Men’s Fashion Week Fall 2023 descended on Paris in style. The monumental—and arguably most interesting—week from the international fashion year created a rift in traditional menswear by embracing ambiguity and exaggeration in designer collections.
If there’s anything to take away from the week in its entirety, it’s that clothes know no gendered bounds, nor should they. Ballooned suits took the stage on men, women, and everything in between, with accessories following no traditional rule book.
The fashion world is due for a reckoning. These separations of sex in ready-to-wear collections come as the world moves towards a more inclusive space. It’s worth wondering why this hasn’t happened sooner in a design industry in which queer individuals often express themselves.
Bode’s debut of its women’s collection—in high demand from their consumer base—complimented their menswear without being too similar. Bode Aujla growth is peaking, though it’s always been popular among men and women. Their womenswear is sexy, eccentric, and dated in the 20th century, yet it continues to be for everyone.
Contrary to what we often see, Bode’s womenswear collection has nothing to do with the menswear—it’s meant to be as different as possible. Therefore, one does not have to choose one or the other when picking their clothing.
Some designers have opted for “co-ed” as the identifier of their collections. Marine Serre continuously centres sustainability in their designs and showcased that and more in their runway show. “Rising Shelter” featured three pillars of compressed dead stock fabric and a maze for models to walk through to the audience.
The co-ed collection featured both feminine and masculine designs on models who identified as either. The collections’ endless supply of structures pants and outerwear alongside pleated or fitted midi and maxi dresses tell consumers they can put what they see fit onto their bodies without the restraint of a gender identity.
Givenchy showcased a navy suit on the runway reminiscent of Dickie’s work pants and Miu Miu. The jacket fit oversized, with pants that also had a skirt portion. Paired with it were ballet flats instead of traditional loafers—everything about look screams non-binary Gen Z student and The Journal is living for it.
Wales Bonner channelled Professor Slughorn’s infamous sofa look from the fifth Harry Potter movie in a striped, pajama-esque, loose capri, dress shirt combo. Capris are taking over the menswear fashion collections and Bonner is a fantastic example.
What’s abundantly clear from the innovation displayed over these last few weeks is the constructs meant to define our identities are becoming more obsolete with each passing season.
Tags
Fashion, Inclusivity, menswear
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