Menswear Revolution: The Transformation of Contemporary Men’s Fashion

Where once uniformity reigned, menswear today offers an arena of choice and possibility, allowing men to experiment with identities, and try on new masculinities for size. Menswear Revolution addresses the transformation of designer and commercial fashion that has reshaped the contemporary menswear scene, in the context of the increasing elasticity, inclusivity and plurality of masculinities at play on the 21st century cultural stage. Looking through the lens of the designer, Menswear Revolution explores the fashion visionaries who have shifted the aesthetic paradigms of menswear design since the turn of the millennium, from the likes of Raf Simons, Hedi Slimane, Riccardo Tisci and Rick Owens, to innovative menswear lines at Lanvin, McQueen, Balenciaga and Dior. How and why did menswear transform so dramatically, and what does this mean for men and masculinity? Illuminating the role of fashion in communicating and creating identities, archetypes and aspirations, the book looks back to fashion and the male body in the 1960s, through the muscular, scantily clad 1980s, the androgynous 2000s, and right up to the present days youthful, lean silhouettes. Combining interviews with fashion professionals with close analyses of garments and advertising, Menswear Revolution builds a complex picture of what is happening now in the world of menswear design and its relationship to changing concept of gender. Providing a much-needed update to scholarship on masculinity, fashion and the body, the book will be essential reading for student and scholars of fashion, cultural and gender studies, as well as menswear and consumption.