Ah, show season. The menswear collections are coming to an end, and while we're not crammed into the back of a car racing around town, we're still absolutely watching. As is tradition, the Esquire style team has taken to a roundtable (well, Zoom) to discuss their big takeaways from Autumn/Winter 2021.
Girls, and the Preponderance of Them at Menswear Shows
"Girls. Those meddlin’, pesky girls. We were everywhere this season. Designing, modelling, styling – even a dedicated menswear season couldn’t escape our feminine whims and wiles. But what of it? Did you even notice?
"Well, I’m a Fashion Director, so it’s my business to notice, so let me extrapolate. Yeah, we know we already have our own womenswear fashion weeks. Loads of them. We’re, like, really into it. But it’s hard out there. People aren’t shopping as much, because, you know, Covid. And men, well, you don’t shop for clothes as much as we do. So, we thought if you needed some help, we’d be there for you. Why not put on a co-ed show, we said. Save a bit of cash. Two birds, one stone and all that. (Ha! Two birds. See what I did there?) And we’re so pleased you took our advice.
"Well, some of you, anyway. Charaf Tajer at Casablanca. Hey Charaf. Over here. Love those candy colour suits. See, they look good on both of us. J-Dubz, my man (also known as JW Anderson). What a good idea to get Sophie Okonedo into those massive boy trousers. We’ll share them. And Grace. Little Gracie Wales Bonner. I ended up buying the boys red trackie top when I was writing your new collection review. For me, you understand.
"Oh, and Matthew Williams at Alyx. I love the idea that you were ‘promoting freedom of identity’. That means I can totally wear that man’s shearling jacket – with heels. You can borrow it. And Glenn Martens at Y Project. All those boys coats on girls. You know what this means, right? You’ve got more time now for garment development and production. Win, win! Ah, yes. You know it. Who run the world? Girls."
Cool Clothes You Can Actually Do Stuff In
"Considering we’ve been confined to our homes for the majority of the past year, it’s interesting that so many new collections are skewed toward activity as an experience, and not just aesthetically.
"There are actual wellington boots at Tod’s, Dior and Jil Sander and there are proper running shoes at Hermes and Brunello Cucinelli. Dries Van Noten even went so far as to create his own zip-off trousers, a-la Ray Mears (but in a much chicer, avant-garde way, of course), and there was this wonderful umbrella hat/tabard thing at Botter.
But beyond fashionable foul weather wear, the overall vibe of the season was one of comfort and ease; the kind of clothes you can move in. The big coats and long johns at Prada, the dressing gowns at Fendi and pretty much everything at Zegna, which seemed to take great inspiration from the clean lines and neutrality of so-called ‘Scandi’ style. That is to say, loose shapes, square cuts and dusty colours.
"It’s ironic that the general softness of A/w’21 is designed for the now (a sedentary epoch punctuated with walks in the park) and the collections won’t go on sale until the summer, by which time the pandemic will hopefully be petering out and things may be creeping back to ‘normal’. But it’s nice to know that the casualness and function we all rely on so much at the moment will be officially cool in six months’ time."
We All Just Really Want a Party Now, Don't We?
"The complexion of menswear has changed – and I am loath to reference the contagion responsible. These Strange Times don’t seem all that strange when they’re all the time. We know why fashion week, again, was digitised. It sort of feels normal. But as the handsome Fendi boys and Casablanca fops paraded around in their respective showings, the standard Covid formula of fewer tailored suits so more sweatsuits didn’t quite add up. A/W ‘21 wasn’t just meeting this moment. It was also preempting the next one, a time that, hopefully, should be full of excessive Uber/bar/unreturned read receipts; the Roaring 2020s.
"Sure, there was big cozy boy energy at Fendi in the quilted coats and the silken shirts. It’s not exactly for round the house though, is it? In Quality Street shades of royal blue and emerald and pink fudge (which is the best Quality Street, FYI), this was lockdown-adjacent partywear: stuff that adds comfort by sheer fabric composition, but still keeps the party vibe high. It was a good balance of ease and being a bit extra.
"Elsewhere, at Casablanca, the short film (which was shot at the gloriously rococo Hôtel de la Païva), depicted an actual party. Ease was afforded in the sporadic Chanel-ified tracksuits, but the brand’s founder Charaf Tajer has always done that. The rest was all silk shirts, silk scarves, Monaco glam meets Colin Tilley and, honestly, something I can’t wait to haemorrhage my Covid savings on. Louis Vuitton’s oversized varsity jackets were the perfect 4pm till 4amer, sculpted enough to be proper Parisian Vuitton with the accent, but fun enough to blend into a number of fun situations. Dior glittered in with an overcoat presumably made on the outer edge of the Milky Way. Even Wales Bonner, for all its scholarly basings upon Pamela Roberts’ Black Oxford, let form follow social function in really smart but easy-to-wear trousers and patchwork plaid blazers.
"Because, ultimately, we’re sick of the jogging bottoms – and so is menswear. Now, it’s stood in front of the mirror, psyching itself up, and practising a pop of the ultimate question: 'can we do an Uber fare split?'"
I Miss You Big Coats
"One of the things I miss the most about clothes from Life Before is the need for a proper coat. Down parkas, good zips and Gore-Tex–- the Gorpcore uniform de jour – are good and fine, but nothing beats a proper ankle-grazing, raglan sleeve overcoat with lapels and deep, key-swallowing pockets. The kind you throw on and feel like a French detective who smokes for breakfast, a Going Off To Do Some Kind Of Important Business Coat.
"Thankfully, for all the soft fabrics and serious talk around tactility, a new uniform of reassurance and beige, beige cashmere comfort, there were some really good proper coats spread throughout the shows. At Jil Sander, where Lucie and Luke Meir have quietly gone about making beautiful, serious clothes for beautiful, serious people, the coats were both enveloping and severe, immaculately tailored in dark greys; worn oversized with big sleeves and bigger collars and a particularly interesting leather mac in teal. At Vuitton, along with the obligatory rainbow puffers, there were floor-spilling Film Noir coats with wide shoulders and airplane fastenings; slim, smart overcoats in blood red and fat tartan. Paul Smith made his out of leather and cotton, a refraction of a flower 3D-printed onto the fabric.
"Yet, as is often the case, it was Prada who best demonstrated a return to proper coats. Sure, there were the long johns, square-toe shoes and that distinctly Raf Simons-ian bomber jacket done out in bright colours and expensive leathers, but the overcoats really made me itch to be reckless with the Barclaycard. A pale, pale blue teddy bear coat that was both beautiful and capable of making you forever terrified of anyone hovering near you with a glass of red wine. A yellow tailored overcoat in wool that was the platonic ideal of a yellow tailored overcoat in wool, and, best of all, two mid-length coats in asymmetrical thick wale corduroy, one millennial pink (remember that!?) and one in charcoal that shimmered expensively beneath the studio lights.
"Great fashion is meant to transport. Sat at my computer wearing a sweatshirt that I am sick of the sight of, I was transported to a version of myself, stomping around a city with somewhere to be, every single penny I’ve ever earned spent on a pink Prada coat. It felt good."
You Don't Have to Be Uncomfortable to Be Cool
"When the world was initially thrown into lockdown, designers had to acclimatise and adapt quickly in order to be prepared for their A/W '20 shows. Understandably, due to the circumstances, many deemed the task too difficult or too expensive or too jarring and decided to skip showing altogether. They found other ways to preview their collections remotely. This season, brands have had more time to adapt to the working ways of a pandemic. As otherworldly as fashion shows can sometimes look, this season felt a little more real. The head designers themselves were also stuck at home for the majority of the last year, dealing with the same frustrations as everyone else, and this was very much on show."
"The barrier between comfort and formal attire has been broken, or at least softened. There has been a healthy blend of ways to incorporate more casualwear, with pyjama-like silhouettes and soft comfy fabrics with shirts, ties and tailoring. Looking smart now doesn’t mean being uncomfortable. Fendi learnt how to making our new normal abnormal. This included mixing quilted sleeping bag-like trousers with roll-necks and black leather derbies – what the Fendi man will be wearing as he crawls out of lockdown and back into the office. Grace Wales Bonner worked with Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard on tuxedo suiting transformed with Afro-Atlantic flair. With this, a feel of comfort and ease can be seen with even the most traditional tailoring. Virgil Abloh's Louis Vuitton show was based on James Baldwin’s 1953 essay "Stranger in the Village" where the author reflects of how it felt to be a Black American artist in Switzerland. Abloh effortlessly blends soft tailoring and floor length coats with African draped wraps, kilts and western hats: a cultural mixing pot of trends that worked. The first collaborative show from Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons even included some very smart long johns that weren't so different to slim fitting suits.
"Perhaps menswear was stuck in the cyclical motion of endless shows, desperate for a moment to breathe; a time for designers to look for inspiration a little closer to reality."
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