Next year promises a season of lowering austerity and a cold front attuned to the all-pervading economic and social storm. Designers sent models out ready for anything. Puffa jackets, functional strap and harness details, skull caps and warm knitwear were all over the runways at the Fall 2017 Menswear Shows.
Here, we look back at the mens shows at New York, London, Milan and Paris – and we’ve distilled everything the designers want to see men wearing this time next year into nine solid trends.
Military
It depends what you want out of fashion. Something usefully and good-looking? Models appeared ready for anything in military inspired collections by Les Hommes, Alexander McQueen and Balmain.
Strapping
Sweaters, pants, jackets richly treated to look rough, with zippered lateral pouches harnassed close to the body with nylon straps. Once a sartorial statement by designers like Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons, now its a standard.
Neckerchiefs
To be bang-on trend forget about big wooly scarves, neckerchiefs are the new way to protect your neck. We saw this trend more on the Milan and Paris catwalks, but there was plenty of representation in London too. Look out for something in a cotton-silk mix with a pattern and muted colors and let the tails hang loose.
Beanie Man
An Australian style icon, the skull cap is back. Seen at Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Wood Wood in Paris and Milan, it even made it to Russia with Gosha Rubchinskiy. But will it make it back to the streets?
Cuffed
Wearing pants that bare a sliver of ankle was a popular trend for men’s style last summer, for Fall 2017 trousers are loose and the do-it-yourself rolling of the hem will be a definite trend.
Labels Are Out!
In the case of designers like Gosha Rubchinskiy, the label on the outside is a riff on Soviet-era consumer desires and the resulting ersatz take on American sportswear. It’s less about status and more about re-appropriating the stylish guys possibilities of wearing a house logo in a way that’s not letting it wear you.
Red
The color story for next fall/winter cemented by designers Raf Simons, Ports 1961 and Sacai was a dependable indicator of palette shifts to come in seasons ahead. The scarlet color had never been as present on the runway. Head-to-toe at Dior, on knitwear at Dries van Noten and normcore at Balenciaga, it provided a burst of color that electrified the menswear wardrobe this season.
Life Vest
Designers are going back to basics, returning functionality to the heart of their collections. This arch-influence molds the athletic trends and their normcore accents, blending polar-ready technology with high-fashion design in functional styles anyone would recognize.
Statement Pieces
When fashion has an opinion, it isn’t afraid to show it. Mantras, slogans and puns poked fun at everything from social media to politics. Boss became Loss, Calvin Klein became Constant Stress, and in Milan Marcelo Burlon sought Cultural Armageddon. It was a demonstration a little less ordinary that gave each piece an important dimension.
The Fashion Plate Magazine 
Hey! Leave a comment!