By James McLaren

Backstage with Stapleton Menswear at The Irish Edit.
*Image Credit: Guilherme Resende & Edgar Camargo* *@guilhermertds*

James McLaren discovers the next chapter of Men’s fashion during Ireland Fashion Week.

There is a certain confidence in knowing where you come from. In menswear, it tends to show in the cut of a jacket, the weight of a fabric or the refusal to buy something simply because it is new.

At Ireland Fashion Week 2026, that confidence took several forms. Established tailoring houses shared the conversation with independent labels, contemporary sportswear and designers looking at familiar silhouettes through a different lens. The results weren't uniform, and they didn't need to be. Irish menswear is at its most interesting when it understands its history without becoming trapped by it.

Across the Irish Roots Show, the Irish Edit Showroom and the wider programme, there was a clear sense of an industry looking forward. For Manhood, these were the names worth knowing.

Louis Copeland & Sons

Some things do not require reinvention. They require getting them right.

Louis Copeland & Sons has spent more than 90 years building its reputation around Irish menswear, from bespoke tailoring to ready-to-wear. At the Irish Roots Show, their presence represented the enduring appeal of a properly considered wardrobe. A well-cut suit is not an especially complicated proposition, but the difference between one that works and one that doesn't is rarely accidental. While proportion, construction and fit are all there without doubt, it was the colour stories and styling choices that made you take notice. In a market increasingly preoccupied with the next thing, Louis Copeland makes a persuasive case for keeping the right things.

Dee Graham Tailor Made

Some classics are worth revisiting. Others deserve an entirely new flight path.

At the Irish Roots Show, Dee Graham Tailor Made reworked familiar tailoring codes with a confident eye for texture, colour and proportion. The standout was an aviation classic reimagined in luxurious alpaca: a flight jacket with rich texture, a defined silhouette and clean tailoring that elevated casualwear beyond the everyday. Elsewhere, striking cobalt-blue pairings brought a sharper, more contemporary energy to the collection, cutting through traditional tailoring with a bold use of colour. Rooted in the craft of made-to-measure, the looks demonstrated how heritage and individuality can work together without compromising either. This was tailoring with a sense of occasion, but enough character to be worn well beyond it.

Monto & Perri

Tradition sets the standard. Character makes it personal.

For Monto & Perri, menswear becomes an exercise in character. Presented at the Irish Roots Show, the collection drew on the world of Irish hospitality, imagining the well-dressed figures who might occupy a grand hotel lobby: assured, attentive and impeccably turned out. There was a sense of theatre to the presentation, with traditional tailoring taking on the personality of the people who wear it, rather than remaining confined to convention. The final look brought that idea into focus, a bellboy-inspired ensemble finished in what appeared to be rich green velvet, lending the collection a distinctly cinematic flourish. As explored in Manhood’s conversation with Stevie Blake, Monto & Perri is interested in more than getting the details right. It is about understanding the rules of menswear, then giving them a character all of their own.

Read our sit-down interview with Monto & Perri founder, Stevie Blake, here.

Stapleton Menswear

Some collections feel as though they have stepped straight off the screen.

Presented as part of the Irish Edit Showroom, Stapleton Menswear brought a distinctly cinematic sensibility to contemporary dressing. With Tom Stapleton’s background in film and television, the collection carried a distinctly 1970s feel: rust-red jackets, burnt-orange textures and checked wool panels evoked the earthy palette of a vintage film still, while oversized cream collars and wide-leg trousers recalled an era when character was as important as clothing. A golden-orange statement jacket brought texture to the forefront, contrasted by a cream blouson and rich chocolate-brown tailoring. There was something nostalgic in each piece, but nothing felt like costume. Instead, Stapleton reimagined the romance of vintage screen dressing for a modern wardrobe.

Bray Zhang

Smart-casual is one of fashion’s most frequently used phrases, and one of its most difficult to get right. For Bray Zhang, the answer begins with intention.

Working between Derry and Paris, Zhang approaches menswear through the principles of structure, proportion and longevity, bringing traditional tailoring into a contemporary wardrobe without losing its sense of purpose. Presented at the Irish Edit, his collection sat alongside the brand’s fine fragrances, reflecting a wider philosophy in which clothing and scent are considered together: not simply things to wear, but things that gather meaning over time. While menswear remains central to the proposition, Zhang’s work extends into womenswear and bespoke tailoring, with each offering connected by an appreciation for craftsmanship over excess. His ambition reaches beyond the garments themselves, towards a physical space that brings these elements together in a more complete brand world. The result is a vision of modern luxury that feels personal rather than performative, built around pieces to be worn, lived in and returned to.

Bold Golf

Golf has always had its own dress code. The interesting question is what happens when that code leaves the clubhouse.

Dublin-based Bold Golf approaches the game through the language of contemporary sportswear, streetwear and art. Its Ireland Fashion Week 2026 presentation, The Pursuit, explored the complicated journey of chasing a dream and the risks involved along the way. It gave the brand a narrative beyond the usual conversation around performance and technical clothing. Golfwear has increasingly become part of a broader everyday wardrobe, and Bold Golf operates in that space between sporting function and personal style. The course is the starting point, not necessarily the destination.

Brotherwolf

There is something fitting about a brand travelling home to present its work.

Irish-born, Melbourne-based label Brotherwolf made its Ireland Fashion Week debut during the Streetwear Show, bringing an international perspective back to the culture that helped shape it. Founded by Pádraig Whelehan, the label’s return spoke directly to the week’s theme of Coming Home, but the collection was far from a simple exercise in nostalgia. Brotherwolf elevated everyday dressing through styling that felt instinctive but never accidental: a tie knotted into a bow, driving gloves tucked into a pocket, a cap tilted just slightly to the right. These small gestures gave familiar pieces a sharper sense of character, balancing streetwear’s relaxed foundations with a distinctly considered polish. Because at its best, streetwear has never been simply about the clothes themselves. It communicates identity, community and the places that shape us. For Brotherwolf, that homecoming made the message all the more personal.

A new chapter in Irish menswear

Ireland Fashion Week's value lies in the fact that these designers do not have to arrive at the same conclusion. Louis Copeland & Sons and Dee Graham Tailor Made speak to the continuing importance of craftsmanship and fit. Monto & Perri and Stapleton Menswear contribute to the conversation around a contemporary wardrobe, while Bray Zhang explores the space between traditional silhouettes and modern dressing. Bold Golf takes sportswear beyond the course, and Brotherwolf brings an international streetwear perspective home.

The connections are more interesting than the differences are divisive. Heritage is not a fixed set of rules, and innovation does not require abandoning everything that came before. The best designers understand both.

With Ashley McDonnell behind Ireland Fashion Week, the programme provides a platform for these different perspectives to sit alongside one another. That is how a fashion scene develops: not by repeating a single idea of national identity, but by allowing established names and emerging voices to challenge, complement and learn from one another.

For Irish menswear, the future does not require a clean break with the past. It requires knowing what is worth carrying forward and then having the confidence to decide what comes next.

Manhood's Lens On Ireland Fashion Week