To be a well-dressed man has never been more attainable. While the generations before us may have preferred their dandies and dapper three-piece suits, the modern age of men have found themselves a true balance of style by balancing comfort with function.
With designers responding to the modern consumer with new, never-before-seen innovations on the thing we can now call “tailored streetwear,” it can easily be said that we are living in one of man’s strongest and most interesting fashion eras where original style, innovative design and utilitarian function coexist.
The modern man may have traded in his tuxedo trousers for a pair of denims, but today’s wardrobe wouldn’t be what it is without these designers—both emerging and established—who continue to push men’s fashion forward.
1. Officine Générale
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Realism, honesty and fairness have always been guiding forces for Pierre Mahéo, who started Officine Générale in 2012 in the heart of Paris, at Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Full of personality, his clothes can dress the most sensible and the most complicated of shoppers – he has a no-fuss aesthetic that produces clothes for the everyday life, inspired by his own. While ethically sourcing his fabrics from Italy, the U.K. and Japan, he goes distance in testing by wearing his samples personally; and if they don’t past the Mahéo test, then he won’t sell them to his customers. Now, that’s respectable ethics!
2. Études Studio
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Established in 2012 by artists Aurélien Arbet and Jérémie Egry, Études Studio stands out as a contemporary collective where fashion mingles with artists’ books and various creative services. Based in Paris and New York, this combination of a design label and creative studio has made a big impression on Paris Fashion Week and on the men and women who continue to shop their lineup of t-shirts, sweatshirts and far more street art-inspired casual clothing.
3. Henrik Vibskov
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Danish designer Henrik Vibskov doesn’t run low with fantasy or originality. His works in menswear and womenswear include colourful knits and graphic prints. A Central St. Martins graduate and a a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Mode Masculine, Vibskov may be a big hit with the crowds in Copenhagen and Paris, he is quickly becoming a huge staple in the United States.
4. Zachary Prell
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Expert tailoring merges with men’s sportswear in Zachary Prell’s New York-based eponymous label. A former Wall Street suit himself, Prell was inspired to start his own company with the desire to improve the fit of his own shirt. And as a designer, he’s committed to the fundamentals of men’s classics: contemporary fit, clean silhouettes and a quality of craftsmanship and style. A designer definitely worth knowing, if not only for his take on modern sophisticated menswear.
5. Christopher Raeburn
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In 2008, the British designer Christopher Ræburn launched one of the most exciting fashion labels available today. A pioneer in sustainable design, Raeburn has managed to do something special with past collections: Translate pre-existing fabrics into wearable garments that appeared on the runway far different than what they were before, such as retired parachutes turned into parkas. Remarkably, he’s able to match his personal integrity as a sustainable designer with an innate sense of luxury and a worldwide network of vendors.
6. Agi & Sam
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The moniker “Agi & Sam” stands for Agape Mdumulla and Sam Cotton, the designers behind the London-based menswear label with an entirely bespoke enthusiasm that has the potential to stand strong across both sides of the ocean. Launched in 2010, Agi & Sam is a contemporary, high-end ready-to-wear label popularized in major thanks to their combination of fun prints and impeccable tailoring for an undeniably cool wardrobe of vibrant colors and eye-catching patterns.
7. COTTWEILER
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Yet another cool British label to come out in the past few years, COTTWEILER by Ben Cottrell and Matthew Dainty is a great example of concept-led men’s casual-wear. Focusing on luxurious simplicity while meeting all of the most important components (function, fit and fabrication), Cottrell and Dainty may border the avant-garde with their sportswear, but their seasonal offerings (of tracksuits, sweatpants, t-shirts and more) has become a must-watch in the men’s streetwear scene.
8. OAMC
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Launched in Paris in 2013, OAMC and its lead designer Luke Meier have drawn on workwear history for a new line that is contemporary yet sophisticated for the man who looks for premium fabrics and modern techniques. Formerly of Supreme, Meier has managed to produce a menswear collection of high-quality design and function – but most importantly innovation. This label offers the total package with knitwear, outerwear, woven shirts, shoes and leather goods, and more, and it would be a shame to not pay more attention to this up-and-comer.
9. Ovadia & Sons
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Twin brothers Ariel and Shimon Ovadia may have been born in Jerusalem, but their upbringing in Brooklyn surrounded by New York City’s particular culture and energy has certainly influenced their family-run business. Together they are Ovadia & Sons, a clothing label jointly launched in 2010, and not long after they were named one of GQ’s Best Menswear Designers in 2011. While more recently being nominated for the CFDA Swarovski Menswear Award in 2015, they continue to raise attention with their distinct combination of luxury and a modern point-of-view on tailored sportswear.
10. General Idea
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Korean designer Bumsuk Choi and his label General Idea may not be new to the men’s fashion calendar in New York, but with the recent New York Fashion Week: Men’s having celebrated its second season of presenting new collections they have never been more popular. His work, both minimalist and innovative, have a distinctive cool factor—and his outerwear game couldn’t be stronger.
11. Wooyoungmi
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Coming in as a second Korean label on this list, Wooyoungmi is certainly not one to be looked over. Now steered by a mother-daughter duo, the label was launched by madame Woo in 2002 because she wanted to build a brand that allowed her freedom to fulfill the vision she had for the modern man. Today, it’s a label known for its details and aesthetics. Each collection is as creative and as sophisticated as the one before it, and more than that they are a testament to the unique perspective this mother-daughter team shares with menswear. Strong outerwear and bold use of color make it one label worth a devout following.
12. Isabel Benenato
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Since launching her first collection in Milan in 2008, Naples-born designer Isabel Benenato draws on her strength in Italian fabrication and a world of inspiration for landscape of style and unexpected details. Her recent collection was a handspun lineup of garments inspired by the traditional workwear of Japanese men, and Benenato showcased her talents in knitwear and sophisticated minimalism with rich yarns and more. If you’re looking for a new metropolitan look, she’s the one to go to.