3 brands heating up the menswear scene

SINGAPORE - With their unique perspectives and inimitable identities, these brands are set to be the next big things in menswear.

Founded by French designer Charaf Tajer in 2018, Casablanca started life as a lush, elevated take on apres-sport attire, but quickly grew into a full fashion brand known for its electric, vibrant prints and unique take on casual-luxe.

Its roots may be in tennis, but the clothes are more ready-to-wear than activewear. They have the ease of sportswear, but the pieces are refined into something more elegant. A tracksuit comes with a swaggering 1970s flare, while tennis shorts and shirts are in silk.

Casablanca's product range spans the requisite T-shirts, sweats and shorts, but there are also silk shirts, printed denim, knitwear and woven jacquards. There is a tenderness, too, in Tajer's approach to menswear - evident in his penchant for pearls, crystals, and the softest knits and silks.

Even the suiting - it tends to sit on the body like pyjamas - has a loucheness about it. It is what you would imagine the Cafe Society crowd and the Bright Young Things of the 1920s would wear if they were transposed into the 2020s.

It is an alluring aesthetic that has drawn the attention of some of the world's most influential retailers.

Mr Sam Kershaw, buying director at e-retailer Mr Porter, says: "Casablanca's approach to colour, print, and the blend of tailoring and leisurewear - all with a unique design language - is what I find most exciting. It has a recognisable and signature look, and crosses over a variety of cultural binaries. Each collection has easy-to-wear pieces, which allow men to experiment with their style more."

And the Mr Porter customer has indeed flocked to the brand. "It has been popular since we launched it in 2020, with many items selling out within days of release," says Mr Kershaw. "The printed silk shirts are a particular favourite with our customers, as the unique and colourful prints are very suitable for summer. They recognise and appreciate the hand-painted prints, which, if you look closely, are a blend of architecture and nature."

For fall/winter 2021, Tajer, who is of Moroccan descent, looked to the opulence and hedonism of Monaco. With the glamour of the French Riviera as his starting point, he drew from the Formula One races and the casinos the country is known for, and imagined the clothes people would wear to the racetracks and then the parties after.

The collection also marks the launch of Casablanca's full-fledged women's line, which comes on the heels of a limited, exclusive capsule he created for e-commerce website Net-a-Porter this year that proved a huge hit.

The New York label started as a womenswear brand, launched in 2018 by three friends - Dylan Cao, Jin Kay and Huy Luong, who have common roots in their East Asian and South-east Asian upbringing.

The trio quickly gained attention for their take on 1980s and 1990s Asian Mum style - looks inspired by the ones you would see if you flip through your parents' photo albums. Think pencil skirts and padded shoulders, and prints inspired by couch covers, tablecloths, curtains, tiles and other staples in Asian households.

For fall/winter 2021, the designers launched menswear for the first time and the offerings sit comfortably in the Commission universe they have built. The aesthetic evokes the way Asian men dressed in the 1970s - boxy tailoring; communist suits; knit polos tucked into belted, high-waisted trousers or straight-cut jeans; silky shirts in red or leopard print - paired with a little leather bag. You can easily picture the pieces on the anti-hero in a Wong Kar Wai film.

The strength of Commission's designers lies in their ability to take the chintz and kitsch and turn them into chic. They dabble in nostalgia, but the output is not retro or costumey, but contemporary. This is a credit to their strongly developed sense of restraint and refinement - they know when to play it straight and when to subvert.

Eli Russell Linnetz launched his first full collection only last year, but already, he has won over fans such as pop star Justin Bieber as well as rappers A$AP Rocky and Ye.

In fact, the American designer pretty much won last year's Met Gala when A$AP Rocky rocked up in an ERL patchwork quilt over a shrunken tuxedo. The quilt - an American staple since its pioneer days - proved that Linnetz was one of the few who got the assignment. The gala's theme was, after all, "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion".

It is a language Linnetz understands very well. His clothes are all about the American Dream, filtered through a distinctly West Coast lens.

His fall/winter 2021 collection plays with the tropes of the jock, the cowboy and the prom king. There are references to football, wrestlers and summer camps. Over long johns, boxers and undershirts, Linnetz layered on plaid, jersey, jeans, stars and stripes, as well as red, white and blue.

The commercial appeal is undeniable. Mr Damien Paul, head of menswear buying at MatchesFashion.com, says: "The ERL oeuvre marries equal measures of nostalgic charm with tongue-in-cheek worldliness - it's classic Americana with a subversive, modern twist."

And it is a vision that has resonated. "There has been a trend for embracing the joy in fashion after these uncertain times," Mr Paul says.

"We've seen huge uplift in pieces that speak to craftsmanship, tactile fabrications in bright prints and colours, and a continued sense of comfort. ERL speaks to this - it works well in our new wardrobe of comfort, but there are also items for the man who wants to dress up for himself."