On the fashion calendar, the menswear shows come before the womenswear, so in a way, they set the tone for the season. Historically, menswear was written off as boring, sartorial suiting, but nowadays, menswear is so much more than that. This season, several designers showcased audacious pieces for their SS25 menswear collections, such as trompe l'oeil belts and speedos. Who doesn't love seeing male models in speedos? I know I do. There was your stereotypical men's tailoring, but this season, designers decided to ditch the dreary wool for denim and leather. Between Milan and Paris, there were a lot of fabulous looks. I can't say that everything was a hit; there are always some fashion faux pas, but who wants to focus on that? Read below to find out which collections stood out among the rest.
Prada
Prada has been on top of their game for several seasons. The only time they aren't the number one brand of the year is when they come in second place to their sister label, Miu Miu. This season, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons wanted to make a collection that would invoke curiosity about what is real and what isn't. The show opened with models walking out of a small white hut to the sounds of the electronic group Junk Project. Models gave their best Lou Reed impression in tight sweaters that exposed the wrists and hips. Floral undershirts were purposefully wrinkled with underwires. Space-age sunglasses had faux reflections as if the wearer were at a concert or stuck in traffic on a highway. Prada and Simons also played with perception with trompe l'oeil belts cleverly painted on pants. The collection closed with jumpsuits that were in a colorway that would only work with Prada.
Photo Credit: Vogue Runway
Wales Bonner
After taking the world by storm with her Adidas Samba collab, Wales Bonner has been on everyone's watchlist. This season, Bonner was inspired by the pop art jungle prints of Althea McNish. McNish was a Trinidadian artist who was the first Black British designer to earn international recognition. Hats, blazers, and shorts were all in McNish-style floral prints. Models in leather coats, mesh tops, and speedos looked straight out of a Fire Island disco in the 1970s. Even denim and sweaters were sexed up with leather accoutrements. When I think of Wales Bonner, I normally don't think of subversive homoeroticism, but I have to give it to her because she turned it out! Womenswear made an appearance in the form of leather skirts and fishnet dresses. It would only make sense for Bonner to continue her collaboration with Adidas this season, showing off new Sambas in sequined iterations.
Photo Credit: Vogue Runway
Junya Watanabe
A red carpet was rolled out in Paris for Junya Watanabe's SS24 menswear show. The Japanese designer stated, "I have used denim and patchwork a lot in my past collections, but this time, I tried to go further in my exploration to find new discoveries." The collection felt like it was designed for Sid Vicious as if he were attending a movie premiere. The first look was a wool tuxedo adorned with patchwork denim and leather. It was completed with a pair of pierced sunglasses. As the show progressed, the wool patchwork tuxedos became more and more denim. Canadian tuxedos were given a Watanabe punk flair with tartan and plaid patches. My favorite look of the evening was Look 23: a model with spiked hair and sunglasses was sporting a tuxedo with a deconstructed Levis denim jacket pasted on top. I hope to see these Frankenstein suits on the red carpet instead of the same monotonous, unimaginative 3-piece suits that are worn each year.
Photo Credit: Vogue Runway
Loewe
Jonathan Anderson's Loewe is always imaginative, so it would only be fitting to have male models appear from underground with chrome feathers concealing their faces. Loewe and art go hand in hand. For this season, Anderson wanted to highlight objects by artists whom he admires, such as Paul Thek, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Susan Sontag, Carlos Scarpa, and Peter Hujar. I admire Peter Hujar's work and was ecstatic to see Anderson use his photograph Shoe for Elizabeth, 1981, for the show space. The collection kicked off with a flock of skinny black suits. One of the most interesting designs appeared in Look 7: a model, seductively peaking through the feathers in his face, was wearing a leather motorcycle jacket that was missing lapels to highlight his décolletage. There were shirts with belts buckled above exposed navels that effortlessly spiraled onto the wearer's pants. Where Anderson's craftsmanship really shined was in the chocolate leather coat that transitioned into ostrich skin. That coat was pure luxury.
Photo Credit: Vogue Runway
Lazoschmidl
The power duo behind Lazoschmidl, Josef Lazo, and Andreas Schmidl, released their SS25 collection in the form of a lookbook and fashion film. The collection was titled "Sweet Dreams," and like most of their collections, it celebrated the male body through a homoerotic lens. The looks consisted of cool, slouchy essentials, which are perfect for clubbing in the summer heat. Sheer tank tops and briefs came in baby pink and white. Lazo and Schmidl presented a lot of looks, with the focus on their underwear. It was very 1990s Tom Ford and Calvin Klein, male models, naked, except for briefs. This type of sexiness is what has been missing from modern-day minimalism. If you don't feel comfortable going out in a tank top and briefs, Lazoschmidl has denim vests and pants for their more modest consumers. As for the fashion film, director Daniel Riera shot a "cine-dramatic perfume ad" that felt like a modern take on Patrick Bateman's beauty routine. Down to the peel-off face mask.
Photo Credit: Vogue Runway
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