Men's fashion: 'Renaissance' in category sees growth, dedicated new releases
Credit to Author: Aleesha Harris| Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2019 18:00:49 +0000
The world of men’s fashion is changing.
Largely restricted to three main categories in the past — business wear, formal wear and athletic wear — these days, men’s style options have expanded to include a much broader offering of styles.
“Men are having a huge renaissance in fashion,” Karla Welch, a B.C.-raised, now Los Angeles-based stylist whose client roster includes Justin Bieber, Tracee Ellis Ross and more, says. “They’re really driving sales. Men’s fashion sells way more than women’s fashion right now.”
Thanks in large part to the rise of social media, which provides users with an endless stream of outfit photos and style inspiration posts, coupled with the ongoing (if, even increasing) emphasis on and interest in celebrity culture, the awareness of expanding options in men’s fashion has pushed the category in fresh new directions, insiders say.
“There is a strong demand across menswear, which comes in part from a younger clientele that are more tapped in to trends,” Mario Sisneros, the fashion director of menswear for Holt Renfrew, says. “Customers are requesting more styles directly off the men’s runways, from what they see on social media, and even taking inspiration from the off-duty looks of actors and athletes.”
Buzzy designers such as Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton and Kim Jones at Dior, who boast a following of fashion fans that’s on par with the label for which they’re creating, have also placed a new spotlight on the men’s movement, according to Sisneros. Their every designs, many of which push the conventional boundaries of what’s considered to be ‘men’s wear’ he says, are considered to be “must haves” by customers.
“It’s an exciting time to work in menswear because what is coming down the runway is more experimental,” Sisneros says.
The shift in recent seasons by many fashion houses to show women’s and men’s designs together on the runway has also proved to be a powerful force of change.
“Some of our key brands like Balenciaga, Gucci, and Bottega Veneta have been showing shared collections that challenge this idea of gender stereotypes,” Sisneros says. “Men wearing bold colours or cross-body bags are just a couple of things that are popular now but were perhaps once taboo.
“Fashion is no longer a binary choice. With the rise of social media — men value fashion as a vehicle for self-expression and look to everyone from sports icons like LeBron James to KPop bands like BTS. Men are placing a greater emphasis on personal appearance; in turn we’re seeing growth in new categories such as men’s beauty.”
And accessories — specifically bags and jewelry — are two areas of major evolution for the men’s style space. Previous offerings, which were generally restricted to watches, wedding bands and businesslike briefcases, have been built out to include a wide variety of accoutrements for the everyman, not just the style insider.
Earlier this month, iconic American jewelry company Tiffany & Co. unveiled a full offering of designs catered toward the men’s category. It was a first of its kind for the 182-year-old company.
“Luxury men’s fashion and men’s culture is so much at the forefront of the world,” Reed Krakoff, the chief artistic officer of Tiffany & Co., says. The “new chapter” for the design house simply “made sense” for the brand, he adds.
“It was definitely very early thinking,” Krakoff admits of his aspiration to introduce a men’s collection fairly early after joining the company in 2017.
Pieces from the Tiffany & Co. 1837 Makers collection.
Krakoff is confident that those shoppers who are used to thinking of the New York-based company more as a go-to for engagement rings and women’s designs than as a men’s option will be pleased with what’s on offer in the new release.
“I think they will be pleasantly surprised by what they find,” he says.
Featuring jewelry, home accessories, watches and more, the release is split between two sub-collections: the Tiffany 1837 Makers collection and the Diamond Point collection.
Inspired by the brand’s heritage, the Tiffany 1837 Makers collection highlights the jeweller’s hollowware workshop, emphasizing its expertise for crafting exquisite pieces from sterling silver. The Diamond Point collection, in comparison, features a bold graphic pattern said to be inspired by the company’s heritage as a “diamond authority.”
Perhaps the crowning piece within the 1837 Makers range is the Trophy Ring, a made-to-order offering that honours the company’s 160-year history of crafting sports trophies, by hand, for various sporting associations and events such as the Super Bowl, the US Open and the NBA Finals. The collection includes options in both sterling silver and gold, a choice the Tiffany & Co. team consciously made in order to ensure the collection was something a broader base of customers could embrace.
“Having sterling in addition to gold, gives you that,” Krakoff says of the more attainable luxury entry price (pieces start at $375 for the Tiffany 1837 Makers narrow slice ring in sterling silver). “As long as it makes sense and one helps the other rather than one cannibalizes the other. So, we’re careful of that.”
When prompted to pick a favourite piece among the new releases, Krakoff pointed, without pause, to the uniquely luxurious sterling silver beer mug and the gold ID bracelet. But, one area of the men’s collection that’s decidedly slight, lies within the area of the jewelry realm typically dedicated to men’s designs: watches.
“Watches, to get right, take a long time. It could take three years for a watch. That’s not uncommon,” Krakoff explains of the decision to forgo introducing an array of timepieces within the first men’s release. “We have a Makers Watch that we’re working on. And, there’s another watch that’s nearly completed in design. So, I would say that we will have two in the next few years.”
He’s not about to rush into it, though.
“What I’ve learned, over and over again, is that you can only do so many things,” Krakoff says. “Just like a lot of the watchmakers wish that they could do jewelry — you have to just pick a lane at some point. So, this is our entry phase, in a way, into watches, because we’re not truly a watchmaker. We’re a jeweller that makes watches.”
Time and careful planning are especially important elements to consider when creating a collection designed for men, according to Krakoff. Especially in the luxury space.
“Men’s, generally, is easier … but, at the same time, the margin for error is zero,” he explains. “There’s less of a range for failure. But, nothing’s easy.”
Justin Theroux is stylish. One scroll through his Instagram feed @justintheroux will provide the proof. (Not to mention, informs viewers that the Hollywood actor is a very proud dog dad and #adoptdontshop supporter.)
His simple uniform of skinny jeans, boots and some type of logo tee or sweater seems effortless — and perfectly easy for men who are looking for a style icon to replicate.
During a recent style discussion with stylist Karla Welch at the Tiffany & Co. boutique in Beverly Hills, Theroux dished on a few fashion points. Here’s what he had to say.
On his first piece of jewelry …
“My first piece of jewelry, I don’t know if this was just a young boy thing or if they were actually hip at the time, but it was one of those little arrowheads that you used to get that was hung on a chain.”
On his favourite piece of jewelry …
The one that I’ve had probably the longest is my ‘Justin’ ring, which is just sort of a Canal Street ring. That’s probably my most consistent piece.”
On finding his personal style through music …
“I think style came out of the things that I liked in music. I could find pictures of me where (what I’m wearing) is not so dissimilar to what I’m wearing today. It’s boots, jeans and sort of an older T-shirt. … It came out of the music that I like, and then I wouldn’t even say that it evolved, it just became more refined. I was listening to a lot of punk rock and D.C. hardcore. And a lot of gogo, D.C. gogo music. And some early hip hop.”
On summarizing his style in three words …
“This sounds boring, but repetitive, consistent and monochrome. I guess.”