June 6, 2023 |
The spring/summer 2024 menswear shows are about to come crashing. Full throttle. Full effect. Dozens of presentations and shows will lump together in an array of audacious fashion shenanigans for a four-week affair riddled with subversive, enchanting, cooler-than ensembles; not to mention the city swaps and designer debuts bringing a fresh batch of menswear fashions to the four corners of the world. London is up first, followed by Pitti Uomo, Florence’s first-rate menswear trade fair; then it’s Milan’s turn for a Fashion Week frenzy and finally, the fashion pack will land in France for the Parisian pandemonium we know and love. (There will even be a little pit-stop in Berlin, where Saint Laurent will show its latest menswear collection in a one-off show on June 12).
But, if keeping tabs on your own fashion calendar isn’t exactly your strong suit, there’s no need to sound the alarm bells yet ‘cause we’ve rounded up all the must-see men’s shows of the SS24 season, so you don’t have to.
LONDON
London Fashion Week has been sparse of its usual bigwigs for a few seasons now, operating on a reduced schedule with just a handful of events scattered over the weekend calendar. This season is no different, with only a few notable shows to name from June 9 to 12.
Daniel W. Fletcher will kick off London’s season of style with an off-schedule catwalk on Friday June 9, followed by a presentation from Qasimi, which will show its own collection alongside the winning designers of its debut ‘Qasimi Rising’ talent incubator: Omer Asim and Selim Azzam. SMR Days is staging a sun-soaked presentation too.
Opting to show off schedule by the same token as DWF, Martine Rose is back in the Big Smoke following her Pitti Uomo debut in January. Having long treated her namesake label as a love letter to London, there might be some subcultural references and masculine and feminine archetypes subverted with a wink and nudge. Plus, as she unloads her quirky, steamlined clothes onto the runway, we can expect to – alas! – come face to foot with her highly anticipated Clarks collab. While the range of stompers has remained tightly under wraps since it was announced last month, we know that it’s inspired by Erwin Wurm’s Convertible Fat Cars – wherein the Austrian artist plumped up classic sportscars to comment on obesity, power and wealth. Rose’s cartoonish adaptation of the works will feature blown-up outers, padded leather covers and a swollen sole.
On top of all that, a triptych of degree shows will roll out over the course of the weekend, with Westminster BA showing on Friday, Ravensbourne on Saturday and East London University on Monday.
Then International Woolmark Prize 22’ and Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design winner 22’, Saul Nash, will host the final brand-based catwalk of the weekend on Monday. Check out the full London schedule here.
PITTI UOMO
Grab your Gucci duffle bags boys, cause after London, it’s off to Florence we go for the city’s quintessential menswear tradeshow: Pitti Uomo. The expo will employ the theme ‘Pitti Games’, a concept that will span across all of Pitti Immagine’s fairs this season. Transforming into a breeding ground for the best in fashion, over 800 brands will present their designs via a range of physical booths, presentations and shows. Big hitters include Baracuta, Kangol, Fila, Brunello Cucinelli, Crocs, Goldwin, Giuseppe Zanotti and more.
As always, Pitti Uomo will also be welcoming in a guest designer; this season, Santa Monica-based designer and former Kim Jones collaborator Eli Russell Linnetz of ERL is bringing his fluid fashions to Florence with an SS24 runway – his first ever – following in the formidable footsteps of former guests. ERL will debut alongside a “special project to portray [Eli’s] crossover vision among fashion, design, and lifestyle”.
Rather surprisingly, Silvia Venturini Fendi is also set to show her next Fendi menswear show during the Florentine fair. The show will take place June 15 at the brand’s newly opened accessories plant dubbed the Fendi Factory, located a 30-minute drive outside the city in the rolling hills of Capannuccia. From June 13 to 16, the 104th edition of Pitti Uomo is set to be a good ‘un. Discover the full trade fair here.
MILAN
Returning to the Italian city’s cobblestone streets on June 16, Valentino is bringing it back to the basics with its first menswear-dedicated runway in three years. Breaking away from the co-ed format it followed in recent seasons, the show, entitled Valentino The Narratives, will mark the beginning of Milan’s annual June Men’s Fashion Week, kicking off at the Università degli Studi di Milano Statale and carrying through until June 20. Pierpaolo Piccioli’s decision to show on the opening day of Milan Fashion Week, at a time when Statale di Milano is swarming with students, comes from the desire to inspire and stimulate the next generation via a creative exchange. As such, students from the University will be able to attend the event live on campus.
Fast becoming fan favourites, there’s a whole lotta’ Brits abroad this season, with JW Anderson, JordanLuca and Charles Jeffrey Loverboy all decamping to Milan for another year. Sure as cigarettes and coffee on a Sunday, you can expect to fall for a slew of mesmerising moments brought to us by all the usual contenders: Prada, Dsquared2, Giorgio and Emporio Armani, MSGM, Magliano, and Etro which will present Marco de Vincenzo’s second dedicated mens collection for the house. Zegna’s star power will once again close out the week’s proceedings. View the full schedule here.
PARIS
Over in the land of baguettes and booze, heads will certainly be on a swivel, with all eyes finding their mark and landing on Pharrell Williams. After months of speculation over who would replace the late Virgil Abloh at the helm of Louis Vuitton, the polymath musician was announced as the house’s new menswear creative director, and on Tuesday June 20, he’ll present his debut collection. A cultural heavyweight whose influence spans music, fashion, beauty and art, alongside his musical accolades, Pharrell is the co-founder of streetwear labels Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream, as well as the brains behind popular beauty brand Humanrace, and has collaborated with everyone from Chanel and Adidas, to Tiffany & Co. So while his creative capacity as a designer can hardly be argued, for now, his LV vision remains under wraps. Fingers crossed he sends us all on a trip to the stratosphere as he closes out the first day in Paris, turning the page on LV’s last chapter.
A string of this year’s Woolmark Prize finalists are putting on shows too. Bluemarble is staging a catwalk while Rhude, and the winner of the 2024 edition, Lagos Space Programme, are hosting presentations.
As always with the City of Love, the big hitters are coming in hot. Some names of note include Rick Owens, Comme des Garçons Homme Plus, Loewe, Hermès, Dior, Dries Van Noten, Junya Watanabe and Kenzo.
On the flip side, a growing roster of emerging labels – from both home and abroad – are opting to show on Parisian soil. Wales Bonner, Bianca Saunders, Botter, Kiko Kostadinov, Sacai, Wooyoungmi, Acne Studios, EgonLab, KidSuper, Marine Serre and Georges Wendell are all lined up and ready for the fashion rat race. Ludovic de Saint Sernin will close out the week with what;s expected to be a slinky, sensual show, following his sudden departure from the helm of Ann Demeulemeester last month. View the full PFWM SS24 schedule here.
Top image: From left to right – Martine Rose Menswear AW23, Rick Owens Menswear AW23, Fendi Menswear AW24. Follow all the action from the SS23 shows via our Instagram stories at @10magazine and @10menmagazine.
