THE JOURNAL
From left: Valentino. Photograph by Umberto Fratini/launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Sacai. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. AMIRI. Photograph by Mr Isidore Montag/launchmetrics.com/spotlight. AMI PARIS. Photograph courtesy of Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Auralee. Photograph by Mr Daniele Oberrauch/launchmetrics.com/spotlight
Good clothes, minimal fuss. Four words that sum up the AW24 season, which, for most designers appeared to be an exercise in sartorial restraint. Maybe the proliferation of quiet luxury is to blame, but instead of boundary-pushing creations that would frighten the neighbours, a lot of what marched down the runway in London, Milan and Paris in January was straight-up uncomplicated.
Take the easy, elegant suits at Auralee, Prada, Armani and Valentino Garavani. After a few long years of what might be called an identity crisis that has whiplashed us between WFH sweatpants, disco-worthy tailoring and gender-flouting “lewks”, menswear appears to be settling into safer, more sensible territory for 2024.
This means that the trends from this season are, for the most part, relatively easy to adopt. The office necktie is back from the dead, formal outerwear enjoyed some innovative updates, and showing your naked hands becomes a fashion faux pas.
01. The neo-trench
From left: Sacai. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Dries Van Noten. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Prada. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Dolce & Gabbana. Photograph by Paolo Lanzi/launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Junya Watanabe. Photograph by Mr Filippo Fior/launchmetrics.com/spotlight
No, not Neo’s shiny black uniform in The Matrix, but a futuristic vision of what a trench coat could be, nonetheless. A British military staple that was originally made by Aquascutum and Burberry (both brands claim that they invented it), the trench coat has a long and rich history in menswear, and this season was given a software update. Junya Watanabe showed splayed-out trenches that looked like capes; Sacai presented a double-layered option; and at Dries Van Noten they were made entirely of denim. Which brings us to…
Get the look
02. Big denim
From left: Prada. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Officine Générale. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Louis Vuitton. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Valentino Garavani. Photograph by Mr Umberto Fratini/launchmetrics.com/spotlight. AMI PARIS. Photograph courtesy of Launchmetrics.com/spotlight
Denim continued to tighten its grip on menswear, with full, total-denim looks that spanned the spectrum from light washes to indigo. Full-look denim was everywhere (at Dries Van Noten, Valentino Garavani and more) but it looked best when tempered with an outer layer. Officine Générale did it tastefully, with navy coats over dark denim. Even the ties were made of the stuff at Prada – the Texan Tuxedo taken to its natural conclusion.
Get the look
03. Skort kings
From left: AMI PARIS. Photograph courtesy of Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Comme des Garçons. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Sacai. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Fendi. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Yamamoto. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight
Skirts haunt the menswear runways every few seasons, threatening to break into the mainstream (I’ve been writing about them for MR PORTER for years). But for AW24, designers offered something a little more realistic: the skort. As swishy as a skirt but with the practicality of a pair of shorts, skorts popped up at Todd Snyder, AMI PARIS, Sacai, Fendi and more. Skort kings rise up.
Get the look
04. Falling in glove
From left: KENZO. Photograph courtesy of KENZO. Dries Van Noten. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Giorgio Armani. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Fendi. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Paul Smith. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight
Showing the world what your hands look like? Very last season. Instead, designers proposed that you’re never fully dressed without a solid pair of gloves, whether that be the giant bear mittens as seen at KENZO and Giorgio Armani, the cosy-looking arm covers at Fendi and Dries Van Noten, or the bright statement gloves we saw from Paul Smith. If nothing else, it’s a great way to keep your screen time down.
Get the look
05. Get a job (and a tie)
From left: Valentino Garavani. Mr Umberto Fratini/launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Todd Snyder. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Giorgio Armani. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Prada. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Auralee. Photograph by Mr Daniele Oberrauch/launchmetrics.com/spotlight
Maybe it is because it’s redundancy season, but dressing like you have a serious and stable job has never looked so appealing. The death of the necktie? Greatly exaggerated, and the same goes for suits. Properly buttoned-up looks were everywhere on the runway this season, and not in a fun, subversive way either, but in a way that said, “I have bills to pay and spreadsheets to stare at.” Giorgio Armani made pinstripes look modern and elegant, Prada showed suits with swim caps, while Auralee gave us a very tasteful update on the finance-bro vest, complete with a lanyard.
Get the look
06. Royal dressing
From left: AMIRI. Photograph by Mr Isidore Montag/launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Gucci. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Givenchy. Photograph courtesy of Givenchy. Fendi. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. SSmDaley. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight
On the other end of the employment spectrum: dressing like a paid-up pensioner. When suits and ties weren’t dominating, they gave way to a mode of dress that was redolent of a particularly stylish set of geriatrics. Gucci showed soft cardigans, grandma headscarves were presented at Givenchy. There were bed coats at SS Daley. Fendi made a convincing case for dressing like Princess Anne. Yes, really. “The Princess Royal is very rigorous in how she dresses, with this kind of military-minded attitude, but feminine at the same time,” designer Ms Silvia Venturi Fendi told press after the show. “She’s kind of an anti-fashion person and, to me, that’s something that’s actually very fashionable and chic.”
Get the look
07. The casual double-breasted jacket
From left: AMIRI. Photograph by Mr Isidore Montag/launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Dries Van Noten. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. ZEGNA. Photograph by Mr Daniele Oberrauch/launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Wales Bonner. Photograph courtesy of Wales Bonner. Todd Snyder. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight
One of the most easy-to-copy trends to come out of the shows this season was in the styling of double-breasted jackets. Worn not as part of a suit, but casually thrown over the top of an outfit in order to spruce it up, they hit that nonchalantly smart sweet spot at AMIRI, Dries Van Noten, Wales Bonner and ZEGNA. Whether for a supermarket run, or a last-minute Zoom meeting, it’s a simple trick that will save you in a pinch.
Get the look
08. The men in grey suits
From left: AMIRI. Photograph by Mr Isidore Montag/launchmetrics.com/spotlight. LOEWE. Photograph courtesy of LOEWE. AMI PARIS. Photograph courtesy of Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Giorgio Armani. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Comme des Garçons. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight
Whether pebble, charcoal, or elephant, grey found itself the star of the season with dove-coloured suits coming down the catwalk in droves. Luckily, it’s probably the easiest shade to wear: it works for a multitude of occasions, isn’t too severe or adventurous, but also needn’t be boring. Case in point: grey with nothing underneath (see LOEWE), diamond-encrusted grey (AMIRI), or even pinstripe grey with a Mr Andy Warhol-esque wig on top (Comme des Garçons).
Get the look
09. Investment shearling
From left: Hermès. Photograph by Mr Filippo Fior/Courtesy of Hermès. Louis Vuitton. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Rhude. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. LOEWE. Photograph courtesy of LOEWE. Officine Générale. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight
Shearling jackets are not necessarily a new trend in menswear, but they had a strong showing on the runways this season – and looked particularly pricey, too. LOEWE reimagined a pussy-bow blouse into a shearling jacket (no easy task), while Rhude and Louis Vuitton showed cowboy-worthy versions. The best, though, were at Hermès and Officine Générale – the kind of jackets you can pass down to your kids.
Get the look
10. That’s a wrap
From left: Dior. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Issey Miyake. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Dries Van Noten. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Sean Suen. Photograph by Mr Umberto Fratini/launchmetrics.com/spotlight. Kiko Kostadinov. Photograph by Launchmetrics.com/spotlight
Perhaps it’s a collective desire to be swaddled that designers are subconsciously drawing on, but fabric wrapped around the body appeared again and again this season in various guises. Tailoring was enlivened with Mr Kim Jones’ signature delicious draping at Dior Men, while a full-body cape cascaded in scarlet folds down the runway at Issey Miyake. It looked both ancient and futuristic, the kind of thing we might all be wearing in 100 years’ time. Or at the very least in six months when they hit the shops.