The Hottest Menswear Is Made by Women's Designers
Isabel Marant's decision to add menswear to her successful 24-year-old women's-only label was an easy, if long overdue, one. “For years all the guys around me—my friends, boyfriends, boyfriends of my girlfriends—said they want to wear my clothes,” she says. And who would want to turn down those droves of fashion-hungry men? Especially when they've got cash to spend and they're eager for fresh ways to make waves with what they wear. She's not the only one out there tapping into the lucrative, not-so-little market of men's high-fashion gear, either. The French designer is the latest member of an elite crew of creatives—which also includes Stella McCartney, Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent, and Clare Waight Keller at Givenchy—who are bringing their talents (and special abilities to separate people from their money) in women's fashion to the menswear game.
You don't have to be a speculator to see the story here. Hawks and Bloomberg analysts would suggest that you go bullish on menswear right now, so pass on the latest crypto trend. If you want to talk about real #gains: For the past five years, the men's fashion business has grown faster than women's and is estimated to swell to a $460 billion (with a capital B) industry in the next two years. Designer menswear is going to make up $33 billion (that's a capital B, too) of that. Menswear's not just doing well—it's thriving, and that data is hard to ignore if you're a global fashion brand that's only catering to half of the population.
Meanwhile, the tectonic plates of menswear aesthetics have shifted from the elemental to the extra in recent years (see: Gucci's maximalist tracksuits, Balenciaga's mammoth Triple S sneakers), meaning guys are ready to go beyond the same rehashed “wardrobe staples” and willing to take bigger, bolder stylistic risks. If the hoodie has matched proper tailoring as a hallmark of the modern fashion-minded man, we're officially primed to see design in its most innovative and refined form go big. Which is exactly why designers like Marant, McCartney, Vaccarello, and Waight Keller are here for this moment: Not only to bump their bottom lines, but because they've already built reputations creating premium, advanced garms for everyday life, and now they can expand their visions without compromising their credibility.
Menswear shoppers aren't just being catered to in 2018. With all of their basic needs met, they're actually being designed for. That's a distinction that says a lot about the state of menswear today, but mostly that it's never been more promising—whether you're wearing the clothes or making them—than right now.
France's Global Ambassador
Isabel Marant
Isabel Marant may not be the first designer to channel the irresistible style you see on the streets of Paris, but she is unquestionably the one who has brought it to the masses. Her philosophy of “something easy and comfortable, but with an attitude” drives the brand's first shot at menswear, which includes slouchy fisherman's sweaters, surf-gear-inspired jackets, and bold-colored denim. “For me there's no gap between women's and men's,” she says. “It's the same way something should be worn, but the neckline is different or the sleeves are longer; it's just an adaptation to a man's body.”
A Wardrobe Paradox
Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney can cut a suit as well as she can design psychedelic sneakers and sweaters, a dual skill set that reflects her unique background, which includes graduating from London's Central Saint Martins (the Harvard of fashion schools), working on Savile Row, and a lifetime being the daughter of Paul McCartney (on whose eclectic closet some of her pieces are based). “There is an element to the menswear that has some humor and lightness to it,” she says. In McCartney's universe, fitted double-breasted jackets go with loose pleated pants. “You don't just say one thing when you're wearing a Stella McCartney suit.”
New Blood in an Old House
Anthony Vaccarello
Rainbow tie-dye varsity jackets, sheer shirts overlaid with gold-foil patterns, and suede trousers are essentials at Anthony Vaccarello's Saint Laurent. Despite being a menswear novice, the Belgian-Italian nabbed the top job at the brand with the razor-sharp, nearly NSFW clothes he designed at his namesake women's label. His men's line for Saint Laurent upholds the house's luxe ethos, but with a slightly more approachable sensibility (more pattern, more color, more embroidery) and a more relaxed silhouette (you can now exhale fully when you wear Saint Laurent).
Maximalism for One
Clare Waight Keller
For her Givenchy debut, Clare Waight Keller designed elegantly badass Johnny Cash–meets–Mick Jagger men's clothes (fancy blazers, western coats, worn black denim). Then she introduced couture for men, a.k.a. clothes made for the .001 percent that are produced in one-of-one runs to customers' exact specifications and usually start at a face-screaming-emoji five figures. So if you're in the market for a pair of made-to-order snakeskin pants or a hand-beaded fringe vest and have the bank account of a Qatari prince, you now know where to go.
