Three very different young brands are making menswear look and feel sexy. When’s the last time that we could say that about contemporary fashion?
The concept of time is relative in fashion, but the relationship has evolved. Where fashion—and its many innovations—used to dictate how society should dress, it now has much less of an influence. We can thank commercialisation for that; demand trumps innovation. Why create something that has no obvious indication of being wanted, or worst still, profitable?
It’s evident in the way that most luxury fashion houses operate. We’ve seen countless variations of ugly sneakers, similar-looking bags vying to be the coveted It bag of the season, and rehashes of what used to work, hoping that it would catch on once again.
That’s not to say that fashion has lost its influence totally. The advent of new ideas and introducing society with something they never knew they wanted or needed just isn’t as frequent. We never would’ve found the beauty in skinny suiting without Hedi Slimane’s work at Dior Homme. Nor would we have adopted a more thoughtfully crafted and minimal aesthetic without Phoebe Philo’s game-changing direction at Céline. And of course, Alessandro Michele’s complete turnaround of Gucci’s visual language was something we weren’t expecting to fall in love with.
There’s hope yet with a crop of new brands and young fashion designers that are coming out and challenging the way men dress. For some, it’s not so much about putting new ideas but more of reintroducing the concept of what’s possible with menswear. And in many ways, making menswear sexy again.
BEYOND GENDER
At just 27 years old, Alejandro Gómez Palomo has crafted an aesthetic that’s free from any form of social convention. Palomo Spain was started in 2015 straight after Alejandro graduated from London College of Fashion.
This story is from the May 2019 edition of Esquire Singapore.
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This story is from the May 2019 edition of Esquire Singapore.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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