In the world of men’s fashion fair, the economic uncertainty within the fashion industry is not noticeable. The atmosphere is good. The exhibitors are enthusiastic. The DJ plays music that makes people feel like vacation. La Dolce Vita is also seen in men’s clothing. The food: rich sandwiches. There is even champagne. Luxury fatigue? Not on Monday, June 23 at Preview Men in Nieuwegein.
SS26 Trend: Luxury casual men’s clothing
On the ground floor of the fair are styling areas, catering and partner points from Cast. The escalator up is the exhibition space. Although according to most it is quieter than last editions, the brands that have been able to maintain high price-quality ratio are successful. There is mainly bought from brands with luxury casual men’s clothing. A trend for SS26.
“Today’s boys don’t want to wear a tight suit but luxury basics when they go to a job interview,” says a representative of the Flexx Amsterdam brand. The brand is doing well on Preview. It already has three interested buyers from Volendam. The representative shows a business blazer made of stretch fabric. The item is as flexible as jogging pants and yet sharp, an SS26 trend that Lidewij Edelkoort calls ‘liquid tailoring’.
A little further on, the aesthetic racks of the Scandinavian brands Vänner and Signal attract attention. The Signal brand focuses on the trend colors cobalt blue and ‘luminous blue’. The Danish brand Signal started in 1967 with the sale of small collections in the home country. Now the brand is available at retailers worldwide. Vänner is a bit younger, founded in 2020, with the aim of integrating Dutch streetwear with Scandinavian minimalism. For SS26, the representative at the stand among both brands mainly sees positive reactions at Basics. Namely: light shirts in the colors blue, green and cream, with short sleeves that you can buy as a set – including shorts.
A striking item is Vänner’s body warmer. A functional item that can not only be worn in the summer but also during milder seasons. After all, nature does what it wants and is no longer seasonal. That is why Vänner focuses on luxury items that last a long time and the traditional spring-summer-Herfst-Winter seasons that follow the fashion industry: “Sell body warmers and cardigans much better than jackets, because jackets no longer wear out every season, simply because it gets cold,” the exhibitor explains.
Preview men: basics dominate on preview men
Many neutral items can be found on all three exhibition floors of Preview. But Basic should not be confused with boring. A representative of the Dutch brand proudly shows a cotton T-shirt. It has the trend color deep blue and a round neck. Not special at first glance. Only viewed up close can it be seen that the T-shirt has been seamlessly finished. The sleeves are rollable. The text “Free Again” is on the right sleeve.
Club24 responds to the perfectionist Dutch modeman. Someone who does not want to stand out, but does want to show that he takes himself seriously. The “Freedom Fit” t-shirts in deep blue sells best, says a representative. Together with the other T-shirts in that style, they are kept in stock all year round. “These are our All Stars from Converse,” compares the representative.
The feeling of summer vacation
There are two clear contrasts in the SS26 collections on the Preview Men in Nieuwegein. On one side basics, lots of basics, and on the other hand prints and color. The color lover therefore quickly goes towards the stand of the PDR2A device brand package, containing part of the new collections of the Armedangels, Armor Lux, BENK, Dirty Laundry, Got Bag, Jonsen Island, Goorin Bros and New Optimist brands with a lot of color. In addition, the items from Dedicated and Bask in The Sun for color lovers are one Sight for Sore Eyes.
While the DJ seems to be running louder and louder in the afternoon, a representative of the 14 brands under the Amsterdam Agency Brand Fabric above the voice of Donna Summer tells that the colorful German brand on Vacation is attracting interested people on the stock exchange. Especially the T-shirt with a print of a work of art on the back and the text “On Vacation” is doing well. The aesthetics of the brand evokes the feeling of a summer vacation. “Life is better on vacation,” says the representative.
Business and pleasure
At the end of the afternoon, most deals seem to have already been completed as the exhibitors come loose on the first floor. The DJ indeed runs a lot louder. They eat and drink, some drink champagne behind their stands. It seems like everyone is looking forward to vacation. A DJ also runs on the ground floor. He plays dance music. At the table are people who seem to discuss things. On Monday, June 23, that image previewed preview: Business and pleasure.
