It is an exciting time to be in menswear, as we have continuously been championing these past few seasons, and the runway showcases at Men’s Spring/Summer 2019, provide us with ample proof to chew on.
Streetwear is becoming mainstream courtesy Virgil Abloh debuting at Louis Vuitton, Maison Margiela is campaigning men’s couture, man bags are a thing, and bermuda shorts are becoming elegant. With so much buzz about fashion town, it’s hard to not notice the huge shifts occurring in the menswear market.
Designers and high fashion brands are racing to get a piece of the millennial and Gen Z pie by inventing new and innovative styles, techniques, and narratives to break free from the monotony and rigidity that has been surrounding men’s fashion in the past.
A lighter, more playful and pervasive mood is afloat the masculine segment, with a sound focus on functionality, performance, casual cool and hi-tech materials.
Read on to discover the top 10 trends set to dictate the future of menswear fashion in Spring Summer 2019…
THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT
One of the most prominent trends this season- shorts have emerged as the sure shot winners this fashion week. The item featured as a staple with majority of outfits- including blazers and streetwear pieces, suitable for both day dressing and nighttime.
A wide variety of shorts including, tiny bum skimmers, bermudas, swimming trunks, cycling shorts, tennis shorts, etc. were presented by designers and brands alike for the approaching season.
FLOUROSCENT NEONS
Flashes of electric neons flooded the menswear runways at major fashion capitals for the Men’s Spring/Summer 2019 season. A heavy dose of bright, reflective colours popped across a variety of materials such as cotton, polyester, PVC, and even gabardine.
Paired alongside earthy or neutral palettes, the trend is indicative of juxtaposing colours that are usually not worn together.
Among the top runners, neon yellow – with a lemony undertone, neon blue, and neon pink, emerged as the ones omnipresent across collections.
SUIT SPACESHIP
As far as Men’s Spring/Summer 2019 goes, tailoring is back – and in a big way at that. Taking references from the 80s, the international runways had a lot of permutations and combinations doing the rounds when it came to suiting. Besides the traditional houses who’ve always championed tailored suiting, even brands and designers who usually border on the edge of outlandish (read: Comme des Garçons and Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton), gave in to the trend.
Steering away from the outmoded style of suiting, what set the suits of SS’19 apart, is the way they are being worn- bare chested. Instead of layering under multiple layers of outerwear or over shirts, the summer suits go solo, sans any article of clothing underneath.
DRAMATIC DOUBLE-BREASTING
Speaking of tailored suits, the style in trend for the coming season is the double-breasted jacket.
Spotted across major runway presentations, what sets this defining silhouette apart for SS’19 is the fact that it is big, oversized, and baggy. Probably trickling via streetwear segment, voluminous silhouettes are making their way across product categories.
Wide shoulders and lengths that graze the thighs, worn either unbuttoned and open, or belted at the waist, super-fluid double-breasted suits are trending for next summer.
MAN BAGS
Men are spoilt for choice when it comes to bags this season.
A series of cross-body styles, shoulder bags, hand-held tassel variants, and even actual handbags (a la Prada and Valentino) made a case in point for Spring/Summer 2019. But the style that stood out the most from amongst the crowd was the medium-size cross-over men’s bag- halfway between a pouch and a satchel designed for the man on the go. Following the same, we have a mini/micro pouch version that comes second in line. Worn cross body, around the chest, this version would prove to serve as the basic staple for all necessities come summer.
PATTERN PLAY
There’s a new party down at Fashion Ave., and you’re invited- dress code: head to toe prints. Welcome to the day and age where wearing clashing prints is in style. Designers and high fashion brands alike, injected unapologetically bold and unconventional print-pattern mashups within their collections.
Contrasting prints such as florals alongside abstract geometrics, Donatella’s newspaper print pairing alongside her classic baroque patterns, graffiti inspired patterns alongside sixties mod art prints, and Valentino’s, blaring logos alongside neon camouflage, all state one thing when it comes to the prints of the season- go all out or go home.
UTILITARIAN CULTURE
Multi compartmentalisation is in for Spring 2019, with designers opting for comfort and utility over style for the warmer months.
Functional and hyper-equipped outerwear pieces such as utility vests, cargo pants, harnessed vests and even sweaters featured multiple kangaroo sized pockets, aimed at providing more function and freedom to the men today.
BUCKET HATS
All over printed, patched up, textured, slogan-ed or plain- bucket hats came in all kinds of styles for Men’s Spring/Summer 2019.
From major players such as Valentino, Fendi, and Jacquemus, to Band of Outsiders and Kent & Curwen, the message was loud and clear: bucket hats are back with a bang.
Worn with polo necks, striped shirts, or long jackets, the evolved bucket hat serves as a versatile accessory for men in the approaching summer season.
WRAP AROUND STYLES
Oriental influences have been doing the rounds since the past two seasons now, as we have disclosed in our past reports. Who said the hourglass silhouette is only reserved for fairer sex? As gender norms continue to get blurred, designers introduce silhouettes that narrow down towards the waist for today’s men.
Tailoring met kimono-style aesthetics, cinched at the waist in wrap-around and belted versions for men. Dolce & Gabbana and Maison Margiela presented a new twist with shawl-collared pieces belted at the waist.
AGAINST THE WIND
There has been a noticeable surge in durable and high-tech materials since the past few seasons, owing to the success enjoyed by nylon and PVC.
Designers and brands introduced a wide assortment of weather proof jackets ranging from wind cheaters, water repellent jackets, and stain resistant materials in a wide array of silhouettes and sizes.
The colour palette ranges from see-through and tinted transparent to brighter neons and darker tones.
