In 2024, it can feel like menswear brands release new product every day, if not every hour. But menswear buyers—those highly dialed, incredibly discerning folks who decide what hangs on the racks of your favorite store—still live and die by the seasons. Every February and March, they fly to New York, London, Milan, and Paris to ogle the collections, place their orders, and then wait—some more patiently than others—to receive them in August, to be promoted in September.
Which, funnily enough, is right now. At this very moment, retailers across the globe have unusually deep stock of some of the season’s most covetable pieces, making it the best possible time to shop the fall collections. These circumstances really won’t last forever, so to help you get a highly-informed head start, we called up the buying minds behind some of our favorite retailers—NYC’s Colbo, LA’s Departamento, and the shopping gurus at Nordstrom, Mr Porter, and SSENSE—to learn what menswear brands they’re proudest to have in-house this season, and which specific pieces they’d urge you to try if you were kicking it with them on the floor.
Jian DeLeon, Men’s Fashion Director, Nordstrom
DeLeon—who worked at Highsnobiety (and GQ) before taking the reins of the Nordstrom men’s universe—is particularly excited to be launching Merz B. Schwanen at the retailer this fall. “The German manufacturer of all-things loopwheel earned some serious credibility this year when Jeremy Allen White wore its famous 215 tee in The Bear,” DeLeon says. “We worked with the founders to create a custom pre-shrunk version of that block.” That’s called the TEE02, but DeLeon says the brand’s “ultra-soft” pima cotton tees are also a wise buy.
He’s also proud to be bringing in Mihara Yasuhiro, a “cult Japanese designer known for his far-out takes on familiar footwear. He’s been stocked by a bunch of the world’s coolest stores, and we’re super excited to be joining those ranks.” His standouts? A studded version of the Baker shoe, and forest green colorway of the Blakey, “a Mihara-fied version of the shell-toe sneaker everyone knows and loves.” Expect them to hit Nordstrom locations across the country later this fall.
Andrew Dryden, Cofounder, Departamento
This year, Departamento is stocking rising Italian designer Magliano for the very first time. “All of the brands we pick are as much about place for me, and Magliano is incredibly tied to Bologna—not just for its manufacturing but also as an influence for the designs,” explains store cofounder Andrew Dryden, who has had his eyes on the brand for a number of years, but wanted to feel them out for a few seasons before committing to the kind of long-term partnership Departamento likes to have with its suppliers. “We don’t want to show them something that’s here today, gone tomorrow,” Dryden explains.
He adds that younger designers like Luca Magliano “often have great ideas but not necessarily the means or knowledge to achieve them—but Magliano really has beautiful product, with high quality finishing.” He especially likes the “unassuming argyle cardigan with distorted proportions via a hidden, quilted bomber-like lining in the body—a twist on your grandfather’s wardrobe.”
DPTO will also be showcasing RIER, a “mountain-chic” designer coming out of the Italian-Austrian borderlands. The store has bought into the brand before—from its first collection, in fact—but Dryden says that its fall-winter assortment is the first to “really solidify the core values of the brand.” Those values? “A really strong sense of modern minimalism, beautifully made with materials only from the regions where the clothes are being made.” Dryden cites fleece as a signature fabric, and the City Walker jacket as a favorite piece. “It’s the culmination of [founder] Andreas Steiner’s decontextualized heritage mountain wear,” he says.
Federico Barassi, Vice President of Menswear Buying, SSENSE
“Keep your eyes on Hodakova this season.” That’s the first commandment from Barassi, who leads menswear buying for every fashion person’s favorite Canadian retailer. “Originally launched in 2021, it is one of the top new brands on the SSENSE menswear roster for FW24, and one we think is going to deeply resonate with our customer,” he says. Founded by Ellen Hodakova Larsson—who was raised on a Swedish horse farm—the brand uses a ton of deadstock and upcycled materials, and often makes an intentional “mistake” or two (raw edges, asymmetric detailing, contrast stitching). Barassi also likes how the accessories are “accented with hardware from secondhand belt buckles and timepieces.”
His second callout is to Germany’s NO/FAITH STUDIOS, another new arrival on the SSENSE menswear roster this fall, and one whose oversized denim he sees performing especially well with younger customers. “This brand is best known for its innovative approach to denim, and made waves in 2020 with their first pair of jeans in a market that already felt saturated with the fabric,” he explains. “Since then, they’ve garnered a cult-following across Europe, Asia, and America. There’s a great emphasis on oversized silhouettes, washing techniques, and utilitarian style with an irreverent Y2K twist.”
Tal Silberstein, Cofounder, Colbo
Colbo, a multi-brand boutique on the Lower East Side, has stocked Hed Mayner for a few seasons, but Silberstein says he was “freaking out” when he saw the designer’s fall collection. That was mostly thanks to one set—an overshirt and pants in the same suede-outer, soft denim-interior Italian fabrics. “This thing is another level,” he says, “I’ve been waiting for it to arrive since January, and it’s already selling well.” (He particularly loves that the outer blue seams reveal the denim hiding on the inside.) The brand as a whole, he says, represents “the essence of everything I believe in, because it’s not about presentation—it’s still beautiful and the highest quality, but wearable. That overshirt is a perfect fit.”
He’s also jazzed about having his first ever full order of Cawley, designed by Hannah Cawley out of London. “She’s known for her leatherwork and her fabrics, and her fits cater to both men and women, but a couple of seasons ago she really started doing menswear, which is when we started doing business with her.” It’s eccentric, Silberstein says, but in a “British fairytale way that’s being perceived really well in the store.” His favorites of this fall’s collection include the Portuguese striped wool jacket and long wool coat, but also a butter-yellow corduroy jacket and a warm chocolate suede cap. Oh, and while we have you—Silberstein nodded to Camiel Fortgens, Another Aspect, and Yoko Sakamoto as store standouts, too.
David Morris, Buying Manager, Mr Porter
Morris’s picks for fall are eye-catching, but in more of a “wow, they really spent time on this” way than a “look at that crazy graphic” way. His brands span three continents, but we begin with Kartik Research, which works closely with experts in India to hand-make extremely limited pieces in silk, cotton, and linen. (Morris loves the hand-embroidered corduroy jacket below—“corduroy is back”—and the beading and crystal on the hand-loomed shirt.)
Then it’s over to Downtown LA, where Cherry Los Angeles produces all of its Americana-informed pieces, from chore coats to double-knee canvas trousers and denim. Morris doesn’t see the workwear train slowing down any time soon, and Mr Porter has plenty of Cherry to go around, including the brand’s “extremely sought-after” Rincon patched trousers and suede truckers.
And lastly, there’s Stockholm tailor Saman Amel. After years of drawing attention with its muted palette and perfectly draped suit jackets, the brand truly took over the timeline this summer with its City Moc boat shoes—both of which are available at Mr Porter for the season ahead.
