This article first appeared in Harper’s Bazaar Singapore, the leading fashion glossy on the best of style, beauty, design, travel and the arts. Go to harpersbazaar.com.sg and follow @harpersbazaarsg on Instagram; harpersbazaarsingapore on Facebook. The March 2024 issue is out on newsstands now.

SINGAPORE – Over the past few years, menswear has gone through an interesting shift.

Formerly cult labels such as Wales Bonner, Martine Rose and Willy Chavarria have hit the mainstream, making room for even more emerging labels and designers to take their place as insider favourites.

The ones highlighted here have made their name by doing things their way.

While the rest of the industry was riding the sportswear wave, they focused on luxe tailoring, a new kind of masculine elegance and couture-like craftsmanship.

They also bring to the table new perspectives that are not based on fashion’s usual Euro-centric experiences.

A couple of them have even found success by basing their studios outside the established fashion capitals of Paris and Milan. One of them does work in Paris, but mines his lesser-represented Middle Eastern heritage to spark a deep and thoughtful dialogue between East and West.

Here are the designers you need to know now.

Feng Chen Wang

If you love: the romance of Dries Van Noten, but with more whimsy

Hailing from Fujian in China, Feng Chen Wang has been steadily making her mark on the international fashion scene, first with shows in New York supported by VFiles, and then in London under Fashion East, before staging her first standalone show in Paris for spring/summer 2018.

Today, she has an LVMH Prize nomination under her belt, collaborations with labels the likes of Levi’s, Converse and Canada Goose, and studios in Shanghai and London.

The richness and romanticism of her designs echo Dries Van Noten’s, but with more whimsy.

Her work stands out for the way she distinctively draws from her Chinese heritage, yet is translated in a way that is universal and free of cliche.

Her palette is informed by the colours of the landscape in her home town. The dyes used to achieve those hues are derived from plants found in the mountain ranges of Fujian. The traditional techniques she uses to make her clothes and prints are often indigenous to the province’s local communities.

Deconstruction is a major theme in her work, not just in the way she slices, twists and subverts workwear and tailoring, but also in the way she dismantles preconceptions about made-in-China and what Chinese fashion can be.

Ernest W. Baker

If you love: the nostalgia of Alessandro Michele, but with more restraint

Designed by Reid Baker and Ines Amorim, partners in work and life, the brand is named after Baker’s grandfather, whose style also influences the aesthetic.

The defining idea in the duo’s work is to take something from your grandfather’s closet and look at it anew. Think mid-century American menswear – sharp double-breasted jackets and flared trousers – twisted just so in a way that makes the clothes feel both nostalgic and fresh.

The retro touches make the label feel like the spiritual predecessor to Alessandro Michele’s Gucci, though the duo take a more rigorous, restrained approach.

Portuguese influences also occasionally seep into the collections. Amorim is from Portugal and the couple recently relocated their studio to Porto, close to her family and where the clothes are made.

Another constant inspiration for the duo are the old men of Milan, who look both put-together and irreverent at the same time.

In their recent collections, they have also begun adding grandmotherly touches – tweeds and twinsets, pearls and rosettes – which lend even more frisson to their clothes.

As a result, Ernest W. Baker has been spotted on some of the most daring dressers around, such as singers Harry Styles from Britain, G-Dragon from South Korea and Pharrell Williams from the United States.

Burc Akyol

If you love: the sex appeal of Anthony Vaccarello, but with more exoticism

Having cut his teeth at Dior and Balenciaga, Burc Akyol launched his eponymous label in 2019 – though it was only in 2023 that he was invited to show on the official Paris Fashion Week Men’s calendar.

Akyol is French but of Turkish descent, and this duality is threaded into his work, which feels both opulent and restrained.

His genderless clothes also manage to tread that tricky line between sensuality and austerity. They are sexy, but never in a shouty way – reminiscent of what Anthony Vaccarello has been doing so successfully for Saint Laurent recently.

Akyol’s Middle Eastern heritage comes through in subtle ways. The square-shouldered coats that have the makings of a brand signature are inspired by the kepenek, a protective garment worn by Turkish shepherds; and there are harem pants, only his are slit up to there.

Akyol’s approach to clothes-making is almost like couture – pieces are made-to-order and careful attention is paid to the balance of tailleur and flou (tailoring and dressmaking in French).

The designer is primed for big things. He won the Fashion Trust Arabia Prize in 2022, was shortlisted for the LVMH Prize in 2023, and celebrities as disparate as American rapper Cardi B and Australian actress Cate Blanchett have worn his clothes.