The days of undermining menswear as an awkward appendage of the women’s lines seem to be over. For the past couple of years, men have been outgrowing streetwear trends to expand their palates for more sophisticated and daring propositions. Just this past summer, the New York Times quoted Ben Barry, dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design, noting how men’s recent embrace of crop-top styles followed a current “openness in masculine fashion to embrace a variety of aesthetics.” An approach that has taken the sector on a prodigious incline.
In 2022, Vogue Business reported that luxury menswear was growing faster than womenswear across critical markets like the USA and China, aligning with a 2021 Euromonitor projection anticipating it will reach $547.9 billion in global sales by 2026; at an average annual growth rate of 5.8 percent against the expected 5.3 percent for womenswear.
From this ongoing metamorphosis, a new body language is developing in fashion for the laissez-faire sex, as evidenced by the body consciousness of the Spring-Summer 2024 collections; whose sheer layering, slim tailoring, and scanty cutting techniques revealed and defined the figure. However, beyond representing liberated masculinity enjoying the fruits of a blooming market, these offerings may also be reflecting a troubling preoccupation with body image.
Last year, an article in the Washington Post called attention to the dysmorphic obsession driving rising numbers of young men towards disordered eating, dangerous supplementation, and grueling exercise practices to increase their musculature. Although it’s an underresearched field, studies1 on gender differences in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) have shown that while symptoms and illness severity are comparable across sexes, men tend to be more concerned with muscularity, height, and genitals. In fact, it is not far-fetched to notice how those drastic bulking and shredding cycles happen to follow familiar patterns of binging and purging typically associated with “feminine conditions.”
Additionally, though men are less likely to receive medical treatment for BDD, they are becoming just as likely to seek assistance through alternative methods like training and cosmetic surgeries. Last year’s annual audit from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) recorded a 121% rise in procedures for men from the year prior; citing rhinoplasties, chest reductions, eyelid surgeries, and liposuctions as the most popular. Looksmaxxing is no longer a last-resort aid for the socially ostracized, but a normalized alternative for anyone looking to fine-tune, or completely remodel, their appearance. Moreover, thanks to advancements in medical technologies, other novel (if unorthodox) procedures for limb lengthening and penile enlargements have surfaced to tackle insecurities surrounding stature and impotence; to varying degrees of success2.
Considering these corporal fixations, next season’s collective emphasis on the mesomorphic silhouette may seem only fitting, but the connection may not be drawn so simply. Fashion is a language of gestures we translate through clothes and must therefore always be concerned with the body. Instead of declaring a cause of that which may only be concomitant, we should aim to understand the dialogue between these collections and the shifting state of masculine ideals.
At Loewe, Jonathan Anderson presented a brilliant take on warped perspectives using a funhouse silhouette that stretched the legs with amusingly high and nipped-waisted pants. Above the towering waistline were dandy polo shirts, pinstriped button-ups, and an array of topsy-turvy chunky knitted sweaters in disrupted patterns. A trio of aggrandized jacquard swatches laid flat on the chest punctured by equally large, and pointedly real steel pins, furthering the play on scales. Throughout, crystal-covered trousers, shirts, jackets, and twisted fabric tops sprinkled the collection with “an idea of illusion.”
After the show, Shakespearean actor and first-time runway attendee, Brian Cox remarked on the totemic proportions, saying: “I mean, you have to be very, very thin.” A truism apt for the unforgiving slenderness that characterized most showings, and a reminder that not all that glitters…
Ever gracious, Rick Owens balanced strength and gentleness to offer a sobering vision of determined elegance. Transparent organza layers exposed the inner construction of cropped jackets with hulking linebacker shoulders and the imposing frames of otherwise featherweight tailored coats. Meanwhile, the commonplace cuts of tees and sweatshirts were elevated in sumptuous silks and buttery leathers. Structured pants cinched the waist tightly and swept the floor over platform boots inspired by leg braces to anchor these upper halves. Stripped of narrative justifications, Owens’ straightforward press release humbly proposed that, when facing a world of constant adversity, we consider joy “a moral obligation.”
Prada’s architectural presentation examined the relationship between silhouette and materiality; facade and foundation; clothes and body. On the surface, shirts with elongated shoulders tucked high on the waist into jodhpur-esque trousers suggested a strict visual. Underneath, the garments' humble construction removed unnecessary dartings or underpinnings to promote fluidity of movement. Similarly, modestly elongated arm lengths juxtaposed salacious hemlines on shorts cut shy of the groin, and the kitsch of Hawaiian motifs, fringe embellishments, or synthetic floral appliqués disrupted the tastefulness of classic dress shirts.
This combination of contradictions formed the groundwork to achieve a “constant awareness of the body within, and its liberation.” Hence, even the oversized padding of those signature tops turned out to be removable, inviting a reconsideration of the imposed versus the chosen.
Contrary to popular belief, fashion doesn't work by diktat. Every season is replete with discarded styles that never make it to the sales floor, where they may sit untouched, awaiting a landfill should they fail to resonate with consumers. Perhaps it is so that, in fashion as in life, our anxieties are more self-perpetuated than we care to admit. As Milan Kundera put it: “When we ignore the body, we are more easily victimized by it.”
In line with this quest for physical awareness, Florentin Glémarec and Kévin Nompeix of Egonlab opted for a sensual approach that bared erogenous zones with their brazenly flirtatious tailoring. Suit jackets unbosomed to expose pectorals, folded off the shoulders, or hung backless over hip-hugging trousers that teased the cleavage of the buttocks. This show-not-tell approach also came across skintight sequined singlets, split denim sets that uncovered the abdomen, and scarves that licked the obliques while knotting into leather belts and chokers. From their euphoric ode to first-time pleasures radiated a proud command to embrace “the body that draws us in.”
Likewise, Burç Akyol’s Paris debut3 brought forth the body with a careful draping of soft tissues. Sheer mousseline enveloped the figure in long capes, formed veiled panels in tank tops or trousers, and cast erotic shadows over muscles through long-sleeved pullovers. Here, material and body were equally enticing, as proven by low-slung harem pants airing the length of the legs with vertical slits, or a pair of high-waisted trousers from which olive satin cascaded into a trailing sash. This provocative mingling of French-Turkish influences imbued the collection with an essence of “Oriental tragedy,” which Akyol said he’s, “always found sexy.”
The enthusiastic naughtiness of these flauntings excited a playful release amid the more concerning afflictions plaguing men’s self-perception; not to mention the broader cultural regression away from sexuality. Granted, the bodies displayed still followed the favored physique of the twink: a term for a homosexual archetype that has become ubiquitous in pop culture for “young, attractive, hairless, slim men.”4 Of course, the tragic irony is that even those who attain the aspirational body are never exempt from scrutiny.
In the zeitgeist, one of the most notorious viral moments of last year prompted contrasting pictures of male celebrities, in youth and middle age, to lament their mature appearances with the tagline: “Twink death is a terrifying thing.” Though meant in jest, the morbidity of Twink Death arouses an uncomfortable salience of mortality with its jab at the dreaded loss of youthful vigor and beauty. Acquiescing to the inevitability of growing old is one thing, but contemplating the possibility of becoming undesirable? Terrifying, indeed.
The season’s most terrific outing came courtesy of Saint Laurent, where Anthony Vaccarello refined the lines between masculine and feminine dress to sublimity. Impeccable tailoring sustained massive shoulder lines on intimidating grain de poudre tuxedo jackets, paired with razor-sharp flute pants that narrowed the waist and stopped at the ankles to flash the lacquer of pointed-toe heeled boots. Luxurious silks devoured the body in oversized duchesse shirts, opened the chest in plunging faille tank tops, and draped lascivious currents of crêpe satin across the torso.
Other times, the svelte frames of the pencil-thin cast were barely obscured behind gathered blouses of breathy muslin layers, which also tied into precious bows that billowed phantasmagoric across the pavilion of Berlin’s Neue Nationgalerie. Repurposed legacy motifs like fierce leopard prints and elegant polka dots spiced a tinge of bourgeoise perversion in the collection; poetically titled “Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves,” in a reference tying together Oscar Wilde, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Jean Genet.
Impressively, these looks never suffered the dullness of “gender neutral” gimmicks, despite many of them being directly reprised from last season’s womenswear showing; part of a recent design trajectory prioritizing “evolution, not revolution.”5 Androgyny is part and parcel of the YSL heritage, but it has typically been women who have coopted masculine elements into their sensibilities. Here, the opposite was true: the masculine wardrobe returned refracted from feminine remodelings of masculinity. “It was putting a woman’s power on men,” said Vaccarello backstage. Beyond transgressing conceptions of gender roles, this transsexual gesture felt nobly remarkable of an emerging great male reformation.
The Ideal Body is a trend like any other, definitive of its time yet nevertheless transient. Menswear will continue to progress along with men’s physical aspirations, whether it is to reflect, reject, or redefine is not yet determined. But at least this upcoming season, when the body is called to do the talking, it’ll be up to every man to decide for himself what to say.
Thank you for reading New Atlas! I devote most of my brain power to Fashion, when not writing or researching for pieces like this I release my obsessive thoughts on my personal Instagram. There is also a separate account under the New Atlas name which serves as a digital catalog for fashion images. Follow if so inclined.
“Gender-related differences in body dysmorphic disorder (dysmorphophobia)” (Perugietal., 1997); “Update on gender differences in major symptom phenomenology among adults with body dysmorphic disorder” (Malcometal., 2021)
“I Wish I Was a Little Bit Taller,” Chris Gayomali (GQ, 2022); “The Perils and Promises of Penis-Enlargement Surgery,” Ava Kofman (The New Yorker, 2023)
The year prior, Akyol was rejected from showing during the womenswear calendar. He then won the Guest Country Prize from Fashion Trust Arabia representing Turkey before becoming a finalist for the LVMH Prize in Paris.
“Welcome to the Age of the Twink,” Nick Haramis (The New York Times, 2018)
“The Saint Laurents. Francesca Belletini & Anthony Vaccarello.” Jonathan Wingfield (System Magazine, 2022)