Men’s Spring ’17 Denim Gets Detailed
At Project New York Men’s (July 17-19) at the Jacob Javits Center, brands proved that interesting design is not just for women’s product. As the major men’s denim trend continues to be the dominance of stretch, the old rules for jeanswear are being rewritten. Brands are reimagining worn denim with rip-and-repair, adding a summery touch with colored twills, creating a sophisticated effect with selvedge details and increasing comfort with fabrics with a soft hand.
Rip-and-Repair
The destruction trend is still going strong, but an interesting alternative is showing up in the form of rip-and-repair. Mavi showed small patches of rip-and-repair with diagonal stitching, and Jean Shop presented versions of the style that ranged from subtle treatments to larger denim patches.
Colored Twills
Denim brands were showing more than just shades of indigo. Perhaps anticipating the return to the popularity of colored pants, brands were showing an array of twill hues. At Mavi, where twills have been a perennial favorite, there were pants in powder blue, red-orange and khaki. Paige offered a similar assortment of pastel shades, with royal blue added to the mix. Jean Shop premiered the brand’s first season for brighter hues, with twills in rich colors including red, blue and green.
Selvedge Details
No longer just for inseams, selvedge details showed up outlining different parts of garments. Current/Elliott showed a jacket with the zipper placket and the inside hem lined with selvedge. At Fidelity Denim, a jean style with heavy fading and whiskering furthered its heritage effect with selvedge edging on the coin pocket. Selvedge lining on the coin pocket also showed up at Mavi.
Comfort Fabrics
The athleisure influence on denim has remained strong, and brands are incorporating stretch fabrics and highlighting hand feel. Mavi is using a knit-based fabric by Orta, which has the quality of woven denim with the stretch and performance of activewear, and extreme comfort provided by high TENCEL® content. The brand is also using an L.A.-made fabric with TENCEL® that has a special alchemy finish that gives the denim its cashmere feel.