Menswear has come a long way, and that’s not really up for debate.. Even if you want to look elegant, you’re no longer confined to jackets, ties and suits.
The male wardrobe has – mercifully – expanded: the modern menswear look now offers almost as many possibilities as the collections traditionally reserved for women.
But just as there are men and then there are men, there’s menswear and there’s menswear. Vivienne Westwood’s latest collection of designer clothes for men pushes into unexplored territory, beyond this neat little dichotomy which, for many, still feels like “the present” but, from the vantage point of fashion’s avant-garde, already belongs to the past.
Playing with proportions and symmetry
Anarchy – a word wearily attached once too often to the world of Vivienne Westwood – is supposed to mean an absence of principle and order. In reality, it’s not that simple. Who would seriously call the Sagrada Família “anarchic” just because it doesn’t follow certain rules and established norms? It’s the usual narrative that the status quo reserves for innovators: the moment you step outside the rules, the best you can expect is a compliment with a built-in sneer.
In this latest collection offered to Vivienne Westwood’s loyal clientele – and to those who are finally beginning to explore the brand – we’ve seen very little, if anything, that could be called anarchic.
Firstly, because the ideas are there, they’re clear, and they’re rigorously structured – across the collection as a whole and within each individual piece.
Secondly, because Vivienne Westwood has, by now, become one of fashion’s own languages. It can move exactly as it likes: not in chaos, but within the very precise order that the brand and its British founder have sketched out over the years. Years in which its place at the centre of the global fashion stage has never, at any point, been something simply handed over.
Ideas, woven in fabric
Then there are the fabrics and finishes – that side of fashion most people, even fashion insiders, only notice subconsciously.
Vivienne Westwood’s selection of wools, cottons and viscose blends drape with a deliberate irregularity, catching the light in ways that stop the outfit from ever looking flat.
That’s where the real work is being done. There is no need to shout for attention. Tiny shifts of texture and weight make Vivienne Westwood’s items shine and draw exactly the amount of attention you want.
The result? It’s neither a tired manifesto on masculinity nor a lecture on some fake idea of modernity. It’s a set of tools to let you be who and what you want to be.
There are more than 100 pieces, all wonderfully crafted, all there to meet Vivienne Westwood’s vision and, just as importantly, your own.
Give it a try, you may find the Holy Grail of fashion you’ve always been looking for.
Meet Vivienne Westwood’s latest collection of designer menswear – pieces created by a house that continues to hold centre stage in the fashion world through creativity and meticulous craftsmanship.