Menswear FW 2024

Feb 16

Clothes and us

Our relationship with clothing is shifting towards more sustainable and mindful practices. Considering the industry's impact, people buy fewer clothes, keep them longer, and repair them when needed. We convey messages about our identity, values, and aspirations and use clothing to connect with others and express ourselves creatively.

In this report, we pair the designs with artworks that explore our relationship with clothing and its cultural meaning. Trend thinking has gone; these are curations of thoughts, expressions of self, explorations of possibilities, exercises of empowerment and erasure of cultural cliches.

Traditional cultural touchstones of “masculinity” are changing, as well as gender roles which lead to a degendered fluidity in the collections. There is a new, more soft way of looking at men, emphasising this softer touch through colours, materials and paddings. The menswear collections also explored what luxury is and who is entitled to wear, for instance, checks. Below you can find OvN’s overview of the eight directions in the Menswear shows for FW 2024.

You can download the PDF of the report here

Soft layers

The FW shows focus on a softer touch and loose fabrics with comfortable and relaxed layers. Formal clothing is softened in colour and materials and mixed with soft, light versions of streetwear items. The overall feeling is elegant; the colours are a statement, a declaration of a delicate, non-conforming outlook on life.

Left to right, Portable Closets by Kyle Alden Martens, Louis Vuitton by Kidsuper, Dries Van Noten, Études, Dries Van Noten, Bode, Études

Colour dressing

Classic styles are reworked through colour, material and cut with a surreal gentle feeling as a result. Sexual roles are turned around, and race and gender are rendered equal. A reference to our relationship with clothes when we were kids before really knowing that gender existed or that there were specific rules and norms.

Left to right, Head of State, Botter, Private Policy, Valentino, Palomo Spain, Loewe, painting by Alex Gardner

Fluffy

There are references to childhood softness, with huggable and comfortable shapes, playing with sweetness and texture. Sentimental and nostalgic explorations of simpler times, innocence and happy memories of family life. Soft-touch textures are used in knitwear and sportswear style track pants and hoodies.

Left to right, Palomo Spain, Gucci, Isabel Marant, MSGM, Missoni, Palomo Spain, textile sculpture t-shirt by Judy Rushin-Knopf

Padded warmth

Warmth and protection are created by creating volume through padding. The stitched or welded patterns have evolved and are now textural 3D shapes. The volume reminds of dressing up a video game avatar with digitally created skins. The volume is key; the search is for sustainable ways to create volume and techniques to create 3D textures through weaving and knitting.

Left to right, Junya Watanabe, Sacai, RTA, Bianca Saunders, Rolf Ekroth, Louis Vuitton by Kidsuper, Dunyha Tomorrow installation by Adrian Kiss

Disturbed archetypes

The origin of clothes is reworked and disrupted through cut, new combinations and mixing references. The focus is what great clothes are about, the workmanship and craft of cutting patterns and constructing timeless pieces. Finding freedom creating with the references of the archetype, like the fluidity of cultural movement.

Left to right, Hed Mayner, Doublet, Luu Dan, Dries Van Noten, Maison Margiela, Hed Mayner, Premiere Veste by Martin Margiela

Denim explored

Denim is a classic but can also be very versatile. What denim is, is being stretched and explored. Styles are cut and layered, vests over shirts and jackets, over-dyed with colour or transformed into super wide cuts. Functionality is mixed with de-gendered fluidity. Distressed surfaces and patchwork contrast with the clean, pureness of raw denim.

Left to right, Private Policy, Marine Serre, RTA, Alyx, Kenzo, Luu Dan, Rack of Aprons by Theaster Gates

Outdoor re-thought

Outdoor is softer and more connected to indigenous cultures that owned the land, the people who were here before us and the trail of life that brings us experience and knowledge. It is a layered silhouette that mixes natural elements with different cultural references to create a new whole.

Left to right, Yoshitaka Boiler Suit by Alexa Hatanaka, Maisie Wilen, White Mountaineering, Etro, Zegna, Children of the Discordance, Eckhaus Latta

Culture check

The patrimony of textile culture is stretched by a new use of materials and patterns that were historically referenced as classic or chic. The warmth of blankets and cosiness is mixed with confident eccentricity and dandyism. Checks are mixed with tie dye, used in a big scale or translated into bright colour. The punk reference of checks is explored, acting against capitalism and the traditional value embedded in checked fabrics.

Left to right, Bode, Etro, Bode, Luu Dan, Hed Mayner, Ernest W. Baker, USD coat by Jan Henderikse