Man About Town gets candid with the duo behind Carter Young, talking Autumn/Winter 2026, Bar Italia and an internal muse.
As I arrive at Bar Italia, spotting my companions for the next hour amongst the bustle of lunchtime musical chairs isn’t difficult. Founder and Creative Director Carter Young Altman and Director of Operations Adam Kaplan are blissfully soaking in the morning sun. They’re like Yin and Yang, the former in a beautiful navy double-breasted coat and the latter in the brand’s jaw-dropping, hairy grey Hewitt Wool Coat. Even at one of Soho’s most style-savvy institutions, the Americans stuck out like a pair of fashionable sore thumbs, and not just because they’re two very handsome men.
Meeting up right after the Men’s Paris Fashion Week frenzy, we had decided to change locations from their Bethnal Green studio to the renowned central London cafe. They tell me that this was where they used to conduct their meetings when they first moved from the US, and, along with its convenient central location, it became a place of significance for the brand. “It’s a cafe society that we don’t have in the States. You people-watch and inevitably run into people you know in the streets,” says Altman.
Originally hailing from New York in 2020 before moving operations to London, Carter Young pushes its distinct vision of what they describe as “New Americana”. In their eyes, it’s a fondness for the American cultural canon combined with high-fashion ignorance that leaves space for personal taste and input – with the help of shopping mall staples like J. Crew and Abercrombie & Fitch to fill in some of the blanks.
In other words, it’s an accessible brand for those who don’t fall deep on the fashion-head iceberg chart. Carter Young isn’t pretentious but, instead, rather inviting. There are anti-fashion sentiments in there and, fortunately for them, the trend pendulum has swung to their maxim of relaxed, contemporary suiting, putting the brand in pole position to comfortably perch at the pinnacle of their niche. “I think we’ve kind of hit this moment of culture moving back towards formality. Our customer is hitting an age where they need tailoring for these big milestones, and our offering met the moment for a guy who is in his mid-20s to mid-30s – we became an accessible answer for them,” says Altman.
Pinpointing reference points comes naturally for the Michigan-raised designer. He looks back to his adolescence, saying, “I was never more inspired than when I was 16 at the skate park.” And he can look to Kaplan sitting next to him, or his girlfriend Madi, citing them as “constant sources of inspiration.”
Altman reminisces on his first encounter with his business partner, back when Kaplan was still working in film. “I remember seeing Adam when we first met and thinking, ‘Oh, you’re kind of the exact guy who I’m trying to dress.’ He always kind of looked like the lead guitarist in a band with a fucked up t-shirt and his older brother’s hand-me-downs. I just thought it looked great.”
Courtesy of Ellis Scott
Altman was enamoured with Kaplan’s anti-fashion approach to dressing, which wasn’t “particularly thought out” from his end, but for the designer, that’s exactly the point. As the Director of Operations says, “it was very specific to [him]”, and it was his influences of American prep wear, his sibling’s old rags and the ‘90s dirtbag aesthetic that informed him of how to dress himself, with a virginity from high-fashion influence.
“I always use the analogy of a photographer, and if you learn too much about the technical side,” says Altman. “Sure, it makes you a better photographer on paper, but you can lose the essential element of the photograph if you’re focused on making sure your readings are correct – sometimes the best stuff is just what you have in the moment, you know.”
Altman’s affinity for an innate, true-to-the-wearer style is a taste palette he’s been cultivating since his youth. He’s a ‘90s baby through and through, having immersed himself in Purple Magazine issues and the work of esteemed photographers Corinne Day and Mark Borthwick. He knew he wanted to capture this anarchic approach to fashion from his start in bespoke tailoring at 15 because, in his eyes, he “had to understand the rules of menswear before [he] broke them.” He also helped Matthew M. Williams launch 1017 ALYX 9SM in Milan and Kith with their womenswear line, as well as working at Helmut Lang – one of his favourite designers – before starting his namesake label.
This off-kilter, punk approach to their fashion shines through in the latest Autumn/Winter 2026 collection they presented at their Paris showroom last month. What starts as a slew of typical CY tailoring gradually gets stripped down and replaced, one piece at a time. They arrive at the “black tie optional” event, already breaking dress code rules with casually corduroyed tan suiting that expertly walks the line of oversized, midwest chic and NBA Draft night slop. The ceremony’s wrapped up and guests go for a smoke break, leaving their blazers inside and instead opting for their trusty field jacket or their wool outerwear with ample room for a sport coat. They reconvene post-reception, mixing the formalwear from before with their everyday staples. “That’s really what inspired this new collection; the high and low of vintage wear and true contemporary tailoring,” explains Altman.
The cummerbunds are what really excite the brand from their latest offering, being one of the first pieces designed by Madi. “I think that was a really great example of what we’re trying to do as a brand, where you take something almost antiquated but then add some unique elements and play around with the convention of it,” Altman says.
Standing as one of the brand’s main pillars, it’s hard to ignore the range of tailoring offered at Carter Young. Their tuxedo line, launched in collaboration with The 1975 stylist Patricia Villirillo last year, was born more out of necessity. “We were having a hard time finding formal wear for a reasonable price point that doesn’t need to be made on a Savile Row tailor’s budget,” Altman remembers.
The label has become a go-to occasionwear option for countless fashion insiders and A-listers, with Paul Mescal and George Daniels (for his wedding with Charli xcx, no less) stamping their seal of approval. We even had a surprise run-in with a friend of the brand who had booked in afterwards for a custom CY suit fitting – all hail Bar Italia!
Their ready-to-wear range is also expanding and elevating, holding the Americana ethos that the boys hold so dear to their hearts. “I think something we executed really well this season is our new vintage wash range,” Altman tells me with utter confidence, with an array of sandblasted flannels that recreate hyper-realistic sun-fades through a rigorous, three-step stone washing process.
Their best-selling knits see an upgrade, too, through a collaboration with knitwear specialist Cecile Tulkens, as well as a new mill from Wales called Corgi. They hold the prestigious Royal Warrant, a mark of excellence awarded by HM King Charles III for continued service to the Royal household. Even a new cut of denim is added to the line-up: a simple, straight-fitting everyday workhorse dubbed the Tate Jeans – named after their universally-loved intern. Slimmer bottoms are in, after all.
Carter Young is a labour of love. Altman and Kaplan really do care, and through their clothing, create a dialogue with the people willing to invest in their world. “It’s like a personal connection I feel like I have on their life – it is just such a beautiful, personal relationship that we’re able to have with our friends, but also people that we don’t know. It gives a lot of purpose, so I feel strongly about that,” says Kaplan.
It’s a passion that reaches far beyond just clothing and fashion. From Kaplan’s list of favoured directors that include Terrence Malick, Gus Van Sant, and Mike Leigh to Altman’s admiration for British exports and what he calls “twangy, jangle rock,” they’re trying to reach customers who have found them outside of the Fashion Week calendar. “Cultural curiosity is the thing that connects us the most,” Kaplan adds.
“We would not be endeavouring to produce something and bear it out into the world if we felt like the world wasn’t worth producing something into,” says Altman, amongst all the turmoil in their beloved homeland. Yet, there’s a sense of optimism for them. One that’s amplified by the brilliant community that surrounds them, from coast to coast, London to the USA. As Kaplan finishes, “We’re just kind of creating a vision of America that we see. This isn’t necessarily idealistic but contemporary and relevant, and sometimes hopeful.”
