Launched in London in 2008 by half-Brazilian, half-Swiss, RISD-graduate Alexia Hentsch and her childhood friend, Max von Hurter, Hentsch Man began with the simplest premise – to perfect the white shirt. “Our focus was to just make that one product but eventually, we expanded into a fully-fledged menswear label that shows two collections a year at London Fashion Week.”
Hentsch Man, best described as classicism meets irreverence, makes straightforward, yet elegant staples that are, as Hentsch describes, “preppy, but cool” and have a mix of aesthetic influences. If you were to humanise these highly wearable clothes, they’d be a cross between a Parisian and a Southern Italian, add to that a hint of New Yorker, and on occasion, as you’ll discover in the latest spring/summer collection, there’s even a trace of Cuban to be found for good measure.
Nevertheless, for a brand that has penetrated Opening Ceremony in the States, Colette in Paris and has even managed to successfully conquer Japan and Korea, we are a little disappointed they don’t have a stronger presence in the Middle East (beyond the two stores in Lebanon) but at least their e-commerce site is slick and easy to use. They also recently joined the Mr. Porter site, which is a strong indication of just how prominent they have become.
Apart from their fantastic swimming trucks and perfect white shirts, what summer look should we consider this season? “Shirts and jerseys are our best selling categories and our biggest hit is probably our range of denim shirts,” says Hentsch, “we have about five different versions within our permanent collection and they consistently sell out.”
