A Few Menswear Designers You Should Know

A Few Menswear Designers You Should Know

1. Andrea Pompilio

Having created his eponymous label in 2010, Andrea Pompilio is a much anticipated show each and every fashion week. The Italian designer’s shows contain no apparent theme like other designers’ works often do. Instead, Pompilio’s looks could have been inspired by the huge current interest in street style – through blogs like The Sartorialist and our very own dedicated section. Pompilio creates looks that appeal not only to the fashion elite, but also to the average man, even those uninterested in fashion. His looks often use layering and oversizing to create a look of comfort and style that appears very natural. these are accessible clothes meant to be worn everyday, from grocery shopping to going to visit a mate.

2. Dsquared2

3. Henrik Vibskov

In a similar way to Andrea Pompilio, Scandinavian designer Henrik Vibskov’s clothing is not highly sculptural, nor features the classic tailored pieces associated with designers like Dolce & Gabbana, Armani or Van Beirendonck’s mesmerising suits. Unlike Pompilio, Vibskov’s pieces move further away from street style and closer to an art exhibition, with the catwalk acting as a stage or installation piece for the models to interact within.

His clothing are often made from traditional materials but cut uniquely to create a new, unusual garment. Different textures and colours are layered to provide a very rock ‘n’ roll edge to these simple designs, elevating them from clothing into art.

4. Ann Demeulemeester

Belgian designer Ann Demeulemeester is known as one of the ‘Antwerp Six’ as she was amongst a talented group of designers that graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp during the 1980s.

Since then, Demeulemeester’s dark and experimental style has become her trademark, a theme reoccurring in almost every collection throughout her career. Often using airy and loose fabrics, Demeulemeester’s models are described as androgynous but are really a genderless creature – elevating them to some kind of superior gender, housing the positive traits from the male and female.Her latest spring/summer 2013 collection has kept that typical Demeulemeester vein but with some slight floral patterning and metallic colour, creating a Bronte style man with a brooding, dark romanticism and a feeling of vulnerability.

5. Acne

If there’s one designer/label from the five in this article that you should know already, it’s Acne. Having recently worked at one of Britain’s favourite luxury department stores, I can tell you that this Swedish brand have become a huge hit with the men of Britain due to their simple, crisp and modern take on menswear design. Beginning as a denim brand, Acne (standing for ‘Ambition to Create Novel Expression’) soon amassed a huge cult following, now becoming one of the highlights of both the men and women’s fashion weeks.Working in mostly muted, earthy tones, Acne’s clothing is all about simplicity, helping create understated looks that really draw attention to the quality and composition of each individual item. There is a strong focus on the full outfit rather than each individual piece.