MAN's AW12 line from London to Jamaica, LA to Africa

24 Dec '11

4 min read

Championing the best and brightest new menswear talent, the joint initiative between Topman and Fashion East returns to the runway for the 14th consecutive season. MAN's AW12 line up sees Shaun Samson return for a second time after a phenomenal debut last season, joined by designers who shone at Fashion East's Menswear Installations; Agi&Sam and Astrid Andersen. Designers are selected by a panel of industry experts including Nicola Formichetti, Charlie Porter and Alister Mackie.

MAN enjoys an unrivalled reputation for identifying and supporting the most exciting new menswear names in the industry. Alumni James Long, Christopher Shannon and JW Anderson continue to trail blaze at Menswear Day with solo catwalk shows. Martine Rose and Matthew Miller who showed with MAN last season have since been awarded NEWGEN MEN presentations for AW12.

Ben Reardon, Editor GQ Style and MAN panel member says "This season MAN has both a local and global vision of fashion, from London to Jamaica, LA to Africa (by way of Dalston Superstore and Vogue Fabrics) with brilliant new designers Agi and Sam, Astrid Andersen and Shaun Samson. This is an exciting triptych of talent to continue London's exciting year ahead. I literally cannot wait to see what they will do.”

Lulu Kennedy, Director of Fashion East and MAN enthuses; “I love everything about these three designers; their diverse range of reference points (jocks, nerds, cartoons, dandies) their model casting and styling, their appetite for hard work, and above all the sheer brilliance of the finished garments which are entirely wearable.”

SHAUN SAMSON
Samson caused a sensation when his Mexican-inspired collection debuted with MAN last season. His SS12 collection was snapped up by a host of stockists including Selfridges, Joyce, Opening Ceremony NY and LA, Trading Museum/ Comme des Garcons Japan.

He designs 'Men's Modern Street Wear.', inspired by growing up in San Diego with its mix of relaxed surf and street styles. He believes the modern man's wardrobe should be wearable, effortless and special.

Samson studied Fashion Design in Los Angeles and Manufacturing and Product Development at FIDM. He built on these two degrees with a BA and MA in Fashion Menswear from Central St. Martins. He juggled his studies whilst working simultaneously for Jeremy Scott and won the prestigious ITS # 10 prize for his graduate collection.

AGI & SAM
Agape Mdumulla and Sam Cotton met whilst working at Alexander McQueen and founded their label in January 2010. Agi studied BA Fashion Design and Sam studied BA Illustration. They have worked for designers including Alexander McQueen, Karl Lagerfeld, Armand Basi, Blaak Homme, J.W. Anderson and Carolyn Massey.

They have graduated to MAN having shown with Fashion East Menswear Installations for the past two seasons; their SS12 collection was entitled “Tequila, Tabasco and Tomato Juice” – their own take on the tequila slammer. With a strong emphasis on bespoke print, they enjoy injecting humour into their collections, believing that fashion should never be taken too seriously.

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