The Winners and Losers of New York Fashion Week: Men's

There’s always a lot to digest from a single fashion week. The event gives outlets endless content in the form of best trends, most noteworthy people, designers to watch, street style to be catalogued in your mind, and this season around, even important political statements. And how can you be expected to keep up with next season’s trends when countless pieces on the state of fashion week need to be consumed?

All this can result in sensory overload, and while fashion ultimately remains subjective and up to individual's likes and dislikes, clear takeaways absolutely emerge from the broader conversation.

Fact of the matter is that NYFW: Men’s can be boiled down and summarized the way nature intended: winners and losers.

One of the most unusual (and biggest) trends to come out of NYFW: Men’s is the hyper-long extended belt—as Drake would say, “swanging.”Tim Coppens, Rochambeau, Landlord, andJohn Elliott all hopped on the trend.

Also, while chokers have waded their way over to the menswear world, NYFW: Men’s designers gravitated towards scarves for the man who’s feeling particularly swanky. The neckwear popped up at John Varvatos and David Hart.

It was a great season for brands that might not define themselves as “streetwear,” but clearly have roots in that world. John Elliott, Stampd, Rochambeau, Second/Layer, and Landlord all occupy a weird middle space between high and low fashion. These designers put on some of the most talked-about presentations and represent the possible next step in menswear.

“I think this is the future of what's going on within fashion for men right now,” Stampd designer Chris Stamp told Complex just a couple weeks ago.

People making a name for themselves by going the ~fashion~ route is apparently a strong move. Former Twilight star Kellen Lutz picked up a ton of press by somehow attending every NYFW: M show in existence making himself known with the event’s brightest yellow hair.

Travis Mills, similarly, followed this blueprint to stardom and climbed the fame ladder all the way to the NY Times style section.

Much of the talk coming out of NYFW: M was the week’s continued inability to find itself. “Men’s New York Fashion Week has an identity crisis,” read one headline. Others were less constructive: “The Final Word on New York Fashion Week Men's: Meh,”W wrote.

Others involved in the industry weighed in on Twitter,noting that “Men’s fashion week in NYC is completely uninspiring and boring.” The lack of energy around the shows has plagued NFYW: M since its launch, but it’s only three seasons in. We remain optimistic that the event can be a quote-unquote winner soon enough.