Now we have something to anticipate at Gap's Fifth Avenue Concept Store later this year when GQ's Best New Menswear Designers for 2012 will each launch capsule collections with the mega-chain. The group of six burgeoning labels were just announced, and what a great group it is, proving that American menswear is experiencing something of an unprecedented talent explosion right now. Last year's group designed a few (sort of expensive!) pieces for Dockers that were sold at Bloomingdales, but this time around the six designers chosen by the magazine will get broader exposure. GQ will pick a winner as the collections come closer to launching, but let's start with The Shophound's favorites —and we do have some in this group:
IAN VELARDI just showed his third collection for his own label, and The Shophound has been smitten since we discovered his debut line of sophisticated but modern and sleek a year ago at Capsule. Barneys loved it too and carries his line exclusively along with Park & Bond online. This unassuming and hardworking young designer put in time at Hickey and Hart, Shaffner & Marx, and essentially operates as a one-man show. That's dedication! He has impeccable taste and also loves cars, which is awesome. We'll wear anything he makes, and we don't care what he turns out for the Gap because we know we are already buying every piece.
MARK MCNAIRY is another designer who could easily lead us around by our nose like the fashion cult leader he has become. He is most well known at the moment for his English made shoe line which established his irreverent sensibility with classic styles. You can thank him for the profusion of suede bucks with neon-colored rubber soles you have been seeing everywhere. He has just launched his full ready-to-wear collection along with showing his third season as the designer for the exclusive Woolrich Woolen Mills label and overseeing collaborations with Bass, Spiewak and Pro-Keds, so this is a very busy man. Don't get mad if he doesn't have time for an extended conversation. Expect to see classic pieces in unexpected materials and patterns like camo, floral, smiley faces or who knows what?
The identical twin brothers Shimon & Ariel Ovadia behind OVADIA & SONS have been dazzling editors and retailers since they debuted their eye-popping soup-to-nuts collection of sportswear, tailored clothing, shoes, furnishings and accessories last year. The Brooklyn based pair come from a family steeped in the garment industry, and their meticulously made collection of classic clothing is infused with a very contemporary no-holds-barred sense of luxury. How will they translate their rarefied point of view for the more democratic Gap?
TODD SNYDER is another editor and retailer's favorite who has taken what he learned at Polo and J.Crew and wrapped it up in a more luxurious and modern package to sell at stores like Bergdorf Goodman and Odin. He has succeeded in separating his own style from those of his previous employers, though this upcoming collaboration presents the interesting circumstance of a former J.Crew designer creating a capsule line for the Gap.
SATURDAYS NYC has also benefitted from exposure at J.Crew, and of all the designers chosen, their own casual style is closest to the Gap's stock in trade. Expect designers Colin Tunstall, Josh Rosen and Morgan Collett to turn out something that goes well with a surfboard.
And finally, BLK DNM founder Johan Lindeberg is not really much of a newcomer having founded the J.Lindeberg label and consulted on a host of other labels, but his new label shows a more refined attitude towards denim and wardrobe basics. His SoHo store just got the Critical Shoppper treatment in the Times, and he has made fans out of musicians and fashion editors. How will he translate his luxury basics back to the masses who shop at the Gap?
Announcing GQ's Best New Designers in America 2012 (GQ.com)
NOTE: All images from GQ.com.
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