Despite a less packed runway schedule, Paris remains a hot spot for new brands to make their mark. Here, Modem spotlights four brands showing for the first time on the men’s calendar.
Click on the designers' images to open their Instagram
CAMPERLAB
First launched in 2015, Camperlab features progressive design-driven styles that reinforce and reimagine the brand’s signature aesthetic. The FW2020 collection marked a new approach for Camperlab under the creative direction of Achilles Ion Gabriel, reflecting the brand’s strong Mallorca heritage, aimed at reinforcing and transmitting the same values and ethos established by the brand since its outset, while taking a new approach to product design and communication which explores a parallel Camper universe rooted in authenticity. Simple yet sophisticated, honest yet ironic. Rich tones and details reflect the brand’s unpretentious and thoughtful approach to shoemaking. Often inspired by the beauty of contradictions, Camperlab explores design and footwear from a different point of view, offering collections that reflect the spirit of the island through a surreal aesthetic and a refined sense of humour.
CAMIEL FORTGENS
Camiel Fortgens is an Amsterdam-based clothing brand that creates unisex, reconstructed, and unpolished garments. Interpretations of archetypal clothing, executed to form perfectly imperfect handmade pieces. CF was catapulted into existence in 2014 when Camiel graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven. His choice not to go to fashion school left him with an untarnished and impartial view of fashion design. Today CF consists of a hub of people working to uncover the unpolished nature of people and their social behavior, in which clothing and imagery play a major role. Camiel Fortgens seamlessly blends expert craftsmanship with a playful, slightly absurd approach to fashion. Each piece is handcrafted in small, family-run ateliers across Europe, where artisans embrace imperfection as part of the design process. The use of traditional, nonautomated machinery ensures a unique, irregular quality in every garment, making it unique.
P. ANDRADE
P. Andrade is a Brazilian menswear brand led by the couple Pedro Andrade and Paula Kim. After over a decade working in the fashion industry, they realised it was time to launch a new joint project, blending Brazilian culture, innovation, and sustainability. Paula, a Central Saint Martins graduate, has worked with brands like Dior, Burberry, Diane von Fürstenberg, Tommy Hilfiger, and Zara, and currently owns Lapô, a sustainable womenswear label. Pedro, on the other hand, has helmed Piet for a decade, a men’s streetwear brand he founded in 2012. Recently named one of the top names in fashion by Hypebeast on their “Hypebeast 100” list and hailed as one of the most exciting emerging designers by GQ, Andrade boasts key collaborations with brands like Asics, Oakley, and Swarovski, among others.
KARTIK RESEARCH
Founded by Kartik Kumra in 2021, Kartik Research is an artisanal fashion brand based in New Delhi, India. The core tenet of Kartik’s Research is to reintroduce humanness into clothing. Each item of clothing has some handmade element to it. The shirting and quilts are produced on handlooms and dyed with plants and herbs, and the embroideries are done by hand. As a result, each piece that is produced has its unique nature, embracing its imperfect character. Each season, the brand visits a subculture from India's heritage. Its debut collection explored the aesthetics of the "Beat Music" scene that emerged from 1960s psychedelic rock's fascination with India. Later collections have gone on to answer questions about the aesthetics of aspiration by putting forgotten Indian crafts back on the global stage.
Photo: details from Camiel Fortgens SS26 Collection
