CFDA reveals sparse schedule for NYFW: Men's

By

Robin Driver

Published
May 17, 2019

Four years after the event’s launch, the publication of the preliminary schedule for the upcoming spring season of New York Fashion Week: Men’s by the CFDA has revealed a severely reduced line-up, as calendar shifts and lost funding have taken their toll on attendance.

 
The calendar, which kicks off on Monday, June 3, features a total of just under 20 designers, a far cry from the close to 90 labels that once graced the NY menswear schedule.
 
Furthermore, it’s worth noting that around half of this season’s designers will present as part of Agentry PR’s New York Men’s Day event for emerging talents and small brands.

Labels participating in this opening day include Timo Weiland, led by the creative team of Tim Weiland, Donna Kang and Alan Eckstein; Hong Kong-bred, London-based soft streetwear brand Ka Wa Key and Cypriot designer Vasilis Loizides’ namesake label.

On Tuesday, June 4, Daisuke Obana’s N.Hoolywood brand and Frère will show in the evening, with proceedings drawing to a close on Wednesday, June 5, with shows throughout the day from Freemans Sporting Club, Untitled Collection, Private Policy, NIHL, Linder Men’s and Grungy Gentleman.
 
In its first fashion week participation since the exit of founder and designer Jack Miner in October of last year, Mexican men’s casualwear label Hecho will also be receiving guests by appointment on the event’s final day.
 
Notable absences include Todd Snyder, Robert Geller and Bode, all of whom have been strong supporters of the event since it began.
 
First launched by the CFDA in 2015, New York’s standalone menswear fashion week was intended to put the city’s fashion calendar in step with the schedules of Paris, London and Milan, and to showcase homegrown stateside talent. The event was able to attract both designers and corporate sponsors fairly quickly thanks to its initial buzz but more recently it has been showing signs of a troubling slow-down.
 
Indeed, last season, the decision to transform NYFW: Men’s into a three-day affair that was peppered with coed shows and ran into the city’s womenswear week was just the latest in a series of signs that the event is faltering.
 
The reasons behind this season’s depleted roster, however, are rather more specific. Perhaps the most glaring issue is the fact that, having lost its sponsors, the CFDA can no longer offer funding for menswear shows, meaning that many smaller brands simply can’t afford to participate in NYFW: Men’s.
 
“We’ve seen our budget drop by half, at least,” explained CFDA CEO Steven Kolb to The New York Times in February. “We haven’t had a hard time finding the talent. We’ve had a hard time finding the funding.”
 
This issue has been further exacerbated by the decision to shift the event from July to June in order to coincide with New York’s women’s resort shows. The change means that this season’s NYFW: Men’s is too early for a number of the city’s menswear designers, who generally work to the rhythm set by July’s trade shows.
 
For its part, the women’s resort calendar is also looking a little bare, with the likes of Badgley Mischka, Dennis Basso and Akris all preferring to show by appointment. Monse and Alexander Wang will, however, be hosting runway presentations on Friday, May 31, while Johanna Ortiz, Lorod, Victor Glemaud and Greta Constantine will show on the following Tuesday. TRE by Natalie Rabesi will be the only brand hosting a women’s resort runway on Wednesday, June 5.
 
The release of the menswear calendar comes just under a week after the CFDA’s announcement that this September’s New York Fashion Week will be cut down to five days in response to demand from the industry.