Paris Fashion Week: Menswear newcomers added to show calendar

Taking place January 17 to the 21, Men's Fashion Week is expected to have its share of surprises, with seven menswear brands entering (or reentering) the official Fashion Week calendar in Paris.

Following the announcement of a coed show by Vetements and its designer Demna Gvasalia - a return to Paris, but a first in the men's calendar - the federation also announced the arrival of Dunhill London, the English brand now piloted by designer Marc Weston (formerly senior vice president of menswear at Burberry), who is previously accustomed to hitting the runway in London.

Of the fashion houses already on the calendar, Acne Studios returns to the catwalk this season, while the Off-White label and its star creator Virgil Abloh, will also make a return to Paris following his appearance at Pitti Uomo last season.

Among the new brands hitting the catwalk, gmbH should attract attention. Presenting last summer at the Institute of the Arab World, the brand led by a Berlin collective - headed by artist and photographer Benjamin Alexander Huseby and Turkish-born German designer Serhat Isik – is rooted in streetwear and workwear, largely influenced by the Berlin techno scene. Supported from the beginning by some big retailers - Opening Ceremony and Isetan among others - gmbH was selected in 2017 as a finalist of the LVMH award.

Another brand to remember is Parisian label Nïuku, who should also make some noise. Formed by the duo Lenny Guerrier (known especially through multi-brand Coïncidence, dedicated to young creators and vintage pieces, now closed) and Niuku Djawal, a Mauritian designer from Studio Berçot. The brand claims a unisex style and influences from Margiela, Helmut Lang and Rei Kawakubo.

Expected also is Alejandro Gomez Palomo, a Spanish designer from the London College of Fashion and founder of the brand Palomo Spain launched in 2015. His style: a feminine wardrobe, eradicating the boundaries of the genre, where tailoring, embroidery, noble materials and extravagance mix.

Under a presentation format, ten other new brands will present. In addition to Editions MR, which will present for the first time a men’s and women’s collection (via its showroom on Rue d'Aboukir), the Japanese brand Undercover, noticed during a fashion show with Sacaï last October in Tokyo, will present its winter collection in the form of a presentation.

All eyes should also be on Ambush, the unisex brand of American designer Yoon Ahn, based in Tokyo and was a finalist of the LVMH award this year; Amiri, a Los Angeles-based brand founded by Mike Amiri and embraced by a number of celebrities; Sadak, the brand of Serbian designer Sasa Kovacevic, based in Berlin; the unisex and functional style of Myar and its designer, Andrea Rosso; the dandy western looks of Takahiro Miyashita, co-founder of the Number Nine brand and now head of Takahiromiyashitat The Soloist label; the rebellious silhouettes of London-based designer Yang Li and the elegant Parisian-based Nicolas Andras Taralis.

Finally, note the presence - still in presentation format - of the young French designer Arthur Avellano. Formerly from Atelier Chardon Savard, the designer's first show last year was interested in the use of latex.

Paris Fashion Week: Menswear newcomers added to show calendar

See also