Menswear that echoes Manhattan style at New York fashion week

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New York's men's shows don't fit into a few neat days like London's collections – and there's a lot of preppy conformity to filter out and the inevitable September humidity to deal with – but half the inspiration of being in a city like New York at any time, never mind fashion week, is experiencing what the well dressed are wearing. New Yorkers are experts at dressing for extremes, adept at wearing the right thing for those long, sweaty summers as well as layering up for some seriously cold winters.

There may not be quite the bargains to be had that there were in the 1990s, when Manhattan streets were packed with Brit shoppers wheeling empty suitcases towards then little-known outlet stores, but at a higher level the understated style of the city's residents continues to be an influence. In menswear, simple combinations like a button-down Oxford shirt worn untucked over slim black jeans with a cap-toe shoe or Vans-style plimsoll is a classic NY look that still works, even if you don't happen to play in a Brooklyn indie band. Directional boutiques like Opening Ceremony and some of the world's best vintage stores means that shopping in the city continues to be worthwhile.

Regarding ongoing influence, a case in point is the Danish brand Wood Wood who took a visit to New York and the way its residents dress as inspiration for their autumn/winter 2013 collection, presented at Copenhagen fashion week. Monochrome sporty pieces and tailoring combined to put a dark spin on sportswear, where logos are disrupted and branding is off-centre and minimal. I can see the cast-iron buildings and low key, "paint it black" shopfronts of downtown New York in this collection. Another facet of the inspiration was the clash of dress codes and functions one sees on crowded corners of Manhattan, where the uniforms of business and sportswear (both functional and tribal) often collide. It's not that other major cities don't have this clash, it's just that there's an intensity about the urban experience on that narrow island (and of course its increasingly influential outlying boroughs) that is unique.