Bucking conventional wisdom, buyers were in luck at the 13th edition of Liberty New York, which although slightly scaled down from prior editions, offered a nice selection of brands that showed some great looking items for spring 2020.
The show ran July 22 to 24 at its usual home at Pier 94 and aside from offering newness with some first-time exhibitors it also served up an onsite basketball court this season that allowed attendees to shoot hoops in between appointments.
Here’s a rundown of what was shown in three different product categories:
DENIM
Andre Williams, a former pro football player, made his Liberty debut with two denim lines. He created the first, AW Selvedge Denim Co, because he couldn’t find jeans that fit his athletic build. The collection offers nine styles in athletic fits all made with Japanese selvedge that is either washed, raw or slub. The pants retail for $250 to $300. He also showed DKShin, his women’s line of moto-inspired jeans and said “I had a lot of good interest” at the show.
Kato showed jeans made with its Denit knit fabric and cool shorts sporting prints created by lasers.
New York-based Bobby Day recycles old clothes by creating one-of-a-kind Franksteinesque mash-ups such as an denim overall bib placed on a khaki chino or rock-music shirts affixed to the legs of jeans with grommets.
Krammer & Stout, a label best known for its somewhat tailored menswear, completely switched things up for spring 2020 with a whole bunch of very street-friendly denim. Its Essential collection in 10 oz and 12 oz denim is made in cooperation with LC King, a manufacturer in Bristol, Tennessee that has been operating for over a century. There’s also a handpainted group for the season called Day Glo Punks that features fluorescent graphics and matching accessories.
Japanese brand West’s Overalls showed its signature styles that do not have a traditional waistband but an elastic one inside the jean instead.
Naked & Famous again proved it’s one of the most innovative jeans brands in the world. Its unique items for the season include a jean with 24-kt gold-plated hardware and an 18-kt gold selvedge edge, a rainbow jean and jacket called the Friendship, a unique horizontal stripe model made with four different denims and a Sakiori jean and jacket made from woven yarns of recycled denim.
STREETWEAR/SPORTSWEAR
It was huge in the Aughts and now Ed Hardy has been resurrected. The tattoo-based collection was relaunched at Liberty and its sales rep said that stores were already keen to stock it.
Kuwalla, a seven-year-old casual and affordable brand from Canada, made its New York debut. In addition to showing on-trend cargos it also had its pouch packs of three T-shirts that retail for $18.
English streetwear brand Superdry showed colorful printed and solid pieces that senior account executive Charles Anderson said had been very well received thus far. The brand also showed its new group of basics made from organic cotton that are marked with a small and subtle infinity symbol.
ACCESSORIES
In addition to his jeans lines, Andre Williams has launched a footwear label called Running Man. The one ultra-clean model comes in black or white only and will retail for $240.
Siesta, a stylish and sustainable bag brand from Argentina made its US debut at the show. The three-year-old label’s bags are all handmade with sustainable materials and retail for around $250. Owner Juan Tonconogy was happy with the show and said, “I haven’t seen a lot of people but those that I did were really good accounts.”
Rototo, a Japanese sock brand that uses unique materials such as ultra thickj cotton and cotton-silk blends, showed its somewhat 1970s-inspired designs that have been given a modern twist by moving the stripes just a bit lower down the leg.
The next edition of Liberty will be a dual gender one that takes place August 12-14 at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas.
Read also:
