10 Brands You Need to Pay Attention to in 2015

There's never been a better time for dudes to dress themselves. While menswear hasn’t quite reached the stature of womenswear, its importance and the caliber people weighing in on it has definitely risen. 2014 brought us some memorable collections with a plethora of unique, individualized takes on “the modern man.” As we skip exuberantly into 2015, the excitement over what’s to come is palpable.

The positive perception of menswear has gone public. Preparation for a New York men's fashion week has begun. Well-known womenswear designers have even begun to make things for men. Some brands are beginning to create their own lanes, while others continue to dominate the ones they’re in. With so many new entries in the market popping up, here are the ones to truly watch in 2015.

There’s nothing new about skate brands becoming proverbial cult leaders among the heavy street-sceners. But Bianca Chandon has unified the juxtaposed worlds of skateboarding and fashion with its subversive (though artful) approach, with collections pulling from the disco era and early ’90s sportswear. Even the name has the feel of a coercively trendy fashion designer. How can you not get behind a brand that doesn’t seem to care, but in reality, cares more than you can imagine?

If there is any shop that you’d want to see with its own in-house line, look no further than Très Bien, one of the world’s premier men’s sportswear and casualwear shops. Brothers Hannes and Simon Hogeman have made the transition from store owners and buyers to certified designers of the same high-quality goods they’re peddling. The coats and lumber jackets utilizing virgin wool, zip shirts, and well-made basics that dominated their first couple of releases have seen ungodly success, which means 2015 arrives portending an inevitable evolution into bigger and better offerings coming soon. And that, my friends, is very scary.

Aimé Leon Dore came on the scene and immediately crushed it. Teddy Santis’ connections aren’t just pigeonholed to his NYC roots, as Parisian influences are evident in the name alone. But it isn’t his connections that have earned him such high praise or initial success with the brand—it’s his discipline and basic know-how that have kept ALD in its lane while pushing its cozywear-basics evolution to the next iteration. The brand’s recent collaboration with streetwear giant Kith showcases its determination to evolve, but also lets us know that Teddy has no problem keeping it metaphorically within the family, provided the execution is right.

Christophe Lemaire had a groundbreaking 2014. When news broke that he was leaving his post at Hermès as artistic director of womenswear to focus on his eponymous label, there was an instant jolt through the system, especially since his label’s focus was equally divided between women’s and menswear. It’s safe to say that fashionable men all over the world benefited greatly as he produced one of his best collections in Fall 2014, and then showed a phenomenal Spring 2015 collection that pushed minimalistic, relaxed silhouettes utilizing his menswear’s favorite hues—tracking perfectly the direction that menswear is headed in 2015.

All-black is always in. No matter how hard colors try to infiltrate the style world, none of them will ever live up to black, especially the way up-and-coming menswear brand Chapter utilizes it—through minimalistic, yet modern, silhouettes, asymmetrical cuts, and unique fabrics you aren’t accustomed to seeing in typical menswear collections. They released some really solid collections the past few seasons and Spring/Summer 2015 looks to keep their dark-hued, bright future shining.

We are currently a part of a menswear culture shift, seeing the move from total grunge and exaggerated everything to clean cuts with premium materials and tailored fits. But who’s to say you can’t house both? Smith & Smith’s designs include tidy and calculated basics for everyday wear, but they all have a slight twist: an exaggerated proportion here, a relaxed cut there. The muted, yet refreshing, colors only accentuate these little details, always giving the brand a “what will we do next?” vibe. Smith & Smith is adaptable enough to be paired with just about any style niche, but it also has the long, luxurious legs to stand on its own.

The Scandinavian takeover is upon us. We’ve already seen brands like Our Legacy and Acne Studios work their way to the top, while COS simply infiltrated the U.S. and brought us great basics for an even better price. Now CMMN SWDN is the next brand to take a swing for the fence and, so far, brand co-owners Saif Bakir and Emma Hedlund have knocked it over. Their brand is very much progressive, pushing its heritage with bomber silhouettes and unconventional sweatshirts using bright color palettes and stark whites. An incredible SS15 offering (which should be picked up by any shop that wants to seem clairvoyant with its buys) was followed up by a very successful AW15 collection at the recent men’s showings in London.

Men think they know what they want out of their style, but it’s a good thing that women are around to correct them. This couldn’t be better demonstrated than with Trademark’s Louisa and Pookie Burch’s recent foray into the world of menswear, capitalizing on their uber-successful RTW women’s line. The brand offers everyday uniforms to the sartorially competent—knit tops, tailored over-layers, and slim trousers without some of the risk/reward designs that newer brands live and die by. For Trademark, there really is no risk—just rewards.

Traditionally, Loewe has been a leading womenswear fashion house out of Spain. But JW Anderson’s recent takeover has led the brand into uncharted territory with its first- ever menswear collection in Spring 2015. As you would imagine, their initial showing sparked incredibly high expectations, and to most, it passed with flying colors. And what colors they were—exceptionally well-utilized, Spanish-inspired hues that were joined by draping silhouettes, asymmetrical details and perfectly relaxed-fit trousers. Anderson’s vision was perfectly executed and led to mass hysteria for the brand, minus the months of suspense, since its initial spring line was offered up immediately on the brand’s in-house e-commerce site… thank god for instant gratification!

One of the hottest labels on the lips of just about every serious menswear enthusiast over the past 10 months or so has been Haider Ackermann. His foray into menswear is only a few years in the making after his decade of dominance in the womenswear arena, but his menswear designs are within arm’s reach of his womenswear excellence. His Spring 2015 collection was a good representation of his menswear work—long, flowing top layers with exaggerated proportions and rock n’ roll-inspired slim pants that some might consider too androgynous, but with a cohesiveness that can be appreciated by everyone. And when you have one of the world’s biggest celebrity fashion leaders, Kanye West, as one of your brand advocates and aesthetic cosigners, you are surely doing something right.