The MAN New York trade show emerged recently as the American counterpart to a Parisian menswear expo first held in January of 2012. Over three seasons, MAN has defined itself by presenting a group of brands that favor responsible manufacturing and build quality rather than wholesale quantity. For many brands showing, MAN marks their first major introduction to the American market. Earlier this month, we stopped in to inspect the goings-on and came away impressed.
La Paz was an early standout at this month's MAN New York. Owner André Bastos Teixeira explained the Portuguese brand is based in the northern city of Porto, "near the industry," but does its manufacturing all over the country: with hat makers in the mountains and shirt-making fishermen in Nazaré. The only products they don't make in Portugal are the knit sweaters they outsource to the powerful Scottish knitwear machine. The La Paz line is cleanly designed and loosely based around a "seafaring" life near the water.
Tender is a brand run out of owner William Kroll's living room in London. In addition to staffing the company's warehouse (which he says is literally a series of boxes), he also leads the design and manufacture of each product. The takeaway from Tender's booth was that Kroll is a materials man. All the metal for his line, for things like buttons and buckles, is made from solid brass by vintage wax casting. Even the glasses he sells are actually made from cotton acetate instead of plastic or cellulose.
One of his headline items had to be the "hands on" watch. Tender uses reclaimed Swiss movements with a special 45 degree rotated face to recreate vintage driving watches. The idea was that with the tilted face, you never had to take your hands off the wheel.
New York's painfully cold and windy weather during MAN was a stroke of luck for the Netherlands knitwear brand Howlin', which is actually a side-label of the older family-owned knitwear brand Morrison. The two brothers of the family started Howlin' in 2009 to try out some youthful new designs. Howlin' showed an impressive line including hats, sweaters, and socks, with designs ranging from intricate multi-colored patterns to simple solids. Like La Paz, they also source their knits from Scotland. By the way, Howlin' is Scottish slang for smelly, but that didn't seem to stop the attendees from taking a long glance at the warm knits when contemplating braving the elements outside.
Oak Street Bootmakers' line of leather footwear is designed in a Chicago workshop, made from American leather by Horween, and manufactured in Maine or New York. The brand's designs echo classic American styles. It seems that Oak Street's mission isn't to reinvent the wheel of boot design, but to improve build quality. Prices fall in the $300–$450 range, but with an estimated 15-year lifespan, their shoes should be a worthy investment.