Generous and billowing fabrics, oversized shapes, and an altogether more comfortable approach to dressing: menswear has undergone something of a renaissance in recent seasons. Form-fitting and tailored pieces have long reigned supreme on the catwalk, but SS17 has replaced this comparatively restrictive aesthetic with a more relaxed and loose-fitting sartorial offering.
Taking inspiration from Scandinavian minimalism and Japanese street-wear, designers such as Vetements, Jill Sander, and Wooyoungmi have all embraced volume in their most recent collections while Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo have long been pioneers of the trend. However, if you’re the kind of guy who has just got his head around the skinny jean or cropped trouser, then this season’s voluminous proportions may seem more than a little daunting – but they don’t have to be.
Some designer takes on this trend are overly exaggerated and daringly dramatic for an everyday look, but the inherent beauty in these more relaxed silhouettes is that, in their fluidity, they work with your body and your shape rather than against it.
While there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to this trend, there are certainly some guiding lights to help you along the way. It’s all about balancing proportions as less is definitely more: both COS and British-based brand Olive Clothing has excelled at this. The trick is to keep it simple and pair the trousers with a drop-shoulder tee, and tuck it in to emphasise your waist, adding a definitive shape to the loose-fitting garments.
If you’re not willing to veer too far left, but still want to give a nod to the trend, then the overshirt – inspired by utilitarian work-wear – is a subtle way to embrace these new silhouettes. If you’re opting for one that is slightly oversized, keep everything else streamlined to avoid being drowned in fabric.
This more relaxed approach is certainly a reaction to the years of restrictive silhouettes that have dominated the catwalks. So bid farewell to the skinny jean and opt for a look that is fresh, relaxed, and infinitely more cool.
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