Men’s Spring 2026 Trends Overview
By Angela Baidoo
From starry-eyed nostalgia to sharply tailored statements, the Spring 2026 menswear collections proved that escapism and everyday utility are not mutually exclusive. Designers drew from a vast palette of inspiration—childhood memories, seaside fantasies, archival elegance, and global dandyism—to shape a season that feels both grounded and aspirational. At a time when market forces often favor sameness, this season made room for emotion, expression, and experimentation. The result? A menswear landscape that champions color, craft, and character, delivering trends that speak not only to how men dress, but why.
The Great Escape
Summer will always call for dreams of escaping to far-flung destinations or annual seaside
sojourns frequented on family holidays. And while, in the hands of a few designers, this
trope became slightly hackneyed, and run-of-the-mill (drifting dangerously close to the
world of the Gap Dad fit, unless that was the intention), there were others who took to sky,
sea, and land to bring forth the ultimate vacation wardrobe. Sun-bleached tones and rustic
neutrals were a rejection of polished preparedness and spoke of going off the beaten track,
cover-ups were inspired by ponchos at Emporio Armani and retro tunics at Prada, and flip
flops – Auralee, C.R.E.O.L.E., Hermès – will be the only footwear required, making packing
for the perfect getaway effortless.
The Global Dandy
The cultural and historical significance of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art announcing ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’ as its spring 2025 exhibition – at
a time of increased divisions along racial lines – cannot be downplayed. As the impact of
Black style and Black dandyism in the formation of identity over the last three hundred
years can still be found in the fashion lexicon of some of the most influential designers
today.
Spring 2026 will continue this conversation as the runways of Pharrell Williams at Louis
Vuitton highlighted another under-represented (but again highly influential) group from the
Global South by bringing the Indian dandy to the world stage via sun-bleached colours, a
collaboration with Studio Mumbai, and a cast of models from the diaspora. At Wales Bonner
– fresh off her best-dressed turn outfitting Lewis Hamilton for the Met Gala and featuring on
the cover of the exhibitions official catalogue – a collection titled ‘Jewel’ saw the designer
use her collection to expand the vision of ‘Dandyism’ and pulled on the ‘opulence of 1930’s
evening wear’ merged with the eclecticism of British sartorial dress codes. Kartik Research
used their first runway show to take a journey through craft, Steven Passaro abstracted
classic shirting, while System’s soft silhouette will prove an appealing entry into this world
for the modern man. Edwardian, military, and maximalist flourishes created a cast of
characters suited to another time of poets, orators, and of course dandies.
Praise for the Everyday
We can’t deny that the flattening of fashion has created an easy tool for brands to appeal to
the broadest consumer base. This shift has ensured steady sales which meet the demands
of shareholders and investors alike, often at the expense of experimentation, now deemed
too risky in today’s luxury market downturn.
The homogenisation of luxury fashion, where collection after collection tends to express the
same message in order to satisfy the bottom line, is becoming the norm(core). Yet, despite
this direction of travel a few standouts added some extra ingredients into the ‘basics’
formula, piquing our interest in the trench/blazer/sweater/button-down/denim jean
combination for another season. Jonathan Andersons debut at Dior was a France-meets-
America Preppy love story, featuring the social-signalling collegiate “house” tie and oxford
shirt which was styled slightly dishevelled. Prada and Lii’s car coats in sorbet shades, Willy
Chavarria’s glossy turquoise bomber jacket, Hed Mayner’s sweater/shirt hybrid and
3.Paradis’ asymmetric grandad cardigan were all an ode to breaking the mould of paint-by-
numbers personal style.
Childlike Wonder
What was a re-discovering of the vintage aesthetic which riffed on boyhood nostalgia, has
taken another trip down memory lane into childhood wonderment. It goes without saying
that the desire to regress back to a time of safety and innocence grows ever more appealing
in today’s climate, so designers have been only too happy to oblige. In Walter Van
Beirondonck’s show notes this sentiment was reiterated “I want to stay the starry-eyed,
wide-eyed boy I always was”, expressing this through a collection of ‘skeleton suits’ worn by
18 th -century boys and paint-splattered smocks that were a throwback to the freedom of
classroom expression. The ‘Twee’ sweater became a canvas for sweet florals and naïve
motifs at Dior and Junya Watanabe, while KidSuper’s show was a physical manifestation and
narration of his self-published children’s book ‘The Boy Who Jumped the Moon’.
Brighter Days
Unbridled joy was spread throughout the season as a paintbox of brights was employed to
reinvigorate collections for the summer season. Fresh greens signified ideas around growth
and new starts at Dior and White Mountaineering and proving that real men can wear pink –
and orange, and yellow, together no less – saw 3.Paradis’ sand-strewn runway conjure up a
virtual escape in the heart of Paris fashion week. Willy Chavarria used the brightly coloured
uniforms worn by factory workers globally to make a bold statement on resilience, while
Julian Klausner’s Dries Van Noten debut harnessed the brands heritage of clashing
technicolour prints in patchwork wide stripes, hothouse florals, and textured embellishment
garnering an extended ovation from those in attendance.
Rising High
Shorts, specifically the micro short, could be a sign that warnings of a looming recession may
have been greatly exaggerated. As everything from the return of the peplum and the Chloé
Paddington bag have been lauded as a ‘Recession Indicator’, designers who chose to send
the direction of hemlines of men’s shorts ever skyward were instead playing into the
‘Hemline Index’ theory and hedging their bets that by summer 2026 economic fortunes will
be on the rise too.
As a holdover from the rise in the queer narrative which saw a welcome shift in the
menswear market, short shorts, which leave little to the imagination, are once again
trending. Martine Rose and David Catalán went for classic denim cut-offs, Acne Studios, Dior
and street style favourites trying to keep their cool chose traditional men’s boxers in blue
and pink, yet it was at LGN by Louis Gabriel Nouchi, Wooyoungmi, Saint Laurent and Prada
where lengths were at their most risqué with the latter’s mini bloomer style winning the
award for the silhouette which had everyone talking this season.
Lounge Lovers
Lounge lovers rejoice as day-to-night dressing will get a little easier for spring 2026, only
requiring one ultra-relaxed uniform for an extended pyjama party.
Dolce and Gabbana undoubtedly cornered the market for the luxe set made for the boudoir
and beyond, as the consumer either returns to the office or adapts to a new hybrid-working
model, the transition will be made that much easier when no wardrobe change is necessary.
With crisp cotton in sharp stripes lending itself to the popular summer set, baby blue will be
the colour to invest as confirmed by Sacai, White Mountaineering, and David Catalán, with
pink and green as seen at Dolce and Gabbana and Saint Laurent coming in a close second.
Rustic versions inspired by global travels in warm neutrals were offered by Emporio Armani,
Ziggy Chen and Officine Générale. And the decadence was dialled up with satins, velvets and
jacquards, reminiscent of the 1970s, seen at Amiri and Emporio Armani.
Head and Shoulders Above
Getting in on the headwear game, next season there will be a myriad number of options for
men to choose from when it comes to sartorial options for their head and shoulders, Prada’s
windswept straw hats and Comme des Garçons multi-brimmed baker boy caps may prove a
little harder to pull off anywhere other than a red-carpet premiere, but easier to navigate
was the necktie, neckerchief, or modern-day cravat. Michael Rider – the most recent of the
designer debuts to show – gave the silk neck scarf a starring role in his show which opened
Haute Couture week in Paris. Scarves in red, white, and blue spilled out of collars and were
worn proudly across the shoulders of tailored overcoats. The most daring can attempt the
full-on babushka à la A$AP Rocky, but from Pitti Uomo to Acne Studios and Hed Mayner a
simple square, in a foulard or baroque print, draped and knotted around the neckline is the
only styling trick needed for the summer season.
A Light Touch
It was as obvious to showgoers, as it was to those showing, that higher temperatures during
the summer months are set to become the norm. And to combat this, fashion will have to
adapt. Cue the rise of the lightweight technical fabric as an emerging solution to days
navigating the commute during sweltering summers. Linen and cotton will always be key
fabrics for the season and were seen pre-creased at Zegna and Ziggy Chen to align with the
abandoning of perfection, but there was real innovation on the runways with designers
embracing technical and breathable nylons from the world of sportswear. Reimagining
everything from the utility jacket at System to wide leg trousers at Songzio. A standout
collection from Pronounce reworked parachute silks inspired by Chinese kites into pastel-
toned breezy tailoring and oversized tunics. And sheers in the form of chiffon and organza
reframed traditional menswear categories – with printed sheer suiting at Emporio Armani
and see-through argyle knits at Kolor.
Drawing the Line
Stripes are a summer staple and can be found everywhere during the summer
months, for next season designers gave the humble pattern a bold makeover in
graphic black and white or dopamine brights. At Dries Van Noten multi-coloured
stripes were worked across chunky ribbed knitwear and oversized holdalls, but it was
Julian Klausner’s patchwork satin racing jockey-style shirt and shorts that
demonstrated that when attention to detail is paid, even a stripe can be elevated.
Timeless two-tone combinations were seen at Craig Green, Kiko Kostadinov, and
Juun.J, while rainbow brights were made wearable in simple silhouettes at David
Catalán, Comme des Garçons, and C.R.E.O.L.E. Polo shirts and pyjamas will make
the most commercial sense – see Solid Homme for the best examples – but
designers couldn’t resist a playful take as was demonstrated by Andreas Kronthaler
at Vivienne Westwood who extended the preppy classic into a dress.
