fashion vs the manosphere

[00:00:00]This past fashion week, it felt like every major designer was trying to answer the same question. What should masculinity look like in 2027? I've seen a lot of people talking about this sort of widening ideology gap between men and women and the overall cultural backdrop or if you want to say creative directors that are presenting different version of the ideal man are of course the manosphere which I feel like really peaked back in 2022 to 2024 with Andrew Tate. There was gym culture and looks maxing. And I feel like we're still hearing about looks maxing currently.

[00:00:42]And then there are these traditional masculinity debates with Hollywood. If you guys have seen Obsession, I'm sure you've seen that a lot of people have discussed whether Bear is the antagonist and just the psychology of why his actions happened the way that they did.

[00:00:59]We also have reality TV with shows like Love Island, which I've seen tons of discourse and debate around. I think a lot of people right off this show because they say, "Oh, it's just another shallow dating show." But I think we can actually, if we analyze it, find a lot of reflection on the widening ideology gap between men and women and just so much discourse around gender dynamics.

[00:01:23]We also have luxury brands and female and male designers and of course social media. All of these different facets of society are contributing to different definitions or ideas of masculinity and what it means to be a man. This past Paris Fashion Week, there was 33 shows and 37 presentations. This was a large group of designers all presenting fresh ideas about men's wear during the same season. And it seems like runway has become the fashion world's response to this cultural discussion. Masculinity is being debated everywhere right now, but that debate is also highly visible on the runway. And I think that's why these collections feel so significant. Nobody gets to define or decide alone how masculinity works. It's really more so negotiated. And in fashion, it really becomes a conversation rather than a decree. So, how is masculinity presented in spring summer 2027 shows? There was a broad sense among editors and critics and writers that this past season felt unusually important and creatively energized. There were several reasons that kept coming up like multiple high-profile creative transitions like John Anderson at Dior, Sarah Burton's first men's collection for Javanchi, and Michael Ryder at Seline. Some people have said that there's been a noticeable shift away from trend chasing towards clear creative visions and that there's been a reoccurring emphasis on optimism, softness, experimentation, and emotional expression in men's wear. Even Vogue's roundup of the season framed it as a significant moment, noting that there was a decisive reassertion of French fashion and an unusually competitive group of major collections dominating for attention. Adrienne Communer, the style editor at GQ France, said there was a youthful energy running through the collections. What's interesting is that fashion is never unanimously progressive. It really experiments. It felt like the headline from this past season was 424 and them being the first reminder that fashion isn't unanimously rejecting internet masculinity. It's more so actively engaging with it.

[00:03:55]French designer Vallet opened his SS27 show with Clavicular who is one of the internet's most recognizable looks maxing influencers. He's known for his content that's centered on facial aesthetics, body fat percentage, having visible clavicles, overall male beauty optimization, gym culture, and overall just maximizing attractiveness. There is a documented overlap between some looks maxing communities and broader online masculinity ecosystems, if you want to call them, that emphasize status, hierarchy, and traditional gender dynamics. That is why Clvicular's appearance at that runway show generated so much criticism and discussion. Some people just saw it simply as generating attention by casting an internet personality, but others viewed it as bringing an entire online ideology into luxury fashion. The French designer Louis Gabriel Nucci, who owns the brand LGN, had this to say about the overall muscle mania. Since we are in a crisis, people turn to fashion as a refuge, a gateway into fantasies of transformation and idealized versions of the self. This can fuel a return to regressive ideals of masculinity and verility. And verility refers to the state or quality of possessing traditional male characteristics, particularly strength, vigor, and sexual potency. Other than Kvicular's appearance at the show, the 424 collection seemed to present a man who is weathered, resilient, Californian, workingclass meets luxury, athletic, but not hyper tailored, and understated rather than ostentatious. I couldn't find anything about Nucci saying why he chose to cast clvicular, but it felt like overall this show kind of presented this very traditional hyper masculine sort of ideal at least just with their casting of Clavicular. But that was just one show of the season.

[00:06:05]Overall, it felt like the other shows that were presented all seemed to present a different type of man. The first archetype was the romantic man with Jury's van. This felt like probably the clearest departure of the stereotypical alpha male aesthetic.

[00:06:22]Julian Clausner built the collection around lightness, dreams, sensuality, and poetry. He drew inspiration from a French poem and from ballet. And this collection emphasized delicacy rather than hardness. We saw translucent oranza jackets, fluttering chiffon soul cargo trousers, flowing duster coats, pale sunset colors, feathers in the hair, embroidered chamisoles, backless chiffon halter tops, printed scarves tied onto the body, ballet flats, floral embroidery, highlights, and leopard accessories. Also representing the romantic man was Dior. And John Anderson's Dior wasn't just simply soft.

[00:07:05]It felt messy. His collection really imagined aristocratic boys after an allnight party. There was crooked bow ties, dressing gowns, ripped denim, fray tailoring, translucent chiffon suits, sequin jeans, metallic sweaters, disco boots, printed hound suits, and scarf inspired silk shirts. Then we have the playful man starting with Seline.

[00:07:31]Michael Ryder's men'swear debut felt like someone genuinely having fun getting dressed. We had shirts knotted into hats, colorful hair, beads, prep mixed with Parisian tailoring, Ivy League references, unexpected layering, and eclectic proportions. Then there was Kday Garson. And what was most notable from the show, which I really loved, is that the models ran during the finale.

[00:07:56]They literally jogged with excitement.

[00:07:58]And that might sound small, but runway choreography communicates just as much as the clothes. It felt like Joy became masculine. Also representing the playful man was Rick Owens. It feels like he continually asks, "What if masculinity is theatrical?" He had gigantic inflatable Adidas forms, built-in cooling systems that responded to the Paris heat, exaggerated proportions, humor, and spectacle. Then we have the relaxed man archetype which felt like it was presented by Oral Lee. Oral Lee's version of masculinity feels almost effortless. Nothing screams for attention and feels like confidence for the brand comes from ease. We saw wash denim, plated flannel, slouchy trousers, muted colors, soft tailoring, and understated styling. With Our Legacies show, it felt like it was masculine without trying too hard, almost anti-performance. They had oversized baggy jeans, fuzzy, grungy sweaters, vintage textures, and lived in proportions. La Mer also felt like they presented a version of this relaxed man.

[00:09:11]And honestly, it might have been the sexiest collection of the season, but not because it was revealing, but because it suggested intimacy. People described it as rainy day sex appeal.

[00:09:24]There was attraction through restraint.

[00:09:26]We saw stone grays, fluid tailoring, wetl looking fabrics, relaxed silhouettes, sandals, and overall a quiet confidence. The last archetype I felt was presented was the powerful man or the powerful man re-imagined.

[00:09:43]Starting off with St. Laurent, Anthony Vakarelloo's St. Lar still believes in tailoring, shoulders, authority, and elegance, but it isn't bodybuilding masculinity. It's cinematic masculinity.

[00:09:57]Power was shown through silhouette, posture, color, and sensuality. Pairing sharp tailoring with dreamy pastel shades and an atmospheric presentation felt like it was suggesting authority without overt aggression. And then we had Prada's version of the powerful man.

[00:10:18]And this collection arguably might have sparked the biggest conversation.

[00:10:22]Instead of celebrating hyper muscular bodies, they embraced ultra skinny silhouettes, exposed clavicles, and shorter proportions. It felt like Prada was reopening this discussion around what male body is fashion idealizing. I feel like our society always talks about how women's beauty standards and women's bodies are constantly being negotiated and analyzed and a new, different, perfect version or standard is coming out every few months to aspire to. But I feel like we're actually also seeing this at the same time with men as well, but it's just a little bit more subtle.

[00:11:01]What's interesting about all of these designers is that they're not just presenting different clothes. They're also all presenting different versions of masculinity. And very few of them are trying to make men look intimidating.

[00:11:13]Instead, what they're trying to do is make the man look interesting, emotional, beautiful, sensual, artistic, mysterious, and or playful. And this is a huge shift from the alpha aesthetic.

[00:11:27]So, whose version of masculinity is winning? Feels like the internet keeps asking what a real man should be.

[00:11:34]There's the manosphere's masculine ideal, Hollywood's masculine ideal, luxury fashions masculine ideal, runway fashion's masculine ideal, and reality TV's masculine ideal. The manosphere might say something like, "A real man should look intimidating." But in the recent shows that we just saw, both female and male designers were presenting men who looked sensual, delicate, eccentric, joyful, poetic, and playful. These aren't just styling differences. They're different philosophies of masculinity. So, when the manosphere asks something like, "What does a real man look like?" It feels like fashion is asking a slightly different question of, "What if there isn't just one answer?" What's interesting to see is that some of the designers expanding men's wear are men like Jonathan Anderson, Julian Clausner, and Anthony Vakarelloo. And some are women like Mutual Prada, and Sarah Burton. Masculinity isn't authored just by one group. It's negotiated through so many different creative voices. And these designers are putting competing definitions of masculinity on the runway. They're saying that masculinity doesn't just have to look one way and it doesn't just expand masculinity. It feels like it's removing this obligation that every man should aspire to the same ideal. So when the manosphere is saying something like become this specific type of man, fashion is saying here are 10 different types of men, the manosphere tends to elevate one really dominant masculine ideal. Meanwhile, fashion offers more archetypes, not necessarily an absence of ideals. So, both are still aspirational, just in different ways.

[00:13:16]So, this brings me to ask the question, where is the future of men's wear heading? For decades, women's wear has been primarily where fashion experimented with identity. But this season has suggested that men's wear may now be entering its own experimental era. Not because masculinity has disappeared, but because designers no longer seem interested in presenting just one version of it. I read an article on Substack from data but make it fashion. And they made this really strong claim asking, "Has men's wear quietly become the most interesting trends that are in fashion over the past few years?" And it really did feel like this season was where men's wear was becoming a place where fashion was having its biggest cultural conversation because so many reviews weren't just discussing silhouettes. They were discussing masculinity itself. People kept highlighting tenderness, softness, play, humor, emotion, experimentation, and optimism. There was one summary that literally described the season as one where tenderness became radical. The runways weren't presenting one unified ideological response. Instead, they seem to be asking, "What else can masculinity be?" This men's wear season really exploded with a number of masculine archetypes to offer. Instead of just having one dominant vision of the stoic alpha, the provider or the gym bro, suddenly we have all sorts of archetypes like the romantic man, the centric man, the sensual man, the artistic man, the playful man, and so many more because fashion is expanding the vocabulary of masculinity rather than simply opposing the traditional masculine ideology. I think this season has done a really good job of trying to address these cultural constructs by presenting so many different masculine ideals. I saw this little snippet from an interview that the Paris Fashion Week Instagram account posted and they asked the question, "Men's wear has never offered more freedom. Why do so many men still choose to dress within such narrow boundaries?"

[00:15:27]Angelo Fakavvento, who is a contributing editor at Business of Fashion, said, "Cultural constructs, I am afraid, are difficult to tear down, and onesided masculinity, hence a very plain take on dressing, is one of those." I do think it's true that men of today tend to dress very plainly and conservatively, and that does actually overall reflect the general state of fashion. fashion has become a lot more dumbed down, less experimental, less playful, less imaginative, less theatrical. So, I think it's really a reflection of that larger shift of our society. But, I do think that this past men's wear season has tried to kind of tear down or more so challenge these traditional cultural constructs. And so I think we can only hope that that will slowly reflect on how everyday men dress and the decisions that they make in the brands that they are buying from and how they're styling themselves and just how they are overall expressing themselves and not being afraid to take risks and dress unconventionally. Simon Longland, the director of fashion buying at Herods, said that across many houses, the conversation is becoming less about gender and more about a shared wardrobe with collections evolving through a common design language. For example, the man and woman at Dior, Giovanchi, and Lanvin are all similar in resemblance.

[00:16:59]and the Dior's men's show. Jonathan Anderson sent out this bar jacket with a frayed hem that looked almost identical to the one worn by a female model at the houses cruise show in Los Angeles last month. Longland continued saying, "Collections are closer in spirit and feeling than ever. Dior and Javanchi are definitely some of the clearest examples, but I also feel this in St. Laurent, Selene, or Dre Van Nolan. As well as specific items, it's also about the silhouette. La Mer Studio Nicholson and Rick Owens have long championed this. So in conclusion, we can say that men's wear has always been the place where fashion has been reimagining masculinity, but now more so than ever before. So that's everything that I wanted to talk to you guys about today.

[00:17:46]What were your thoughts about this past Paris Fashion Week spring summer 2027 shows and collections? Did you like it overall? What were the standout highlights for you? What did you think about clavvicular at the 424 show? Do you feel like fashion is challenging masculinity by presenting all these different archetypes? Or do you think that masculinity is just as stagnant and unimaginative as it's been in the past?

[00:18:14]I'd love to hear all your thoughts.

[00:18:16]Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you again very soon.

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