FASHION'S LEADING MAN

An easy ELEGANCE, a FLAMBOYANT flourish, a return to HERITAGE and roots the new male fashion icon is SUMMONING a menswear RENAISSANCE in the country.

- AKANKSHA KAMATH

Fact: Menswear is extremely exciting right now. You just have to read the global (and local) headlines alluding to menswear’s era of exploration for proof. ‘The tie is dead!’, ‘The suit is back!’, ‘Saying yes to the dress’, ‘Styling your new skirts over trousers’, are just some of the cues for a menswear revolution. And then there are the recent extensions into menswear from womenswear designers—think Simone Rocha’s voluminous peplum tops, sheer jackets and louche trousers for men, Molly Goddard’s frothy tulle seen on Harry Styles and Erdem’s florals for men (that are certainly groundbreaking). Meanwhile, at the spring/summer 2024 womenswear shows earlier this year in September, menswear and what men wore on the front row (including Taylor Zakhar Perez, Usher and Austin Butler) deserved an entire trend category of their own.

In India, too, a new sartorial male has been on the rise. Its roots, of course, remain firmly in the country’s rich royal history of men adorning themselves in flowing silhouettes, embroideries, as well as jewellery and gems throughout history. “The Indian man has a very refined sense of colour, style, and proportion,” says Varun Rana, writer and fashion commentator. “If you look at the country’s very long and rich history of menswear—whether it is royal costumes, traditional costumes, or religious/occasion-led costumes, or those for traditional/folk performing arts, they have a deep link with dress.” Today, the new icons of fashionable dress include a flamboyant and dandy Bollywood male pin-up.