Being constantly caught up in the #menswear game can be totally fucking exhausting. New products and brands materialize every day, which means there's always more, more, more to take in, digest and devour. But, truth is, 99% of the products and the accompanying commentary on said products is straight up nonsense. And if you're a reader of Four Pins, then you already know that one of our core tenets is not tolerating that fufu lame shit because we are not with it. That's why we've decided to take a step back, zoom out, emerge from the murky digital waters of the #menswear scene and reflect on the brands that truly, actually matter. At the end of the day, what brands are doing meaningful work? What labels have been setting the agenda for how men dress, or what to dress? If they were to disappear tomorrow, which designers would leave behind quite the hole to fill?
1. matterleadnew
2. levis
3. MMM
4. SLP
5. brooks
6. vans
7. rafsimons
8. yohji
9. pata
10. ADIDAS
Adidas
Granted, it's hard to say for sure if Adidas would have made this list pre-2014. In the past year alone, their big name signings of Rick Owens, Raf Simons, Pharrell Williams, Nigo and, of course, Kanye West have catapulted them to the forefront of the sneaker discussion. In addition, their ongoing collaboration with Yohji Yamamoto continues to be the perfect balance between fashion and sportswear. Their re-launch of the Stan Smith has proven to be wildly successful as the shoe has become essentially the sneaker of the year. Of course, all of this ignores the fact that they dominate the European footwear scene and are the most iconic soccer brand that ever was and ever will be.