Foto von Mariya Georgieva auf Unsplash
If you’ve ever reflected on some of the more bizarre incarnations of fashion for men seen on international runways, you’re certainly not alone. Sleeves that trail on the ground, massive puffy coats, and outlandish headgear are only some of what you’ll see at any given runway show. But why?
If you were a fashion designer hoping to catch the eye of the fashion world’s glitterati, would you play it straight? Probably not, especially when there are 8 other runway shows those same glitterati are attending on the day of your show. Your work needs to stand out, so designers add bells and whistles, speaking to the central theme of the collection being shown. They select an ambiance for the show’s venue, created with light, color, and sound, adding models who enhance that ambiance. The clothes are overstated and exaggerated because fashion is art and like painters or sculptors, fashion designers need to be felt as much as seen.
But drilling down to the wearable kernel of fashion in designer collections isn’t as difficult as it seems. Some pieces appeal, even in their most outrageous form. Maybe it’s just the fabric, the cut, or the color but you can see the wearable kernel of fashion shining through the runway’s extremes. To look beyond the runway is to see the vision of the designer, stripped down to its wearable essence. So, let’s look at translating high fashion trends for men, from the runway to real life and how you can tame those crazy runway looks, making them your own.
Fashion is For You
Runway collections are not created to wear but to tell a story about the designer’s fashion intentions for the coming season. Done spectacularly, runway shows garner media attention and increased public exposure for the designer. Once the runway spotlights are dimmed, practical considerations reign supreme and the wearable kernel of fashion is revealed. Because it’s wearability that matters to you, the fashion consumer. Those insane, day-glo clown pants meandering down the runway, their waistband grazing the model’s chin, become highly wearable, colorful men’s pants in the pret-a-porter collection.
Let’s look at some examples from the runways of two well-known, respected, and accomplished men’s fashion designers and how to translate their looks to real life. Because fashion is for you.
Ferragamo Pre-Fall 2023 Runway
Foto von Arno Senoner auf Unsplash
The name of this classic Italian design house evokes the highest regard and this collection doesn’t disappoint. For Fall 2023, Ferragamo’s runway was, as always, awash with the Italian love of artisan construction and sartorial beauty. The design house’s fresh looks for men push the envelope without gratuitously distorting it.
“Effortless” is the keyword for this collection, expressed in clean, pared-down looks favoring denim. 2023 is the year of Western-styled denim with everything, interpreted on the Ferragamo runway with deconstructed gingham prints and over-stitch details that evoke the Old West. This year’s collection offers effortless elegance that never stretches itself to impress.
Take it to the street with a 70s twist, in relaxed-fit, bootcut jeans. Take on the mantle of 2023’s “denim tuxedo” by adding a fitted denim shirt. Extra points if you tuck that shirt in the waistband of your jeans, then throw it on a leather belt bearing a conspicuous belt buckle. Finish the look with a pair of cowboy boots and a pristine, white straw cowboy hat—if you’re feeling your inner Lil Nas X. Ferragamo brings the Western denim look flawless refinement that transforms it.
TIP: Wear it like you own it and mean it. This is a look even a fashion virgin can get right on the first try! All-denim looks are hot this year, so exploit them mercilessly and don’t spare the Western details. Add a bandana to your cowboy hat, back pocket, or neckline. Choose silk in that deconstructed Ferragamo gingham print.
Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2023
Foto von Rahul Bhogal auf Unsplash
Sinuous and powerful, Tom Ford men’s wear is created to enhance and empower the men who wear it. Satisfyingly wearable, every piece in Ford’s 2023 Spring/Summer collection emits a signal of exclusive luxury for discerning, fashion-conscious men who live to look hot, commanding, and competent.
From leopard print suits played off shirts in the same print but with a higher color saturation to quilted moto jackets in pastel shades, Ford brings the past few years’ feminine invasion of men’s fashion into a new era. This designer integrates the feminine menswear trend, creating a fresh vision of masculinity that’s bolder, brighter, hotter, and cooler.
Eschewing gendered color palettes, hot pink is a sublime shock in Ford’s sleekly-defined and unashamedly body-conscious men’s suit. Redefining the boxer brief, soft, yielding lace is added to a sharply-styled g-string, creating a union of masculinity and femininity that’s baldly erotic. Share it with care!
Work the 2023 leather trend in a pair of Ford’s supple pants, paired with a relaxed (almost 80s-look) black shirt, embroidered in white for a touch more Old West styling. Top it with a quilted bomber in the color that speaks to you and no one else, pastel or otherwise. Ford takes feminine touches and integrates them into this collection’s masculine power to create a look for men on the leading edge of life. A Tom Ford man is secure in who he is, wearing what makes his potency clear to everyone who sees him.
TIP: This designer’s work is best worn close to the body and fitted in suits but this collection adds options that are roomier and more relaxed, in particular the embroidered shirt and leather trousers suggested here. The silhouette, despite that roominess, remains sleek and defined. Just add Aviator shades and chunky Oxford shoes and you’re the riveting image of a man who’s already arrived, unchallenged.
Find Yourself On the Runway
As you come to understand how the runway is a story about the designer’s pret-a-porter collection, you’ll begin to find yourself on the runway. Translating high fashion trends for men to real life is about the process of seeing the wearable kernel of fashion in artful pieces from the runway and envisioning how you can wear them.
The examples I’ve provided here are just the beginning of your runway-to-real-life fashion journey. They’re intended to inspire you to heights of fashion savvy that turn even your own head as you peep your splendid self passing the hallway mirror.