ALL THE FEMME

An injection of WOMENSWEAR codes into the REALM of MENSWEAR is making the latter CHICER than ever.

- JEFFREY YAN

Half a century ago, Yves Saint Laurent created his iconic Le Smoking and changed womenswear forever. The menswear-inspired tuxedo was first a scandal, and then quickly a sensation. Now, his successor, Anthony Vaccarello is channelling that contrarian spirit and doing the inverse—applying the language of Saint Laurent’s womenswear into menswear. This meant silk and chiffon blouses, giant pussybows, floor-sweeping coats, and vertiginously heeled boots. For years, Saint Laurent menswear has felt like, if not an afterthought, then just a commercial continuation of the skinny rock-god aesthetic put in place by Hedi Slimane. It wasn’t until Vaccarello tapped into the inherent femininity at the heart of the brand that his menswear finally clicked.

Vaccarello isn’t the only designer who has sensed this shift in the air. The interesting thing is that it’s the world’s biggest brands and most established designers who are keying into this new, more feminine mood for menswear. It’s almost a given that young, indie, and/or queer designers— your Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s and Palomo Spain’s— will push the boundaries of gender and identity in fashion; but big brands, by the very nature of their businesses, which need to appeal to the widest possible audiences, have a tendency to not rock the boat so much. This season, in menswear at least, that has been upended.