Gospel for a New Century: The Death of the Alpha Male

Courtesy of Vogue Runway: Rick Owens SS23, Thom Browne SS22, Eckhaus Latta SS22

Written By: Jordan Francis

At last, this year’s Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer collections felt progressive, ushering in the modern man. He’s vulnerable, sensitive, and comfortable with his feminine spirit. If terms such as “fluid”, “gender-blurring” or “androgynous” feel outdated, that’s probably a good thing. The overlap between menswear and womenswear is constantly expanding, and these collections felt more progressive than ever. The end goal is for a bloke in a skirt to not be a thing, isn’t it?

It’s not often that a brand that strictly releases collections in womenswear gains traction among menswear enthusiasts. But last spring, that’s what happened. Menswear shoppers began browsing Miu Miu pieces from the women’s runways, adding more conventionally feminine silhouettes and bolder colorways to their wardrobes. Miu Miu has even cast male models in recent shows and ad campaigns without releasing a menswear collection yet. Miu Miu does not have the trending index score of, let’s say, vintage Jean Paul Gaultier, Tom Ford-era Gucci, or archival Raf Simons but a growing demand for the brand has gripped resale sites from Grailed to Farfetch. Collectors specifically cite Miu Miu’s fall 1999 and spring 1999 collections as embodying an ahead-of-its-time, gender-fluid ethos. This gender-blending approach of Miu Miu may be ripe for modern reinterpretation, but it was even remarked as unusual by fashion critics and customers at the time. The approach of Miu Miu also has parallels with womenswear designers today who are making their forays into menswear for the first time— Bianca Saunders, Simone Rocha, Chopova Lowena, and Peter Do, for instance— but doing so without sacrificing their more conventionally feminine codes.

Courtesy of Miu Miu FW ‘99

Collections from Martine Rose, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Saint Laurent, and Prada disregarded the confinements of gender norms. Eckhaus Latta distinguishes itself as a gender-neutral label. The brand’s creative constructions— long-sleeve tops with punctured holes, tank tops with sheer fabrics, and sweaters with asymmetrical cuts— transcend masculine and feminine design and instead depict how fashion exists as a medium for artistic expression. More stars and designers have embraced going pantless— Kylie Jenner in Loewe tighty-whities, Julia Fox in extreme VALERIEVI cutouts, and Rick Owens’s leather bodysuits—in briefs, tights, bodysuits, micro cutoffs, and more. Even JW Anderson got rid of pants at his FW23 menswear show in Milan. Past seasons have been dominated by heavy, military-influenced utility, this year stripped away traditional codes of masculinity altogether, revealing some level of vulnerability in the process. In some collections, the classic suit was reimagined. There’d be hysteria if Wall Street bankers hopped on the subway in Fendi’s subverted silhouette: a smart dress shirt with a shoulder sliced off, collar engulfing the neck like a choker. As though they were made to be worn on a dirty disco dancefloor, not a boardroom. At first glance, Prada went heavy on traditional tailoring, but with plush cardigans, pillow-like, cushioned vests and pop-colored, darted collars on shirts that revealed the entire torso. It felt vulnerable. Martine Rose is a designer who is consistently challenging the traditions of menswear. Martine Rose is a master of proportion, whether elongating, accentuating, or minimizing. SS23 was a visual loveletter to London’s queer culture. Leather jackets were cropped, hugging the shoulders as though gasping for air, trench coats were more akin to a fetishistic straight jacket, and photo keyrings were suggestively hung from the zipper of jeans. Anthony Vacarello, creative director at Saint Laurent, is never wary of blurring gender conventions. His sartorial signatures reference Yves Saint Laurent’s elongated silhouette: blousy pussy bows and fabrics that flow into flares. His most seductive statement yet. Further, Ludovic de Saint Serin, recently appointed creative director of Ann Demeulemeester pulled no punches, showing leather skater skirts and feather boas on men, delving into the archives and imbued Demuelemeester’s dark minimalist spirit, infused with his vision, the uninhibited sexiness merging naturally with a certain androgynous romanticism.

Dion Lee is a beacon of sensual fashion, particularly luxury rave wear. His clothes are incredibly sexy; alluring and exact, aggressive but curiously inviting. Lee has an exacting eye for sexiness, his cut is precise and often reveals just enough of his subject’s body: slinky dresses, barely-there tank tops, miniskirts, cropped tops. Its knitwear and cargos feel party ready and casual enough to wear during the day, while its miniskirts, leather outwear, and dresses feel ready for evening dinner— perfect for a day-to-night-to-day lifestyle. Lee seems heedful of the balance between revealing too much and just enough. Inspired by architecture and interior design, Lee has elaborated on his architectural influences and body-conscious subversions, cutting prepster V-neck knits into harnesses, equestrian-inspired belts, shearling puffer jackets cut in corset-like shapes, ripped hosiery dresses, and slicing knit dresses and tops like a sensual surgeon. These artful experimentations synthesize a broader dream of fashion, thoughtfully complementing the relationship between our bodies and the clothing we wear while pointing unabashedly toward the future.

Courtesy of Vogue Runway: Dion Lee FW22 & SS21

                  This year, fashion is reconfiguring the definition of menswear as designers rallied together to tear up the proverbial guide. The modern man is comfortable with his femininity; the bravado is slowly diminishing and, beyond the veneer of machismo, lies a glimmer of camp in men from all ends of the spectrum. It’s a conservative’s worst nightmare.