In a Pivotal Year Set to Redefine Masculinity, Fall 2025 takes the Measure of the Man
By Angela Baidoo
The Fall 2025 menswear season arrived amidst an ongoing uncertain outlook for the luxury fashion industry, yet there were signs of moves in the right direction as the long-awaited stabilisation – following months of speculation over major creative director appointments – took shape.
A season of Embracing Reality and Nurturing the Necessity of Creativity
In the midst of this current round of designer musical chairs luxury fashion has been in a holding pattern over the last 12 months, yet with appointments from Chanel (Matthieu Blazy) to Maison Margiela (Glenn Martens) finally confirmed in the last month and providing some much needed clarity – from a design direction perspective – the industry at large is still reckoning with the post-pandemic economic slowdown, shifting consumer priorities, and a market that demands more than just brand name appeal. So, in a Brave New World it was little wonder that the fall 2025 men’s season reflected a sharpened focus on purpose and authenticity.
Milan’s slimmed down schedule gave lesser-known and young fashion talent room to shine, whether that was via a presentation format (Altea and Qasimi) or show, the collections of Pronounce, Mordecai, Saul Nash, Pierre Louis-Mascia, and PDF injected a dose of much-needed creativity into a landscape where commercial pragmatism has often taken precedence. Magliano and Simon Cracker (whose shows were positively over-subscribed) are proving that Milan is still a city where new talent can be nurtured. While in Paris the focus was on the practical and the poetic as outdoor pursuits allowed men to revert to their basic instincts at Emporio Armani and Sacai, and an unknowing swansong collection from Kim Jones at Dior Men brought refined beauty back to the mens runways.
The collections also grappled with a central reoccurring question: ‘What will masculinity look like in 2025?’ Some designers leaned into survivalist-meets-early man tropes, as we saw with Prada and LGN Louis Gabriel Nouchi’s primal fur vests, or Emporio Armani’s hyper-functional outdoor gear. Both looked to man’s fractured relationship with nature, in stark contrast to more conservative sartorial visions that have been gathering pace due to the adoption of Quiet Luxury as a desirable aesthetic. Seen at the presentations of Brunello Cucinelli, Berluti and Ralph Lauren, a return to conservative values tends to favour a traditional version of the ‘Working Man’ in an expertly tailored suit. Others, such as Egonlab and Dries Van Noten, adopted a distinctly poetic-style of romance marked by silky blouses and couture tailoring. The anti-thesis of ‘Outdoor Man’ and ‘Business Bro’, this was also a call-back to the gender-fluid conversations that were diversifying the menswear market and gaining momentum only a few short seasons ago. In light of a shift away from more overtly provocative silhouettes it was the statement silky blouse, as seen at Dior Men and Peter Copping’s debut at Lanvin, which brought the modern-day Casanova out to play.
As global uncertainty forced brands to reassess their strategies, the fall 2025 men’s season reflected a sharpened focus on purpose and authenticity.
Fall 2025 was undoubtedly a season of designers who were trying to balance their creative output with collections that need to sell, but going forward there has to be an intentionality in order to engage, as consumers face real-world pressures fashion has to either be functional, evoke emotion, or provide inherent value, now more than ever.
Exploring Existentialism
Beyond the runway, existential themes of purpose, freedom, and humanity permeated the season. While some designers have been reluctant to voice their political stances, this year will be pivotal for expressing clarity on brand values.
One such designer was Willy Chavarria who was showing for the first time as part of the Paris schedule (and was one of the few to champion representation and size inclusivity), openly called on fashion to stand for something more than just aesthetics, urging brands to move beyond fear and embrace meaningful narratives, speaking to The Impression backstage he said:
It’s a compassion and it’s a willingness to take risks, but really to be on the right side of history. I feel as if many brands are too afraid to have guts behind their statements and I think we’re tired of just seeing pretty clothes, there’s so much of that and we’re all like okay. This is an opportunity to really make ourselves and each other think and feel differently. That is what fashion is for, this is the platform to do it, and I hope to have that influence in fashion.
Willy Chavarria, Creative Director, Willy Chavarria
JordanLuca’s surprise wedding—a bold act of love in uncertain times—epitomized this sentiment, as Jordan Bowen and Luca Marchetto chose this moment of turmoil to tie the knot post-show in front of a very fashionable crowd, as they said “Love is as much a verb as a noun…It’s a radical act that can change everything”, while at Prada an exploration of human nature led to a collection of clothing the body via instinct pairing the primitive (animal skins) with the domestic (satin and leather pyjamas), worn with protective amulets. At COMME des GARÇONS Homme Plus it was “To Hell With War” as Rei Kawakubo subverted military uniforms and adorned helmets with flowers, as her anti-war statement reminded audiences that fashion, at its best, is a platform for discourse.
As the industry recalibrates, Fall 2025’s menswear season underscored that designers must not only sell clothes but also engage with the world at large.
The Over-arching Themes That Mattered
- Man and Nature
- Survival Instincts
- The ‘Super’ Basics
- Poetic Romance
- Bottom Feeders
- Time for Twee
- One-to-Watch: Menswear Gets a Retro-fit
Man and Nature
According to the Co-creative Directors of Prada – Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons – there was a need to go back to something more savage this season, to tap into our basic instincts. Considering the evolution of Early Man, this manifested itself in a proliferation of fur skins featuring on the runway. As Simons noted, the aim is for this redux of the distant past to feel “warm, human” and in the wearing of animal skins (thankfully many designers, having earlier made pledges to transition away from real fur, opted for shearling and Mongolian fur from sheep) man is being encouraged to get back to his primal nature.
It may read as savage, primitive, caveman, but our aim was for it to feel warm, human, and instinctive, but also beautifully domestic in a way.”
Raf Simons, Co-creative Director, Prada
It’s an answer to what is happening [in society] we have to resist with our instinct, with our humanity, and our passion.
Miuccia Prada, Co-creative Director, Prada
Survival Instincts
Never too far from the mens runways the ‘Mountain Man’, ‘Lumberjack’, ‘Woodsman’ or ‘Intrepid Explorer’ taps into conversations around what it means to be a man through the conquering of the great blue yonder, and the physical exertion of becoming that most revered of historical male tropes ‘The Adventurer’. Fall 2025 saw Junya Watanabe collaborate with Filson for a hipster-light version, while the utilitarian was reworked at Louis Vuitton and Kenzo.
Designers leaned into tried and true male tropes as they took to the outdoors with their survival instincts, while ‘The Adventurer’ in his many guises encouraged men to tackle nature’s most fierce terrains, whether dressed for the rough and rugged or hyper-technical.
Ludovico Bruno’s Mordecai gave us multi-layered comfort in butter-yellow tones and inviting neutrals, at Emporio Armani, Mr Armani took to the slopes with down-filled technical outerwear in patchworked muddy darks, and Emeric Tchatchoua’s 3.Paradis created his very own snow-storm on set to showcase duvet style padded coats and puffer jackets which had a Michelin man blow-up style construction. Pop at your peril.
The ‘Super’ Basics
As consumers look to how they should dress for the wholesale return to the office – as companies renege on promises to embrace hybrid-working – hybrid-dressing is making way for ‘Super-basics’.
Led this season by Tokyo-based designer Ryota Iwai’s Auralee, his brand communicates a souped-up simplicity – a number of their cashmere knits are sold-out on their e-commerce site – that makes modern materials work their hardest and is part of the brands M.O. A concept sure to resonate as men seek out the highest quality materials to update their everyday essentials. Even at Rick Owens we saw pants and shirts in (responsibly sourced) Alligator.
Comfort will always be key as brands such as Umit Benan, Hermès and Fear of God provide fluid blanket-like cover-ups and relaxed pants reminiscent of loungewear but rendered in fresh cottons and cosy wools, to make them work-ready at a moment’s notice.
Auralee communicates a souped-up simplicity that makes modern materials work their hardest. A concept sure to resonate as men seek out the highest quality materials to update their everyday essentials.
Poetic Romance
Poetry was in motion as a softer side came out for fall, influenced by Shakespearian Romeo’s and the escapades of Casanova. Soft blouses have emerged as a key silhouette just waiting to be displayed on the red-carpet at the upcoming awards season.
A look back in time to the eighteenth century when mens blouses were a decorative template for flounces and frills, at Dior Men, Dries Van Noten and Lanvin we saw them once again taking centre stage, with the latters Art Deco and paillette embellished style likely to be embraced by male stars fully in-touch with their feminine side. For all others the collar got a re-brand, as at Ami and Egonlab the high-collar and draped handkerchief neckline offer more wearable iterations.
Bottom Feeders
Attention was specifically paid to the trouser this season as waists were doubled or folded over and the tactility of velvet took over. There were many a boxer peeking over the waistband at Wooyoungmi, Jordanluca and Acne Studios but the belt became the star as it was piled on 2-at-a-time or constructed into a dropped waist. While at Anthony Vacarello’s Saint Laurent thigh-high boots morphed into leather pants as his models wore the over-the-knee style first made popular for men in the 15th century as riding boots, but here they were given a twist of kink with the buckle detail and the leather-on-leather styling.
The return to an increasingly formal aesthetic for men, spurred on by a rise in conservatism, focusses on new ways to experiment with tailoring, and for fall 2025 the waist will be whittled with corset belts from Jacquemus, double-belted at Dolce and Gabbana, or promoting your favoured brand of boxers at Magliano, Acne Studios, and Willy Chavarria
Time For Twee
Call it a sartorial regression to the safety of ‘Boyhood’, the (Alessandro) Michele-effect which may cause another spike in sales for vintage-style looks, or the Boomer generation of models taking over marketing campaigns, a grandpa-esque trend is emerging for fall.
There is a precious naivety around how men can dress in 2025 which goes against the grain and positively reflects a softer side of masculinity.
The look is mainly centred around retro-knits, from Fair-isle and conversational vests on the streets of Milan and at MSGM, boxy 4-pocket cardigans with classic domed gold buttons (reminiscent of Chanel-clad ladies who lunch) at Willy Chavarria and Simon Cracker, and pastel-coloured cardigans at Louis Vuitton, Dior Men, and BED j.w. FORD, there was a precious naivety around how men could dress in 2025, going against the grain and positively reflecting a softer side of masculinity.
One-to-Watch: Menswear Gets a Retro-fit
As speculation builds as to what fashion house Hedi Slimane will helm next, the ‘super skinny’ fit that saw him single-handedly usher in a new era of body consciousness for men (during his tenure as creative director of Dior Homme between 2000 and 2007) is on the rise. And as fate would have it some of the most infamous rock bands and musicians of the time – who were dressed by Slimane – have released new music i.e. Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight and Jack White. Yet, even though their style may have moved on the nostalgia for the slimmed down fits they wore at the height of their fame are set for a renaissance. Think fitted shirts with skinny ties and even skinner jeans, fitted blazers and cropped pants all layered with a retro roll neck.
The look is not strictly formal-facing either, as sm/asual gets a revamp with jeans worn with button-down shirts at Acne Studios and a seventies lounge vibe adding in both print and leather details at Amiri. While at Louis Vuitton, Pharrell and Nigo’s collaborative efforts produced a shrunken blazer, with slightly flared denim jeans and a knitted vest, paired back effortlessly with a shirt and tie.
