Fashion's New Look Is Severely Square
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Fashion Wants Us Boxed In
The reprieve after Fashion Week (or rather, between Fashion Weeks) always invites contemplation on the broader state of getting dressed. While day-after reviews probe for incoming trends, the longer tail of the aftermath allows for bigger-picture assessments of what's to happen on racks, in closets, and to the shapes we’re going to see each other in. As for designers’ most recent proposals, it would appear that things are getting angular.
We've already mused on the connective tissue between Auralee and Louis Vuitton's runways, as well as Ssstein and Willy Chavarria's diverse sartorial inspirations, with the conclusion that these brands are united in favor of a distinct but ultimately cohesive male uniform — one that is defined as much by modern nonchalance as it is by traditional menswear motifs. But what that bird’s eye view further boils down to, besides the clear repetition of leisurely suits across runways, is a simple but significant pattern of silhouette: the rectangle.
Look for yourself: Should you zoom out to gauge the breadth of our new wardrobe pitches, a literal squareness protrudes from SS27's most covetable outfits that feels telling of this otherwise chaotic era. A play of proportions is central to the observation here, yet reducing it to adjectives like “over-” vs. “under-sized,” or “roomy” vs. “skimpy” doesn’t quite do the effect justice:
For example, there was no shortage of bulky blazers or baggily pleated pant legs à la Soshiotsuki or Saint Laurent. Nor were we lacking attempts at pushing tighter, shorter, altogether svelter frames, like through Prada or Celine's cropped sleeves, exposed midriffs, and quasi-capris. If there's a common thread, it runs perpendicular, encasing the wearer's figure in a type of armor that reads as assertive, anti-conformist, and slightly aloof all at once. Different cuts, same outline.
Even the softened corners of Giorgio Armani and dark romance of Simone Rocha befits the general geometric takeover of just about every label's baseline offering. The lines may be more rigid, even if the takes on manliness within the tailoring and styling are delightfully not.
There's a quiet confidence, practical intelligence, and aesthetic maturity to how these latest collections by Dior, Dries van Noten and associated consorts manipulate the tropes of masculine and feminine apparel in order to bend them into a version of ruler-edged power dressing that's neither conservative nor wholly divorced from age-old symbols of how to enter and command a space. It's truly fair and square in every sense: clothes that box us off from — or perhaps signal resistance to — an unruly outside world.
Open Tabs: Everything We've Got Our Eyes On Right Now
A perfect starting point to begin rectangle-ify your look is this gingham poplin Auralee shirt that sits at a clever crossroads of classy and casual.
Once it gets a little crisper out, you might wanna layer this green merino Acne Studios V-neck on top.
And in terms of layers beneath, the Highsnobiety x Zimmerli collaboration is certain to have created the quintessential white t-shirt, amongst other fabulous basics, if we do say so ourselves.
Prada's America's Cup sneakers are back in stock, in either this brown or an all-black colorway.
This suede Dries Van Noten mule is the heel-free summer shoe for those who like to keep the dogs in.
These great Studio Nicholsons can't decide whether they're slippers, loafers or derbies. Maybe you can?
Now how cute would either of the footwear picks above look worn with these sleek and chocolatey Ernest W. Baker slacks?
Coming in a similar shade but a strictly different vibe, these culotte-style Nike shorts are much too hard to pass on, especially at that price...
Same goes for this elastic high-tech Lululemon short, by the way.
For all of the pants that do have belt loops though, consider this pretty Our Legacy piece — Western without reading as kitschy, ideal for zhuzhing up a relaxed getup and toning down an overly formal one.
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