Are Men Okay?
On the runways, they’re great.
“I think we found the solution to the male loneliness epidemic,” a friend joked as we walked into the Pitti Uomo menswear fair. Outside, a large conclave of dudes stood in the 95-degree heat, fully kitted out in linen suits, breezy pleated trousers, knit polos, and lots of Japanese workwear. There’s no singular look at Pitti. Even if the fair has popularized that Euro peacock sprezzatura, you can find a diverse ecosystem of suiters, duders, even streetwear kings still bumbling about. I find comfort knowing that these guys have a place to figure out if summer 2027 will be one of sun-bleached linens (Jiyoung Kim) or cinched suede safari jackets (Brunello Cuccinelli). These garments and their necessity in a man’s wardrobe are debated inside the fair’s walls with the severity of geopolitics or Clavicular’s nose job. Which is to say, the bros are bro-ing out and finding community in fashion. And isn’t that GREAT?
Because when I asked the guys outside if “men are okay?” most had to admit no. The reality is that dude monoculture doesn’t exist anymore—there’s no gold standard for what it means to be a golden boy. The fashion world, which has been showcasing new looks for men in Pitti Uomo in Florence and at Milan Fashion Week, doesn’t seem to mind. Instead of getting wrapped up in the discourse—thankfully—the designers put forth strong and playful ideas for what varietal of man will bloom next spring.
First was Comme des Garcons acolyte Kei Ninomiya’s punk redux for his brand DSM Kei Ninomiya, made of safety-pin suiting, tartan kilts, and intrecciato Vans sneakers. Much of the hoopla around the show focused on the hair: pink mohawks studded with flowers by stylist Pablo Kuemin and florist Azuma Makoto. But the clothes themselves were well-conceived subversions of classic shapes: The suit, the drainpipe pant, the three-quarter zip done here with rows of zips inching upwards from the waist.
Simone Rocha didn’t pull any punches with her menswear debut, either. A character study into the psyche of the Simone Rocha dude, the collection was one of her most diverse and delightful, segueing from the boxy tailoring shapes she developed when she launched menswear in 2022 and into new painterly smocks and smart knit vests. What I liked most about the Rocha romance was that it wasn’t too reverent to men—or menswear. These were delicate but powerful clothes that brought Simone’s feminine energy to guys.
That lack of reverence for the “codes” is what has made the Italian leg of the menswear season incredibly exciting. At Prada, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons emphasized “clarity” in their incredibly streamlined yet kooky collection. In the verbose press release, the brand explained: “The focus is a distillation, to the fundamental, intentional, and meaningful.” Okay… What that means actually is 49 pairs of skinny five-pocket jeans made of denim, leather, transparent nylon, and a little wool. Despite the severity of the silhouette, the collection had a vitality and an impishness: silk scarves knotted around waists, half-sunglasses fused together at the bridge, clunky dopp kits hanging from worn-out belts. Some models sported gumball-machine jeweled rings as earrings.
The message, as I left the Fondazione Prada in the sweltering heat, became clear: Men’s spring 2027 is not about tastefulness. THANK GOD. As womenswear slowly creeps out of its luxury-basic, CBK-wannabe era, men have bolted.
There’s a smart sexiness at Prada, a romantic materiality at Setchu (which showed garments made of fishing line and metal hoops), and a wacked-out Americana at Ralph Lauren. The Ralph show, a blend of the haute Purple Label and the sporty Polo label, was like a posh hallucination: imagine being in a palazzo crammed with guys who would medal in a Tom Ripley look-alike contest. There’s something so serious about the Ralph Lauren codes, but also something so devilishly over the top. This isn’t the cri de corporate you can find at other Italianate sartorial brands. This is for a guy with swag who isn’t intimated by a tie as a belt, a sash as a headscarf, or the thought of carrying a leather clutch like it’s pirate’s booty. (Whoever cast the models in this show, from age 18 to well over 50, is a literal genius.) It’s not about looking right, it’s about feeling right at Ralph Lauren—the feeling that your boat is just outside, waiting to take you to Cernobbio or Sag Harbor or Monaco with champagne and caviar in tow. The look is unapologetically fashionable. The whole thing reminded me of a Jack Donaghy line from 30 Rock: “I won the Amory Blaine Handsomeness Scholarship to Princeton, and then attended Harvard Business School, where I was voted ‘most.’”
If this menswear season continues to be about dudes doing the most, I will be so, so pleased. Because men deserve a little levity, and because fashion does too. I’m ready to kiss quiet luxury goodbye and welcome in the era of more. It’s making men look more than okay. They look great.
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