Inspired by dreams and beaches, menswear at New York Fashion Week

Five menswear designers helped kick off New York Fashion Week on last Friday, with designers citing influences as eclectic as Zanzibar beaches, the 1970s, and their own dreams.

Minnesota-based brand Earthling made their New York Fashion Week debut with a collection titled "Doves Cry" that was heavy on leather and denim and inspired by the 1970s and the founders' hometown hero, musician Prince.

"We're big on leather, and we're big on, like, warm color palettes," said brand co-founder and designer Tracey Mills. "So every color that you see is like the warm version of a color palette, because when you use warm colors, they can all mix and blend together seamlessly."

Aaron Potts continued his regular appearance at the show with a collection whose colors were inspired by the beaches in Zanzibar.

"I was looking at the sand and the water and the sky and all the gorgeous natural colors - so that really was the inspiration for the color palette," he said. "And then we have these other fabrics that are these iridescent organzas, and we put those in as this sort of nod to all the beautiful iridescent fish."

Designer Clara Son said she likes to turn her negative emotions into beautiful garments.

"This collection is all about my dreams, when I was going through a really challenging time," she said. "And in my dream, I'm riding a bike, right by the ocean and there was a stone, like the rocks, and there was like reeds and all the color palettes coming from that."

Other brands who showed at the event included The Salting, who debuted a nautical-themed line. New York Fashion Week will run from 6 September to 11 September, with roughly 60 designers on the official calendar.