It’s that time of year again, when menswear designers will have models strutting their stuff in front of fashion’s gliterati. Each season, we have the pleasure of viewing old favorites continue to step up their game or display prowess, while simultaneously seeking out the fresh blood entering the industry. Below, we’ve listed five of our favorite emerging designers, all worth keeping an eye on.
1. Sean Suen
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Sean Suen started making the rounds back in 2014, when the world was introduced to the Chinese designer’s flair for fabric blocking in a modern and relatively modest way. His color schemes have evolved noticeably over the years, often times favoring muted tones (think greys, baby blue and brown) over being flashy, although metallic pants do occasionally find themselves in the mixture. Suen’s clothes are subtle but with just enough distinctiveness to make them statement pieces.
2. Lou Dalton
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Designer Lou Dalton hails from Scotland, which you might be able to tell from her collections. Inspiration for her clothing stems from her fiancé, brother and father, which gives her work an intimate feel. Having had a fairly rural upbringing, the designs are reminiscent of hikers and fishermen. It definitely borders on Normcore, a term we seem to hear less and less as it becomes, perhaps not admittedly, increasingly popular.
3. N-p-Elliott
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Designer Nicholas Elliott’s work feels as if it’s totally out of left field—unpredictable doesn’t feel like a strong enough description. He pulls on everything from Sci-Fi futurism to punk to medieval times, particularly with his use of emblems and badges. The line seems to become slightly more accessible with each collection without losing any of its sophistication.
4. Christopher Raeburn
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After being raised in Japan, designer Kozaburo Akasaka spent years working in New York to perfect his label, simply known as Kozaburo. His style is boldly original, which in part has to do with his need to be inventive and resourceful—he’s noted that, as an emerging designer, budgets aren’t always bursting at the seams. He takes vintage jeans, for example, cuts them into thin scraps before weaving them together into high-wasted pants with flares.
5. Palomo Spain
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Palomo Spain was, without a doubt, the designer on everyone’s lips since their breakthrough last season. Alejandro Gómez Palomo’s show was buzzed about by industry insiders before it even kicked off; the praise was astronomical once it ended. While the models were all male, the clothing was inarguably stereotypically feminine, with frivolous use of ruffles, florals, thigh high boots, etc. Palomo’s gender play takes things to the next level in an industry where gender fluidity has become relatively ubiquitous, take it or leave it. His ads, which portray boys in the midst of simulated intercourse shot from a far away angle, cement the fact that this guys all about pushing boundaries. We can only begin to imagine what he’ll be doing next.