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New York Fashion Week
Men's Spring 2010 Wrap-Up

Even though fewer men make it to the runways each season than women, the trends are no less plentiful.  Here’s the 4 trends we felt best wrapped up the men’s Spring 2010 New York Men’s Collections last week.

Coulders

Expect lines at the Military Press this Spring as the fashionable guys get ready for the season’s exposed shoulders.  Designers showed a fondness for the exposed shoulder more than recent seasons.  Donna Karan, however cannot take credit for this trend, as it was less about a design detail & more about a silhouette choice made by designers across all categories of clothing.  Shown here, we choose sweater, a sleeveless parka & an extreme one sleeve jacket to demonstrate the point, there were many other versions ranging from the predictable – a sleeveless t-shirt – to the never before seen – a sleeveless trench coat jumpsuit.

Stripes

Stripes were on many runways this season & many were in the simplest of combinations:  Black & White.  Certain to drive the videographers crazy, this most basic of prints, second in simplicity to a basic polka dot, made for a very fresh, clean statement.  Thankfully, the idea was never applied to an entire suit, as one might expect in some of the more whimsy collections like Duckie Brown or Thom Browne, but rather was used in moderation as a piece to add interest, as seen here in versions by Yigal Azrouel, Robert Geller & Lacoste.

Shims

Not since the many late nights I spent in the cavernous clubs of 1980’s New York have I seen so many gender bending styles congregating in one place as on the runways for Spring 2010.  This time round, however, the looks still maintained a strong sense of the wearers’ masculinity & didn’t have the feeling of femme or girly, but rather purely androgynous.  While we’ve seen men in caftans & skirts in the recent past, I can’t recall a time when I’ve seen men on the runways in tube tops & tunic dresses as were shown this season.  The two most devoted practitioners of the aesthetic were without a doubt Davidelfin & Rad Hourani, the latter of which took the trend a step further (pun not intended) by showing his men & women in the exact same shoe style.

Unicolors

The most appealing look of the season had to be the wave of monochromatic palettes that swept the runways for the season.  Claiborne’s designer John Bartlett started the trend the first day & it continued until the last model exited runway right.  Shown here are looks from Robert Geller, G-Star & Devidelfin, but without a doubt the most impactful use of the trend was the final walk around at the Lacoste show where the entire cast paraded out in an acidy yellow-green palette from head to toe, eyewear included.  Perhaps I’ll have to rethink my parental fashion veto when my 6 year old pulls out his red t-shirt to go with his red shorts come next Spring.

-Scott French

Photos provided by Fashion Wire Press

See our Womenswear Spring 2010 Wrap-up

See all of our Spring 2010 New York Fashion Week Coverage