The Rise Of New York Menswear

American designers are having quite the time of it. In the past few years Alexander Wang and Jason Wu were tapped to head up Balenciaga and Hugo Boss, respectively, and recently, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) announced that New York is to have its own men’s-dedicated fashion week, starting July this year.

Add to that New York-based brand Public School taking home the inaugural International Woolmark Prize For Menswear, and more established labels Perry Ellis and Hickey Freeman bringing in new Creative Directors to dust off the racks, and it’s gearing up to be a big year for men’s fashion stateside.

What better time, then, to make sure your knowledge of Big Apple brands is up to scratch. We highlight New York’s five key menswear labels, from emerging to established.

1. Public School

Founded in 2008 by former Sean John designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, Public School has quickly carved out a niche for its urban-inflected clothing that masterfully combines streetwear styles with sharp tailoring.

For this pair, the real start came in 2010 with their induction into the CFDA Incubator program. After reworking their business plan as a part of the inaugural incubator class (the brand was previously put on hiatus because Barneys, who represented 65 percent of their orders, passed on a collection) and bringing production back to Manhattan, the elevated, urban sportswear label went on to launch a denim line and garner the attention of press and buyers, both at home and abroad.

A CFDA Swarovski Best New Menswear Designer award, CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize and CFDA Best Menswear Designer Award followed in rapid succession, while collaborations cropped up with the likes of J.Crew, Jordan, Swarovski and even Heineken.

Now, along with those accolades and this year’s International Woolmark Prize, the brand is stocked in a select number of luxury retailers, including MATCHESFASHION.COM and Harvey Nichols.