The Biggest Women in Menswear
Graphic via Angela Cheng. Image via @bethany_williams_london
Fall 2020 menswear shows are underway, and many of fashion’s biggest names have been busy debuting their collections across cities like London, Paris and Milan. However, some of the most striking collections in menswear are not designed by men at all, but by women who are pushing the boundaries of the industry and redefining men’s fashion.
Emily Adams Bode
Emily Adams Bode is a menswear designer who has catapulted vintage fabrics into the next century. After growing up in Atlanta, Georgia among a family of avid thrifters, Bode developed a particular affinity for vintage clothing. She was inspired by the pieces her mother had found from the ‘20s and ‘50s, and she would often wear her grandmother’s clothes to her classes in high school.
Emily Adams Bode in her Chinatown studio. Image via WSJ Magazine
Bode carried her love for vintage into her career, and she founded her namesake label Bode (BOH-dee) in 2016. She operates out of a small studio in New York City’s Chinatown, and works to turn hand-me-downs into high fashion. Bode and her team use quilts, corduroy and patchwork fabrics to create boxy silhouettes that are reminiscent of decades past. However, her pieces often feature hand-stitched embroidery and beadwork that give them a distinctly modern flare.
Image via Bode; Spring/Summer 2019
Although Bode only opened her label a few years ago, she has already garnered massive acclaim. She became the first female designer to show at New York Fashion Week: Men’s in 2017, she was a runner up in the 2018 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and in 2019 she won Emerging Designer of the Year at the CFDA Fashion Awards. She has since debuted at Paris Fashion Week, and has also been named in Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
Bode has discovered how to masterfully turn something old into something new, and her work encourages us all to think twice before giving away our grandparents’ clothes.
Martine Rose
Martine Rose has been designing menswear since graduating from London’s Middlesex University in 2002, but she really found her footing in the industry when she began working under Demna Gvasalia, the creative director at Balenciaga.
Rose’s interest in sculpture gave her a unique eye for playing with shape and proportion, so her boxy, oversized silhouettes quickly became a staple of Balenciaga menswear.
Image via Vogue Business
Rose left her position at Balenciaga to found her own label, Martine Rose, in 2007. She draws inspiration from London’s ‘90s reggae and rave culture in order to create her signature wide-legged, boxy and oversized pieces.
However, she is best known for the unconventional manner in which she shows these pieces. Whether because of economic constraints or pure creativity, Rose has never been one to adhere to traditional industry norms. She shows her collections whenever and wherever she feels like it, and has used locations ranging from climbing gyms to street markets to display her work.
A look from Martin Rose’s Spring/Summer 2018 Collection that was shown in a climbing gym. Image via Vogue Business
Since 2017, Rose has been nominated for a slew of prestigious designer awards, including the LVMH Prize, BFC's British Designer of the Year and the ANDAM prize for emerging designers.
It took Rose more than ten years to truly establish herself as a designer in the fashion industry, but her story is proof that perseverance, creativity and a good eye can ultimately lead to some unforgettable collections.
Bethany Williams
Bethany Williams designs menswear that is closely tied to her passion for social justice and sustainability.
She graduated from the London College of Fashion and wanted to use her skills in a way that made a real positive difference in the industry. As a result, she founded her label, Bethany Williams, on the principle that all of her pieces would be made from entirely organic, recycled or handmade materials.
Even though Williams only established her label in 2017, her work has already attracted the attention of fashion moguls like Anna Wintour. Williams has won the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, been shortlisted for the LVMH designer prize and been featured in Vogue Italia and YOOX’s The Next Green Talent, which is a talent showcase that highlights designers who are pioneering the sustainable fashion industry.
Not only are her pieces sustainable, but they also address the various social issues that are pertinent to her. Williams dedicates much of her free time to volunteering at local homeless shelters and soup kitchens, and she uses her collections to continue to give back.
One of her latest collections was created in an effort to highlight the hunger that persists in the United Kingdom. Williams partnered with Vauxhall Foodbank and the supermarket Tesco to design a collection that was aptly titled “Breadline.” She gathered waste materials from the food bank and used other materials like recycled cardboard to create a line of visionary jackets, pants and tops.
Two looks from Williams’ “Breadline” collection. Image via Notjustalabel
Williams utilized the textures of the materials she found to create strong, boxy silhouettes (quite literally), and she expertly incorporated pops of color to give each piece a distinctly edgy flare. However, the greatest feat of the collection was undoubtedly Williams’ decision to donate 30 percent of her profits back to the Vauxhall Foodbank.
In essence, Williams uses her creative talents in menswear to create a positive cycle of change. In just a few short years she has found a way to design pieces that have little environmental impact and give back to the greater community. If sustainable fashion is the future, then Williams is truly ahead of her time.