Hot Takes #8: Menswear’s Metamorphosis
New menswear style icons, hot ticket hyped items and the plus-size men’s market
Hot Takes is a place where I explore and analyse what's going on in the realm of fashion in a relatable way, basically my bullet point thoughts on fashion's hottest issues. These posts get to the heart of why people are talking about what they’re talking about, what this means and where this could go next.
Think: what direction is fashion heading in? What’s new, innovative and exciting? What's going on in fashion that's really pissing people off?
Hot Takes ties fashion topics to a wider cultural and social context, and digs into why these topics are important and the often more significant meanings behind them. I hope they give you a little more food for thought.
So sit back, relax and let's get into it. Here’s Hot Takes #8.
Menswear has gone through a bit of a transformation. Gone are the days when functionality was prized over aesthetics, and menswear collections were restricted to dark basements or top floor attic spaces that you had to climb a zillion steps to reach. It’s always been a bit of a snooze outside of runways and luxury labels such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Dries Van Noten, but today the changing world of menswear is clear for all to see with stand-out collections, curated and specialised offerings, and new icons shaping the menswear scene for the greater good.
In 2021, the global menswear market was valued at $533.3 billion and is expected to reach $746.9 billion by 2027 — that's no mean feat. I’ve dabbled in menswear styling on and off for years and am continually fascinated by how men’s clothing has progressed and is shaping culture, with podcasts like Throwing Fits and Instagram accounts such as High Snobiety and Hidden introducing people to the evolution and diversity of men’s fashion. The demand for new menswear offerings is only going to escalate, leading the sector to experience its very own metamorphosis.
New menswear style icons
One thing helping to escalate the breadth and depth of men’s fashion is new style icons that are rewriting what men’s style can be. Look no further than Bad Bunny’s style evolution, Jonah Hill’s wide-ranging fit checks, A$AP Rocky donning a shirt of himself running with Timberlands on or Lewis Hamilton wearing a Burberry kilt to the Turkish Grand Prix. By ditching less than impressive copy-and-paste looks and instead opting for outfits that are fun, flavourful and experimental, Hollywood’s male A-listers are rejecting typically gendered styles which is having a ripple effect across the industry.
Hot ticket + hyped items
Another thing injecting a bit of sartorial style back into the menswear space? Hot ticket items. I'm talking about the rising interest in cowboy boots, as seen on Kendrick Lamar at Louis Vuitton's Spring/Summer '23 menswear show, and Brad Pitt wearing a skirt on the Bullet Train red carpet, which saw a demand in more fluid styles and collection drops that challenge gender norms. The menswear market has become more dynamic as it introduces forward-thinking fashion that's a break from convention, and this fashionable reset is seeing a slew of products succumb to the hype factor and trend machine.
The plus-size men’s market
Fashion is painfully slow at making size inclusivity a priority and this is trickling down into luxury men’s fashion. Analysis by Vogue Business found that over the Autumn/Winter 2023 menswear season just eight of the 69 shows featured at least one plus-size model — understood as EU56 or XL and above. But thankfully, designers such as Ed Mendoza are focused on building brands that cater to plus-size men like him. This is one step forward in moving men’s plus size fashion away from discount sections and outlet retailers and toward the missed money maker of catering to fuller-framed men that care about what they wear.
My two cents.
There’s a shift in the way men shop and what designers they flock to. It’s why brands like Eckhaus Latta presents themselves as a gender-neutral label, why Helmut Lang debuted a singular, unisex range in 2022 with larger sizing, and why famous faces such as Jaden Smith, Timothée Chalamet and Sam Smith are spearheading new fashion conversations by adopting an untraditional approach to getting dressed. Once upon a time, retailers may have clung hard and fast to what sells but that strategy is no longer working as the global appetite for bold menswear increases.
The V&A’s 2022 exhibition ‘Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear’ was an attempt to trace how fashion has defined notions of masculinity, split into three sections - undressed, overdressed and redressed. I wonder what such an exhibition would look like if it was to take place 20 years from now? Who knows, but I do know this. Cookie-cutter suits and tech bro uniforms of chinos and polo shirts no longer hit the mark. The menswear customer of tomorrow expects better than that, and the menswear revolution that's underway will hopefully deliver just what they need.
What do you think of these kick-starter thoughts that I hope will encourage you to think a little more deeply about this topic? Let me know in the comments, I want to chat about it.