2014 was a year of many things. The last 12 months have been a whirlwind for menswear as new brands and trends emerge with the quickness and vanish into the ether even quicker. Sometimes the trends weren't worth identifying beyond a momentary glance. Others *COUGH* Normcore, Health Goth *COUGH* needed some contextualizing as they took the world by storm. Fuccbois ran rampant, teens took over the world, and if your hoodies didn't have side zips or double zippers, you had to find a new squad to sit with. But, as we are wont to do at Four Pins, we're here to cut through the bullshit. Without further ado, this is everything that actually mattered to Four Pins in 2014.
1. everything that mattered lead
2. John Elliott
2014 Brand of The Year: John Elliott + Co.
In a world of clearly defined winners and losers, it only makes sense that a year-end list on a menswear website would have a brand of the year or, at the very least, some semblance of a winner because someone has to win, right?
I'd venture to say that almost everyone reading Four Pins owns at least one piece of John Elliott clothing, which is as strong an endorsement as a cult/hive mind like Four Pins can hand out. And if you don't own any JE yet, I bet you're plotting about how you can get back on Santa's nice list to rectify that situation (stop doing so many drugs and beating off so fucking much FYI).
It was a BIG year for our dear friend John. He was a GQ Best New Menswear Designer in America, which led to a sold out Gap collaboration. He dropped a bunch of banging capsules and showed his most expansive, impressive collection, S/S 15, to date. JE has been a favorite around these parts for a minute, but in 2014 he really came into his own, showing off a whole new scope and range as a fashion designer.
From the guy wearing a full JE sweatsuit in the airport as I type this, I'd just like to say, on behalf of everyone, thank you, John. Can't wait to see what magic you cook up in 2015. — Lawrence Schlossman
3. Sneakers
4. Kanye Year
The Year In Kanye
If a year goes by and Four Pins doesn't talk about Kanye West, did that year really happen? Yeezus continued his reign in 2014, gracing the cover of Vogue with a super cool accessory known as Kim Kardashian and then rolling dolo for his second
GQ cover, which is notable because he is wearing neither a suit nor a tie, and puts him in like, the top .5% of GQ cover stars. He also managed to drop another collaboration with A.P.C., making oversized fuzzy sweaters a thing and headlines a new Balmain campaign. All the while, the anticipation for his adidas collaboration hasn't let down, hitting a fever pitch when a picture of a rumored sample reached the Internet. Now that the former Nike design trio of Marc Dolce, Mark Miner, and Denis Dekovic is beleaguered with a hell of a lawsuit, perhaps it really is up to Kanye West to single-handedly make adidas the coolest brand on the planet. — Jian DeLeon
5. tres bien in house
6. Normcore
7. cool teens
8. NY Mens week
9. dual zips
10. Reads Four Pins Once
The Timeline Was LIT
As the evil mastermind/genius behind the Four Pins Twitter, can I just say that shit was poppin? I know that's exactly like bragging about your dumb kid or whatever, but if you followed along this year, you already know that the timeline was fucking LIT thanks to *reads Four Pins once* drone strikes and alphet talk that could rival The View in terms of banality as art.
Assuming you're not a fucking narc, I think it's fair to say that most of us are up on the Internets as some form of escapism. We're just a bunch of malfunctioning androids looking for some dank-ass memes and fire content to remind us that deep within our metallic exoskeletons we're still flesh and blood and guts.
And since not all of you can spend the entire day toggling between Jon Moy's fantasies about being an English drug dealer with a heart of gold and Skylar Bergl's "10 Best Sneakers To Pair With Your New Marsala Topcoat Right Now," you have me and my garbage at Twitter Dot Com Slash At Four Underscore Pins. See you in hell, motherfuckers. — Lawrence Schlossman
11. Supreme
12. adidas
13. Raf Simons Sterling Ruby
14. Black
15. streetwear runway
16. activewear
17. Alphet
2014 Word Of The Year: "Alphet"
French Montana clearly fucked up. We clearly ran with it. Bauce Sauce clearly broke it down. Complex clearly tried to make money off of it. "Alphet" was clearly our word of the year. —Lawrence Schlossman
18. rare hemlines
19. ben trilljpg
20. japan
The Dream Of Japan Is Still Alive In Menswear
Few cities are as lionized as Tokyo is within #menswear. The style tribes that Tokyo has spawned now roam American cities, forums, and comment sections. Trad, workwear, tech ninja, health goth, peasant ronin samurai—all of these looks can be traced to some nerd copying what he saw in a Free & Easy or Lightning magazine. While American #menswear grows by leaps and bounds every year, Tokyo remains the cooler older brother. Tokyo, and Japan at large, remain a mystical, often fetishized place of style and inspiration. It exists in the noumenon sense—the idealized realm in which the alphet truly exists. In 2015, we’re all going to learn how to read Katakana and finally date a real life Japanese girl instead of the Korean girl who can’t even help translate our favorite boro cloth site. — Jon Moy