NYFW: Men’s Makes Men Buy. (Or at least that’s what our data shows…)

After a month’s worth of resort, menswear, and couture shows wrapping up, fashion fatigue wasn´t evident last week. For the first time, American menswear designers had their very own spotlight separate from the wave of women’s shows that will hit come September. Editors, buyers and influencers made their way to the Highline’s new Skylight Studios at Clarkson square for a packed lineup of runway shows and presentations of the newest offerings for the Spring season.

Laid back and more scaled down than the original New York Fashion Week, we have no doubt this men’s debut will be just as influential in predicting the styles and influencing buys as its predecessor…

 

…and it sure was so far. Looking at the traffic and pageviews on the Stylight.com´s men´s clothing site the traffic peaked to one of its highest amount of pageviews during the whole year. That was on July 13th, which coincided with NYFW:M. With the immense fashion event ending on the 16th July, we´ve seen a steady growth of not only new traffic but also recurring visitors. Can we hypothesise that the male orientated New York Fashion Week makes men buy, or at least feel inspired to buy?

Comparing data from visits to our .com site between 13th – 16th July 2015 versus the same days of the week before gave us some thought-provoking results. Overall an extremely low bounce rate and high conversion rate for the US men page which means that men seem to know what they are looking for and willing to buy (convert) directly. The pages most viewed on our STYLIGHT.com site by males during the specified time include: Men´s Homepage, Men´s Sale page, Helly Hansen, Van Heusen, St. John´s Bay, adidas, MCM, Nike, Rocawear, Fila, Versace and Herschel Backpacks.

It´s not just ecommerce that receives an influx during the fashion season of the year. Our colleagues at VICE managed to speak to a drug dealer who confirmed the influx of drugs goes hand in hand with people wanting to be up to speed (excuse the pun) with fashion week. Everyone goes for lavish and the splurge.

 

If you didn’t make it to NYFW: Men’s yourself and it’s triggered #FOMO we’ve got you covered with seven key trends we spotted at the Spring 16’ menswear collections. With so many chains vying for consumers’ cash STYLIGHT will be able to provide you with all.

1. Sharp & Sporty:
Don’t call it athleisure, the off-duty gym trend got a sharp reboot with sporty elements like sweats and hoodies infused with classic suiting.

2. Boy Scout Scarves:
Thin, rock star inspired scarves worthy of Keith Richards were a major hit this year. Spring however, was all about perfectly tied petite scarves mimicking those once worn with Boy Scout uniforms. Silk, patterned and cotton were styled with everything from suits to tees making these super light accessories suitable for almost everyone.

3. Funnel Necks:
Evident mostly in jackets and anoraks, funnel necks were a favorite amongst many designers. Functional and fashionable, these are sure to give men the best of both worlds.

4. Wide Legs:
We’ve seen women’s pant legs widening over the last few seasons and finally menswear has caught up. Designers turned up the volume in the form of billowing, baggy and ultra wide trousers.

 

 

5. Leave It To Beaver:
The fifties were a favorite this week as retro silhouettes in the form of bowling shirts in all variations ruled the runways.

6. Coastal Camo:
Camouflage is nothing new in menswear and this season, a beachy alternative presented itself as an alternative to classic camo. Palm trees, playful plants and paleolithic prints made their way into everything from jackets to shorts to bags.

7. Super Stripes:
Beyond your typical mob boss stripes, these variations were big, bold and far from business-y. Equal parts Beetlejuice and Rock N Roll, one thing is clear: Stripes were supersized.

 

 

|By Emily Ekong and Lauren Ciaccia|