain taping on the placket and jackets printed with fish or green and black olives. Other key pieces include a cotton-Lycra chino and a formal tuxedo jacket that Carpentier likes to pair with jeans.
Design/aesthetic: Carpentier was born into the apparel business. His family has been in the tailoring and textile trade in France for five generations, so it made sense that he would follow in his family’s footsteps by launching the Marchard Drapier brand in 2006. Originally known as more of a tailored clothing brand, the company has since branched out into a full collection that has become known for its high-quality construction and cool, elegant style.
Prices: Shirts retail for $230 to $290, pants are around $300 and jackets are $800.