Why Keeping Up With Menswear Is Essential

I’m categorically not a menswear expert, which I probably feel more duty-bound to say because I categorically ought to be a womenswear expert, having completed an MA in fashion journalism at Central St Martins, as well as having reported on the shows for upwards of 20 years. This makes me nervous of giving any sort of opinion on menswear, since there is already too much baseless opinion in the (fashion) world. 

But even an ignoramus like me hasn’t failed to notice the mounting buzz – and influence – of the menswear shows. Driven by Pharrell Williams (who recently debuted his second collection for Louis Vuitton), it’s also abetted this season by Sabato Sarno (who just showed his first Gucci menswear collection), as well as Kim Jones at Dior Men and Jonathan Anderson at Loewe, who aren’t new, but are extremely talented. All of these designers are so strong and persuasive that they markedly influence the trend cycle, and are as essential to keep up with as the best womenswear designers. 

Pharrell’s debut show last season on Paris’s Pont Neuf bridge was the most-watched catwalk show of all time, apparently, but Vuitton’s mega budgets notwithstanding, interest in menswear is growing year on year, fuelled also by an increasing number of stars – Jacob Elordi, Barry Keoghan, Jeremy Allen White, Billy Porter, Timothée Chalamet, to name a few – who are willing to experiment in a way that makes David Beckham’s 1998 sarong moment feel quaint. I’m here for it.