THE JOURNAL

Left: Mr Paul Mescal at BBC Radio 2, London, 22 January 2024. Photograph by The Mega Agency. Middle: Mr Andrew Garfield at Paris fashion week, 20 January 2024. Photograph by Backgrid. Right: Mr Andrew Scott at the BAFTA Film Awards, London, 18 February 2024. Photograph by Mr Rowben Lantion/BAFTA via Getty Images
If, once upon a time, the menswear red carpets were dominated by a muted palette of greys, blacks and the occasional midnight blue, something has shifted. In a bit of a colour curveball, red – that most classic, most unapologetic of brights – is enjoying something of a moment. See Mr Andrew Garfield in a red sweater at the LOEWE show at Paris Fashion Week, Mr Paul Mescal in a striped red cardigan on the publicity trail for All Of Us Strangers or Mr Zac Efron at the Governors Awards in a scarlet polo neck. And, more recently, the Baftas: both Mr Andrew Scott and Mr Josh Hartnett wore red suits, while Mr Dominic Sessa made the case for a bright red shirt, courtesy of SAINT LAURENT.
It’s there on the catwalk, too, with the amount of red looks doubling from AW23 to SS24 according to catwalk data site, Tagwalk. At BODE, a bright crimson worked against the pastels of a nostalgia-hued collection. Meanwhile, JW Anderson gave claret a run-out in a collection partly inspired by his rugby-playing father. Paul Smith used red as an accent in a collection otherwise dominated by the greys and blues of classic suiting.
Elsewhere, Gucci somewhat “own” the colour, thanks to its new creative director, Mr Sabato De Sarno. Introducing “Gucci Rosso” soon after he took the helm, the shade – crimson with a dash of red wine – had a starring role in his first menswear collection, featured across tailoring, accessories and more.
Celebrities and catwalk models are all very well, but will red move into the wardrobes of regular folk more often found in a uniform of blacks and navy blues? To embrace your inner gentleman in red, the advice from the experts is straightforward: keep it simple.
“People are nervous about [red] but it looks good on everyone,” says red-carpet stylist Ms Ilaria Urbinati, who works with stars including Messrs Rami Malek, Barry Keoghan and Donald Glover – all of whom have been photographed in red suits in recent months. “It’s incredibly flattering. If you have blue eyes, it will make them really pop. If you have either dark hair or really blonde hair, it looks incredible. If you have fair complexion, it will make you look less pale… Don’t overthink it, just wear it.”
Urbinati adds that while red might seem like a big statement, it is actually something of a secret sauce once you get on board with it. “It looks great with black or beige or denim.”
Mr Stephen Doig, the men’s style editor at The Telegraph, wears red – he has a pair of red evening slippers and a shaggy cardigan by The Elder Statesman. He says the way to wear the colour now is about avoiding the “novelty look, like you’re the uncle in the red shirt because it’s Christmas.” To do that, he advises using red in two ways.
“There’s the eveningwear camp, where the depth of red is important, as with a lustrous velvet, or accents,” Doig says. “And then there’s sportswear red, as with varsity jackets. It’s very impactful, and kind of built for Instagram.”
The latter is perhaps a new take on the colour, one on the rise in menswear – seen at brands ranging from CELINE HOMME to the appropriately named CHERRY LOS ANGELES, Pendleton and Polo Ralph Lauren. It’s one that alludes to another male-friendly area that red dominates – sport. Premier League teams including Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United wear red, so do Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs. In a 2015 study, it was even found that teams wearing the colour in the Premier League were more likely to win silverware. Mr Tiger Woods famously wore it for decades as number one on the golf field. “My mom says that my power colour is red,” he once said.
“Men are wearing colour more than they have in decades, so it makes sense red would eventually get its due”
Fashion’s current penchant for a varsity-style red implies it could be the power colour of others, too – especially when worn on these sportswear-inspired pieces. Urbinati says, in her experience, more celebrity men are experimenting with colour and she thinks picking from a wider colour palette is something trickling down beyond those in the public eye. “I think men are wearing colour more than they have in decades, so it makes sense red would eventually get its due,” she says.
Arguably, red has been getting its due in menswear for centuries. A colour associated with power, it was worn by Roman generals, cardinals and King Louis XIV, who made red-soled heels a trend at court in the 17th century, long before Christian Louboutin got hold of them. Doig points to the 1990s as another era where red had a moment in menswear – one in focus again at De Sabato’s Gucci. “It’s a nod to Tom Ford, who did quite a lot of reds [as creative director at Gucci],” he says. “[There were] white suits with red shirts, or white jeans with red accents. That era of Gucci was very block colour.”
Ultimately, brands aren’t going to be using red without being confident that there are fans out there. Mr Per Fredrikson, co-founder of Séfr, says red is a “cornerstone” of the Swedish brand’s spring collection, which explores “shades that range from washed-down fire red viscose to more technical checked fabrics in ruby red”. He believes this is about expanding a colour theme that fans of the brand are already on board with.
“So far we haven’t found a hue that doesn’t work,” Fredrikson says. “I do believe it’s something our customers appreciate as well – with us they can often find colours and shades that are difficult to find elsewhere.”
Fredrikson also points to the 1990s as a reference point. “Prince wearing an all-red suit on the cover of Esquire in 1995, that truly was something special,” he says.
While not all of us can take after His Royal Badness, Fredrikson agrees with Urbinati about avoiding baby steps and instead diving into red. “Most would advise to start small and use it as an accent colour,” he says. “But I disagree and say – go big! Go for a red shirt in a unique texture. It works with more subtle trousers in black, brown or washed-down blue denim.”
Or, if in doubt, you could always save it for Christmas.
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