It’s Slutty Men’s Vest Season
+ mens vests are in their thot era, Patagonia sues Pattie Gonia, BTS team up with Nike and more
Hey, hi, hello! Welcome back to Fashion Tingz.
I’ve been struggling this week. Even as someone who’s worked in the fashion industry for over a decade at this point, in roles from editor to stylist to shoot curator, I still don’t know what I’m supposed to wear in 34+ degree heat.
In true Millennial fashion, I’ve been turning to Pinterest for visual inspo and guidance. And it’s kind of been giving? This platform sucks the life out of me a little less, I think for the fact that there are no back-and-forth busybodies.
I’d love to know where everyone reading this goes for style references? Who are your style icons and why? I may write a newsletter about this soon (I love me some Dennis Rodman, Riri and Peggy Gou, in case you were wondering).
— J’Nae xoxo
IN THIS EDITION: Sluttys men’s vests are the new LBD. Patagonia sues environmentalist activist and drag queen Pattie Gonia. K-pop kings BTS team up with Nike on a custom fan-led merch experience. Arsenal fans put their fashion foot forward. Salomon names Jisoo of Blackpink as a brand ambassador.
It starts, as it always does in London, with the false promise of summer. The temperature rises, the sun makes a cameo, and suddenly, like clockwork, men in the city collectively decide that shirts are optional. As soon as the weather turns even remotely convincing, all manner of men have their tops off. Tall, short, thin, thicker, muscular, svelte, pot-bellied, tattooed, hairy, hairless… You name it, I’ve seen it all. There’s no hierarchy, no hesitation, and certainly no shame. It’s beautiful, in its own slightly unhinged way.
This past week has been a masterclass in collective delusion as temperatures soared past 34 degrees. I’ve been witness to commuters on the Central line exposing their bare skin while dripping sweat onto the fabric seats, pub gardens overflowing by 4 pm (rightly so), and men confidently treating every patch of grass like it’s the south of France. And woven throughout it all, quite literally, has been one very specific garment.
Enter: the slutty men’s vest.
Yes, the humble vest. Once relegated to underwear drawers, gym kits, and the occasional dad bod, it’s staged somewhat of a cultural comeback. And not quietly either, for that matter. The vest has gone from invisible to undeniable, from functional to flirtatious. It’s giving body! It’s giving effortlessness! It’s giving, dare we say, male baddie and thot energy?!
Historically, the men’s vest has existed in this strange in-between space. Originally an undergarment, designed for utility rather than display, it was never meant to be the main character. But fashion loves a glow-up. Over time, the vest slipped out from under the shirt and into public view. First via athletes and labourers, then through subcultures, and eventually onto runways via Helmut Lang, Dolce and Gabbana, Acne Studios, Marni, LUEDER, Dsquared2 and more.
It’s worth noting that with this visibility comes some baggage. For years, the garment has carried the loaded colloquial nickname “wife beater” — a term so embedded in pop culture that many people rarely stop to interrogate where it came from. The truth is, there’s no single origin story, but rather a messy layering of media imagery, class stereotypes, and cultural shorthand that attached itself to the vest over time.
One explanation traces back to early Hollywood. In the era of silent films and early picture houses, costume designers used clothing as visual shorthand for morality and character. Men coded as aggressive, drunken, or abusive were frequently depicted in dirty sleeveless undershirts. The vest became associated with a very specific archetype: the slovenly, volatile husband.
That image only hardened through real-life media coverage. In 1947, a Detroit man named James Hartford Jr. was arrested for beating his wife to death. Newspapers across America ran the story nationally, many using the phrase “wife beater” in their headlines alongside photographs of Hartford being led away wearing a stained white tank top. Whether or not the phrase already existed beforehand, the association stuck as the image was burned into the greater collective consciousness.
Over the decades, film and television continued reinforcing the stereotype. Characters like Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire or Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull cemented the vest as a symbol of rough-edged masculinity: sweaty, working-class, emotionally combustible. The garment became shorthand not just for violence, but for a very particular kind of man.
Even in the UK, the association evolved into something adjacent. Stella Artois was infamously nicknamed “wife-beater” thanks to its relatively high ABV and its links to alcohol-fuelled disorder and domestic violence. Different object, same ugly undertone. I can’t talk about the vest without addressing its most loaded nickname. Reducing a piece of clothing in this way isn’t just problematic; it reveals how language can normalise and trivialise harm. As the vest reclaims its place in contemporary style, there’s an opportunity to shed that baggage too.
And yet fashion, as it so often does, kept it moving. By the 80s and 90s, the vest had begun distancing itself from those earlier connotations and entering the mainstream in a completely different way. Bruce Willis turned the white vest into an action-hero staple in the Die Hard franchise. Mark Wahlberg, back in his Marky Mark era, made it overtly sexy in Calvin Klein campaigns. Suddenly, the vest was no longer signalling menace or neglect. It was signalling physique, confidence, and a whole lot of sex appeal.
The appeal is deceptively simple: the vest (or tank top, depending on what side of the pond you’re from) frames the body. A good vest, cut just right, turns the torso into architecture. It highlights arms, shoulders, and collarbones. It suggests without overexposing, which is precisely why it feels so current. In an era where overt sexiness can feel forced, the vest offers something subtler, a kind of off-duty allure.
Of course, some men are leaning all the way in. Think Jeremy Allen White, whose off-screen uniform of tight white vests has become as talked-about as his on-screen roles. Or Jacob Elordi, who wears them with a kind of languid, unbothered confidence. Then we’ve got Michael B. Jordan, who brings a slightly more buff energy into the mix. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and you can’t tell me otherwise. These aren’t costumes, they’re whole-ass moods. Which is why the vest is starting to feel like the male equivalent of the little black dress. You put it on, and it does a lot of the work for you.
Right now, the vest is doing something interesting. Something is appealing about its simplicity. No gimmicks, no layers, no conceptual backstory. The vest sits right in a sweet spot. It acknowledges the body without overexposing it, invites attention without demanding it. It’s confident, but not try-hard.
And then there’s the energy. Because let’s be honest, the “slutty” in slutty men’s vest isn’t really about promiscuity. It’s about playfulness and a loosening of rigidity. A willingness to flirt with fashion, with identity, with perception. It’s the same reason a slightly sheer fabric or a low-slung waistband feels charged; it hints at something without fully giving it away. It exists in that in-between: between underwear and outerwear, between effort and ease, between subtlety and statement. It doesn’t try to resolve the tension; it thrives in it.
So yes, it’s slutty men’s vest season. Not because the industry declared it, but because the streets did. Because the sun came out, London showed up, and somewhere between shirtless chaos and perfectly cut cotton, the vest slipped into place. And this time, I doubt it’s going back underneath.
Patagonia, the outdoor apparel company famous for urging customers to buy less and save the planet, has sued Pattie Gonia, an environmentalist drag queen whose activism has mobilised millions and raised nearly $4 million for environmental causes. Pattie Gonia, the alter ego of Wyn Wiley, raised $1 million last year alone for nonprofits by hiking 100 miles in full drag from Point Reyes National Seashore to San Francisco. Major queen energy! Yet on 21 January, Patagonia filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles. The company argues that Wiley’s attempt to trademark “Pattie Gonia” for clothing and environmental advocacy could cause confusion and “irreparable harm” to the Patagonia brand. And yet, Patagonia is seeking only a symbolic $1 in damages, plus legal fees. The irony is difficult to ignore. Responding publicly for the first time in an open letter, Wiley urged the company to drop the case. Because why are they suing someone who is championing the very causes they claim to fight for… are they not on the same side? Anyways, go support @pattiegonia.
Nike and BTS are proving that fandom is no longer just something you wear, it’s something you co-design. The sportswear giant and the K-pop phenomenon are joining forces for a Nike By You customisation experience tied to BTS World Tour “ARIRANG,” giving fans a chance to put their own spin on the merch economy. Mark my words, this is proof that fans no longer want to just buy products associated with their favourite artists; they want a hand in creating them. For brands like Nike, that’s customisation. But for BTS, it’s community. For ARMY, it’s another opportunity to wear their allegiance (quite literally) on their sleeves.
Can we all just take a minute for Mamdani in his Arsenal-themed thobe just days after the North London club secured the Premier League title? Who knew NYC’s mayor was a longtime Arsenal supporter, I like him even more now. It’s my home team, so I may be biased, but the celebrations and parade remind me exactly why I love London when we come together like this. Also, let’s not forget about TikTok’s favourite African uncle in his custom-made Arsenal agbada. The fashion x football crossover is really ramping up these days (more to come in a later newsletter). Love to see it.
Italian luxury menswear house Zegna has signed football’s hottest property, Ousmane Dembélé, as its new global brand ambassador. This is the brand’s first-ever partnership with a professional footballer and a timely bet on the world’s biggest sporting stage. Fresh off winning the 2025 Ballon d’Or, football’s equivalent of an Oscar for Best Leading Man, Dembélé arrives at a moment when athletic excellence and luxury branding have never been more intertwined. As the World Cup kicks off in America on June 11, Zegna is investing in a player who embodies the new luxury playbook: world-class talent meets cultural relevance.
Lanvin has appointed Barbara Werschine as CEO, handing her one of luxury fashion’s more delicate restoration projects: reviving the world’s oldest French couture house while proving that heritage alone is not a business strategy. Taking up the role on May 26, Werschine arrives as Lanvin continues its effort to regain footing after a period marked by operational challenges and financial pressure. Her mandate is clear but ambitious: sharpen the brand’s global strategy, accelerate growth, and strengthen Lanvin’s position in an increasingly competitive luxury market.
Salomon is taking a confident stride beyond the trail and deeper into pop culture by naming Jisoo of Blackpink as its latest global ambassador. At first glance, a rugged mountain-sports brand and a K-pop superstar may seem like an unlikely pairing. In reality, it’s a reflection of how dramatically outdoor style has evolved. Today’s consumers are just as likely to wear trail-running shoes to a fashion week street-style event as they are on an actual mountain trail. The appointment is backed by strong commercial momentum: parent company Amer Sports recently reported that revenue in its Outdoor Performance division surged 42% to $714 million in the latest quarter. I previously wrote about gorpcore doing its thing as urban anxiety creeps in, expect to see more link-ups like this.
For the first time, Diane von Furstenberg’s namesake brand is handing the creative keys to an artistic director. This formalises what had long been an evolving question: who, exactly, shapes the next chapter of the wrap dress legacy? Stepping into the newly created role is Henry Zankov, the Russian-born, New York–based designer. His appointment signals a shift from intuition-led heritage to a more structured creative regime, with full oversight of DVF’s global aesthetic direction. Zankov will debut his first collection in September 2026 at New York Fashion Week.
Gucci has signed a multi-year deal to become the title sponsor of the Alpine F1 Team starting in 2027, marking the first time a luxury fashion house has taken such a spot in F1. Fashion and Formula 1 have been circling each other for years, I should know as a longtime fan and someone who’s written about it for this very newsletter. All the signs were there, especially with the Netflixification of the sport. The rebrand, “Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One Team”, is a statement in and of itself. Identity, image, and spectacle are now running lap times of their own.
A surge in demand from Japan helped Richemont find an extra gear last quarter, adding a regional boost to an already glittering performance from its jewellery empire. The Swiss luxury group reported sales of 5.4 billion Swiss francs ($6.9 billion) for the three months to the end of March, up 13%, comfortably ahead of analyst expectations of 9% growth. Once again, the heavy lifting came from its jewellery maisons Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, which continue to behave like beautifully engineered demand machines. Japan stood out in particular, with sales rising 28% on strong local appetite, offsetting weakness elsewhere. The broader takeaway is almost counterintuitive in a cautious shopper climate. Luxury demand isn’t disappearing; it’s concentrating — flowing toward heritage, craftsmanship, and names that don’t need introductions, only waiting lists.
Gucci Alpine F1 team?? Ohmy. Feels... a bit uncomfortable.
The slutty little vests ARE out, this piece is such a fab articulation of what I was seeing as I cycled across London this weekend - be it Mighty Hoopla or celebrating at the Arsenal parade, the vest is indeed everywhereeee