no. 3

Menswear: Why is it so much more interesting?

For some reason, I find myself drawn to menswear so much more than womenswear. I can’t explain it. Whether it’s watching a menswear show, the silhouettes, pretty much anything, there is something that I find so much more intriguing.

In terms of my style, I can picture myself wearing these clothes significantly more than the average womenswear collection of a brand unless androgynous and masculine clothing was part of their design identity. Victoria Beckham, for example, or Stella McCartney in some respects. These are both designers who I like to take inspiration from, the strength in their clothing. But when I look at Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection, I want everything. I need everything.

Pharrell Williams. First of all, a musical genius. I used to be obsessed with his music from the early 2000s. Second of all, his work at Louis Vuitton has made me such a fan. Of course, Virgil Abloh was an artist, and what he did for the brand could not have been more influential, but, for me, Pharell has created and built upon the branch between fashion and pop culture. I have always loved hip-hop and RnB, and of course, fashion, so seeing this link between the two changed my perspective towards fashion, streetwear, and how I would dress myself. Since the 1990s, hip-hop and rap music have been integrated into fashion and, as seen in documentaries and series such as the recent, ‘In Vogue: The 90s’, the journey of music and theatre and film interact with fashion in a new way.

The house never really captured my attention until Virgil Abloh became the creative director for LV, honestly speaking. I wasn’t paying attention (granted, I was a bit too young and wasn’t into fashion like that). Then Pharrell Williams completely changed it. Naturally, as a fan of his music, I wanted to see his design direction and watching his debut collection changed my life. The gold runway on Pont Neuf. The music. The representation. The designs. I am obsessed. This collection made me realise my love for menswear. The silhouettes are so satisfying. There is something about classic tailoring with Japanese and hip-hop influences. Slowly, I am looking forward to seeing what Louis Vuitton does in the future. If you want to investigate it, my favourites are AW2024 (Western workwear and tailoring) and AW2025 (Japanese tailoring and streetwear).

Speaking of tailoring, Alexander McQueen. As my favourite designer, it’s hard to find something I don’t like about his designs. The tailoring and precision of the collection are aspects I love about the brand, and although more known for his womenswear, one of the collections I like is AW2006. The playfulness of layering, changing the silhouettes, the colours. Stunning. Another designer that has this is Tom Ford. His legendary direction at Gucci was influential for so many reasons. The suits. The men’s suits. The women’s suits. I could go on and on.

But, back to menswear. Although I feel like women are slightly more outgoing with their fashion and clothing choices (speaking of the general population), in my opinion, there’s so much more room to grow for men. Playing with the rules of femininity. Whether it’s playing with traditionally “feminine” fabrics or clothing items. Or, honestly, just mixing it up. Trying new styles of denim or a slightly cropped fit of jacket.

This brings me to one of the most important fashion and cultural events around the world: the Met Gala. The 2025 theme is, ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’, with Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, and Anna Wintour as co-chairs and LeBron James as an honorary chair. I really like it. I am so intrigued to see what people wear, and celebrating Black fashion icons is something that needed to be done a while ago, so thankfully, now is the time. Influences from André Leon Talley, Patrick Kelly, Virgil Abloh, Grace Wales Bonner, Martine Rose, and so on, are things that I hope people display. In the past, I feel like (and, to stress, these are my thoughts) the majority of the men at the Met Gala do not show up. A simple tuxedo? No, thank you. With that thought, I hope they take this theme and do something with it. I want to see boldness. I want to see creativity. I want to see a celebration of fashion, and tailoring, and culture.

I am not sure if it is envy or just a great adoration of menswear, but I am so excited about it. There is something that just clicks in my head. The same click as when I read ‘Gods & Kings’ about Alexander McQueen for the first time. The same click I had when I watched Pharrell Williams’ debut at Louis Vuitton.

By Natasha Joshi