Despite menswear still being predominantly viewed as secondary to womenswear, recent figures from global consultants Bain & Co prove this assessment must be reviewed — as the luxury menswear market has been growing at a rate almost double that of womenswear.
A recent report published by Reuters reveals Bain & Co’s findings that the men’s luxury fashion market — which comprises 40 percent of the global market — is growing at about 14 percent a year, while luxury womenswear is growing by a mere 8 percent.Although this shift is principally being accounted for by the rising interest in designer brands in China, where men comprise three quarters of the luxury goods market and established labels such as Giorgio Armani and Burberry are consumer favorites, it is worth noting the rising interest in men’s fashion on a global scale.
While Paris and Milan were previously the only two of the fashion capitals to host menswear fashion weeks there are increasing calls for New York to dedicate a separate week to men’s apparel and London Fashion Week now culminates with menswear day.
2011 has also seen the expansion of menswear online with the launch of web boutique Net-a-porter’s separate men’s e-commerce site Mr Porter and members-only shopping site Gilt Groupe launching its first full-priced men’s fashion site Park & Bond back in August.
Meanwhile, Parisian-based luxury men’s footwear brand Berluti has tapped into the consumer thirst and expanded into the realm of men’s ready-to-wear. The label, whose fans include Robert De Niro and Johnny Depp, will reveal its first menswear line at Paris menswear fashion week in January. The collection has been designed by Alessandro Sartori, the man behind leading Italian menswear specialists Ermenegildo Zegna’s Z Zegna line. – Yahoonews
