New York, N.Y. - May 25, 2017 - GQ announced today the return of the Best New Menswear Designers program for the eleventh year—for the first time ever with an international twist—celebrating the Coolest Designers on the Planet. The project, established in 2007, traditionally recognizes the best young menswear designers in the country and works to advance the talented up-and-comers. This year, GQ editor-in-chief Jim Nelson and creative director Jim Moore took the program international, curating young talent from Paris, Tokyo, and Brooklyn. The Coolest Designers on the Planet will be featured in the June 2017 issue of GQ, and will collaborate with Gap on a limited-edition collection, to be sold in the fall exclusively at select Gap stores around the world.
GQ’s 2017 Best New Menswear Designers:
AMI: French designer Alexander Mattiussi used to work for Dior and Givenchy, so he knows how to make clothes that look and feel luxurious, even if his own designs are looser and more playful. “When you’re a designer for a big brand, you can’t afford the pieces you’re designing. My goal is to imagine the clothes I’m designing now on real people I might come across on the street, on the subway, on the terrace at the café.”
Kinfolk: Kinfolk built their name in 2010 with an event space-slash-café and thengot into fashion, designing tees and hoodies indebted to skate crews, graffiti, and the beastie Boys. “Clothes are as much a part of our DNA as nightlife is,” says creative director Jey Perie. “It’s easier to sell a gin-and-tonic than a $1,000 jacket, but in terms of how we shine in the world, our clothing brand has a much bigger reach.”
United Arrows: Yasuto Kamoshita and the streetwear icon known as Poggy orchestrate the Tokyo shop United Arrows, where tailored suits and cutting-edge casualwear somehow happily co-exist. “Our relationship is a bit like father and son,” says Poggy. “The son, who loves recent street culture, wouldn’t talk about the latest trend with him—yet the father is a great figure for the son to rely on for advice on life and the essence of things.”
"We're proud of the decade of support and creativity that this program has generated in the fashion world, celebrating the brightest lights and freshest talents in the business, and we intend to keep the collaborations surprising and vibrant,” says Nelson. “So to launch our next decade, we decided to take the whole thing global."
“Gap is excited to continue our partnership with GQ and celebrate the top emerging menswear talent from all over the world,” says Wendi Goldman, Gap executive vice president and chief product officer. “As a global brand it feels like a natural evolution of our partnership with GQ to tap into emerging design talent internationally as well as within the U.S. We look forward to bringing their unique design perspectives to our discerning customers.”
As part of the Best New Menswear Designers Coolest Designers in America project, GQ will work with each designer as they create an affordable exclusive line that will be available this fall at select Gap stores in more than seven countries, as well as at www.gap.com. Additionally, pieces from the collection will be featured in the October 2017 issue of GQ.
About GQ
GQ is the leading men’s general-interest magazine, with a monthly readership of 7 million readers. It is available in print, online at GQ.com, and as an app at iTunes.com. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications. Condé Nast operates in twenty-five countries and is the world leader in exceptional content creation.
About Gap
Gap is one of the world's most iconic apparel and accessories brands and the authority on American casual style. Founded in San Francisco in 1969, Gap’s collections are designed to build the foundation of modern wardrobes – all things denim, classic white shirts, khakis and must-have trends. Beginning with the first international store in London in 1987, Gap continues to connect with customers online and across the brand’s about 1,700 company-operated and franchise retail locations around the world. Gap includes Women's and Men's apparel and accessories, GapKids, babyGap, GapMaternity, GapBody and GapFit collections. The brand also serves value-conscious customers with exclusively-designed collections for Gap Outlet and Gap Factory Stores. Gap is the namesake brand for leading global specialty retailer, Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) which includes Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, Intermix and Weddington Way. For more information, please visit www.gapinc.com.
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