Andrew Groves, Professor of Fashion Design at the University of Westminster and the Director of the Westminster Menswear Archive, has been quoted in an article by the Financial Times about how men are turning to oversized tailoring and away from gender-specific style.
The article discusses how designers are increasingly challenging the status quo of the slim silhouette in their collections and points to several factors to explain this change.
Speaking about how the pandemic may have contributed to the appeal of oversized clothing, Professor Groves is quoted as saying: “When Balenciaga showed [big jackets] for spring 2020, it was prescient. It was before the pandemic. Now, after two years of working at home and wearing sweatpants, men want to return to the formality of tailoring, but in a way that is ultra-comfortable and consoling”.
Talking about how designers have made oversized clothing look more wearable and natural, Professor Groves said: “The tailoring at Vetements is stunning in its exaggeration of proportions and juxtaposition of tailoring stiffness and jersey fluidity, but it’s at its most wearable at Raf Simons and Rick Owens, where shoulders are dropped while the sleeve lengths hit the wrist and appear natural”.
Finally, Professor Groves points to playfulness as a reason for men wanting a change in their tailoring, adding: “The oversized jacket is about men wanting to dress in a naïve manner. It’s about the rejection of the suit as a symbol of masculine aggression and potency that it was in the 1980s.”
Read the full article on the Financial Times’ website.
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