April 7th 2022 – By Promostyl
FASHIONING MASCULINITIES : AN EXPLORATION OF THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
OF MENSWEAR
After being tossed aside and treated like fashion’s illegitimate child for years, menswear has in the last ten years asserted its dominance and potential and now it gets to shout about it thanks to the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibit, Fashion Masculinities in partnership with Gucci no less.
The exhibit goes beyond just an exploration of male fashion, it explores its origin, explains how it came to become so versatile and how even some of the perspective on the question of gender and sexual orientation have actually been around for longer than we even knew. More than a simple fashion fashion exhibit, the experience also reads as a deep dive in the modern study of men :
“It seems necessary to suggest a desertion, away from patriarchal plans and uniforms. Deconstructing the idea of masculinity as it has been historically established. Opening a cage. Throwing a chant. It’s time to celebrate a man who is free to practice self-determination, without social constraints, without authoritarian sanctions, without suffocating stereotypes.”
Alessandro Michele’s words resonate as you walk through the exhibit. It is everything he stated.
First bit called “Undressed” takes you through the exploration of the mind of the young romantic 18th century European man visiting Italy on a Grand Tour (basically the ancestor of the modern Euro trip so many take with their mates) whose admiration for the sculpted bodies they saw in paintings and statues is used to introduced the basics of the inspiration behind the visualisation of the male body.
The second bit “Overdressed” goes in depth into the flamboyant, exuberant dresser of the 1960s and how in our time of liberation of the digital age, designers and wearers are now reclaiming the power of bright colours and patterns to express a broader spectrum of identities.
The third and final part of the exhibit “Redressed” is just the conclusion it sounds like. Focusing on the originally exclusively masculine technic that is tailoring, it established a clear and truly powerful evolution of it and the reinventing of two centuries of convention.
Beyond the clothes we also find video installations, quotes, portraits all meant to give origin and legitimacy to Menswear and more importantly what it could become.
As mentioned, such an event was long overdue and raised for loads very interesting conversation among visitors :
Promostyl : Do you think classic tailoring detailing could come back on the runway ?
Mick (23, CSM student) : “It’ll always be an institution for sure, but I think it’s now officially destined to traditional wearers, like the people who’ve always worn them… the older generation. The younger people we want fun and innovation, there’s no use being stuck in the past, however great it might have been”
Promostyl : Do you see the more feminine shapes and detailing in menswear garments expand beyond Gen Z ?
Daniel (32, fashion blogger) : “I don’t believe this is a generational issue per say. One thing this exhibition proves is that their was always a touch of femininity in menswear fashion regardless of the age it just got buried at some point because of the archaic patriarchal narrative. Thankfully, we’re stepping away from this and now see men of all generation and sexual orientation rocking the femme look. It doesn’t need to expand beyond a generation, more beyond a certain type of people.”
Promostyl : Do you think dresses and skirts on men will officially become mainstream ?
Dean and Allan (56 and 58, fashion enthusiasts and ex fashion journalists) : “This is going to take a moment. It doesn’t look that way because we see it so much in magazines and editorials but we’re not there yet, people are still very dismissive of such styling, there’s still massive stigma surrounding this, and even among those who accept and love it there’s the whole debate of which men can and can’t wear it… there is still a long way to go unfortunately.”