Winning an award from the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation means more than a financial windfall, it is a mark of prestige allowing the winner to claim membership in an elite group comprised of designers like Zac Posen, Proenza Schouler, and Alexander Wang. However, for Korean designer Siki Im, winner of the most recent menswear award, Fall 2010 has little to do with the luxury associated with fine Italian winemakers, at least not directly. Last season Im showed an almost tribal collection, inspired by the dystopian novel Lord of the Flies. This season he revisits those same savages—after they have grown up to become failed Wall Street tycoons. Siki Im’s show took place in an abandoned Bowery warehouse, amongst ransacked cubicles, and shoddy fluorescent lighting, the pulsing sounds of a heavy metal band in the background. The clothes were at once tailored and architectural, with a roguish androgynous streak: the iconic suit of the finance industry reimagined as a base for chunky knit tops, man-skirts, and leather bondage straps.

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Photography Isabel Asha Penzlien

KEYWORDS: fashion, mens fashion

Atelier long ago established itself as a finely curated men’s boutique. With a strong, avant-garde aesthetic of dark minimalism, the store has championed new designers like Damir Doma and Julius, as well as icons like Rick Owens, Yohji Yamamoto, and Ann Demeulemeester. Now their boutique on Hudson houses a new fashion hero: Yves Saint Laurent. Stefano Pilati has personally designed a capsule collection for Atelier. Though it might seem surprising that a luxury brand would partner with an independent retailer, the aesthetics and design concept of both houses have much in common: both are committed to building a wardrobe based on elegant classics with modern innovation. The 17 piece collection, made in Italy, adheres to the Atelier color scheme of grey and black and offers oversized tailored jackets, drop crotch pants, and cashmere knits. Sick as we all may be of collaborations, this one is worth pulling out the plastic for.

www.ateliernewyork.com

KEYWORDS: fashion, mens fashion

Belgium’s small stature hasn’t diminished its impact on the fashion world: Ann Demeulmeester, Martin Margiela, Raf Simons, AF Vandevorst, and Olivier Theyskens are just a sampling of the heavy hitters hailing from a country with less world map real estate than Latvia. The big names are still going strong, but a new generation is ready to step up—and New York found out why this week at Showroom Antwerp. Presented by the Flanders Fashion Institute, the multi-designer gathering on display inside the New York Times Building throughout the Spring/Summer 2010 shows season featured collections from the brightest young things in Belgium’s fashion arsenal including Stephen Schneider, Anke Loh, Lenny Leleu, and Marc Philippe Coudeyre, among others. So if you’re in town, stop waffling (ha – get it? Belgian waffles? Okay, bad joke…) and check ‘em out.

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Photography Cameron Krone
Styling Tom Van Dorpe

Makeup Bejamin Puckey (See Management)
Hair Enrico Mariotti (See Management)
Stylist Assistant Rika Watanabe
Models Taylor Fuchs (Wilhelmina), Amy G, Gloria (One Models), Cesar Casier (VNY)

Thick leathers, sharp angles, and crisp folds: Rad Hourani’s black on black collection certainly reflected previous seasons, but in an evolved and perfected mirror.  Androgynous, multi-use, transformative pieces anchored the show. One jacket that could be zipped, unzipped, and worn with interchangeable sleeves, made ten different appearances down the runway. Hourani’s pieces are surprisingly functional, and despite their unexpected features and silhouettes, avoid gimmickry. Quickly they are becoming something you might call futuristic classics. Read more

KEYWORDS: MEN'S SHOWS, new york fashion week

Though this marks only his second menswear collection, Nicholas Petrou is clearly unafraid of statement-making designs. The Petrou\Man presentation on Monday took inspiration from Odysseus, and explored the idea of modern nomadism . Petrou’s Central St. Martin’s training was present in every sharply tailored seam, but instead of using traditional materials for his suiting, Petrou used modern fabrics like microfiber, nylon, metallic painted leather, and hand-dyed tartan jersey wool. In homage to the nomad, many of the pieces were hand embellished. An incredible blazer modeled by Cole Mohr that was emblazoned with over 7,000 safety pins which, from a distance, gave the illusion of metallic fur. With the help of stylist Robbie Spencer, each model wore a custom hat that was envisioned to represent shelter and home. While comfort and respite may have been the vision, the effect was pretty wild.

Photography Fumi Nagasaka

KEYWORDS: MEN'S SHOWS, new york fashion week