As we gear up for FW22 Men’s Fashion Week (starting this weekend in Milan), there’s a lot to digest this season.

Though this season’s events are a tad precarious and constantly shifting – with London menswear merging with the city’s womenswear week in February being the big news – the fashion pack are still showing out in full force with more than a few URL/IRL presentations for us across multiple cities. After a couple of seasons viewing collections via digital films on-screen, it’s a very welcome (half-)return to physical experiences. 

With so many moving parts, from the scene’s new faces to the designer’s venturing to new brands and locales, you couldn’t be blamed if you felt a little bit lost amongst the chaos. Have no fear, though, as here we put together a cheat sheet that’ll help you decipher it all in bitesize chunks so that you’re ready for the season ahead. 

With each year and season comes those Bright Young Things that have acquired the buzz and know-how to get their labels off the ground. In London, Liverpudlian-designer S.S. Daley and Fashion East’s Jawara Alleyne are amongst this year’s independent set, navigating the tricky terrain of an industry besieged by Covid. Alleyne joins Fashion East graduates such as Saul Nash and 2021 LVMH Prize-winner Nensi Dojaka, ushering in an entirely new generation of nascent London design talent, while you can read more about S.S. Daley’s artisanal approach in this HERO interview between the designer and actor Josh O’Connor. Plus, British designer Samuel Ross continues to show as part of the Milan schedule, and will present his FW22 film on 18th January.

While over in Paris, Singapore creative collective Youths in Balaclava kick things off in the French capital showing their first full collection on 18th January, Y/Project return to the runway following two years of digital presentations and LA is well represented by Rhuigi Villaseñor’s luxury streetwear label, Rhude.

With all the aforementioned precariousness of an entire month of events, some designers are ditching in-person motives altogether. In Florence, Ann Demeulemeester’s highly-anticipated return to the runway via Pitti Uomo has been postponed until June, and in Milan, Armani made the announcement that both their Emporio and Giorgio shows will not go ahead. Meanwhile, MSGM and Brit-designer JW Anderson will both be making the move from physical to digital presentations having previously been on the Milan schedule.

In case you haven’t noticed, London Men’s Fashion Week is absent from the schedule this January, with the British Fashion Council opting to merge both their men’s and women’s shows next month in a bid to minimise any “uncertainties arising from Covid-19″, per the BFC, hybridising the week through a series of online and in-person events.

With JW Anderson still in our clutches for now, following his now-digitised move to Milan, London’s merging of both menswear and womenswear runways has coincided with RCA alumni Bianca Saunders waving goodbye to the British fashion capital altogether. Taking her breezily tailored menswear with her, the ANDAM fashion award-winner has her sights set on the City of Love, where she’ll be sharing the stage with Wales Bonner, Rick Owens and Japanese-streetwear icon Nigo – the BAPE maven and Billionaire Boys Club co-creator was appointed artistic director of Kenzo back in September, and is set to present his first show for the French luxury house later next month.

Events

And what would fashion week look like without its many shindigs and exciting designer pop-ups? In Milan, luxury reselling site Vestiare Collective is partnering up with Foundazione Sozzani for a ‘state of the art fashion circulation’ (ambiguous), while C.P. Company is set to host a retrospective celebrating 50 years of the Italian label’s tantalising streetwear.

Here in London, Phoebe English will be showing an open-to-all installation at the British Library alongside a number of immersive film screenings and special collection release events.  

Take a look at the best shows of last season, here.