The Menswear Brands Shaking Up Casualwear In 2020

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The Menswear Brands Shaking Up Casualwear In 2020

Words by Mr Ashley Clarke

24 March 2020

01. Nicholas Daley

Is there a fashion designer in the UK cooler than Mr Nicholas Daley right now? Scrap that, how about the world? The Scottish-Jamaican designer grew up in Leicester, is based in London and makes clothes that have a huge fan base of dedicated fashion followers everywhere from Shibuya to Scotland. It’s an international operation that retains a sense of individual authenticity, from the trippy T-shirts incorporating Japanese tie-dye techniques to the British cotton-twill field jacket with the wax cotton patches. Cool stuff indeed.

02. Odyssee

For the modern man who in less desperate times will find himself travelling around the globe again, his wardrobe will be all the better for being introduced to Odyssee. A brand that has refined the concept of “travelwear” into a veritable category of clothing that can be worn wherever you find yourself, from the eminently comfortable knitted cotton shirts and swim shorts, to the ivory striped Monroe double-breasted suit.

03. Jeanerica

When it comes to denim, we’re all for the vintage charm of American jeans or the unparalleled technical prowess of Japanese manufacturers, but it was Swedish denim that truly made jeans feel stylish, and Jeanerica is that Swedish denim sensibility personified. Founded by Ms Lena Patriksson Keller and Mr Jonas Clason, a former head of denim at Acne Studios, they are adamant about Jeanerica not being a trite “lifestyle” brand; instead, it simply focuses on making organic denim jeans (plus fleece jackets and velour sweaters) that are as close to perfect as possible. It’s all in the proportion; Jeanerica’s jeans sit slightly higher on the waist, elongating the leg and thus leaning out your profile. A sound and timeless investment for any man.

04. Adsum

For unfussy, good clothes that will still garner their fair share of compliments (and a few envious looks, too), a man can’t do much better than Adsum. This casualwear powerhouse that is barely five years old, was founded in Brooklyn, NYC from where it draws that intangible sense of cool. Adsum aims itself at “aesthetes and athletes”, which in practice means a mix of technical outerwear, sportswear and casualwear from which you can compile a brilliantly wearable wardrobe – see the shell hooded jackets, the smartly cut T-shirts and enough logo embroidered baseball caps to give any WeWorkers in Williamsburg a run for their money.

05. Nanushka

If there’s one brand that’s been on the lips (and backs) of menswear insiders over the past year, it’s Nanushka. Based in Budapest, it was founded by Ms Sandra Sandor, who named it “nanushka” after the Russian word for grandmother. And while granny fashion might be very #menswear right now (and you can see our piece on that here), Nanushka makes clothing that looks great because it feels current without kowtowing to fickle trends. From the houndstooth wool and silk-blend jacket to the rope-belt trousers inspired by the 1950s, there’s a sense of the bohemian shot through with tradition in everything that Nanushka does, drawing on the designer’s Hungarian heritage. If you were looking to add some staples to your wardrobe that feel both timeless yet somehow up-to-the-minute, your search ends here.