Welcome To The New Menswear Order

When the One Direction star stepped out for the first time as solo artist on Saturday Night Live last weekend, one of his promo shots pictured him in a paisley blouse that at first glance was more first lady Melania Trump than hunky heartthrob. Pussy bow blouses, piles of necklaces and Willy Wonka-esque coats encrusted with fantasy motifs are just a few of the more daring styles now being worn regularly by Hollywood’s leading men. “The male species has taken back its peacock status when it comes to fashion” says Ken Downing, senior vp and fashion director at Neiman Marcus. Not since the 1960s have the borders of men’s style been so porous, thanks to stars such as Pharrell Williams in his ever-present Chanel necklaces, Jared Leto in Gucci’s Technicolor coats and freewheeling Instagram stars Luka Sabbat and Jaden Smith, who might sport a fur jacket and jumpsuit one day and a hoodie and miniskirt combo the next to indulge their legions of followers looking for style cues. The new male fashion fearlessness has gotten a boost from designer catwalks, starting when Gucci star designer Alessandro Michele debuted his takeover of the legendary fashion house with his men’s collection for fall 2015. Overnight, gender non-conformity was the new lodestar, with a flowingly tressed male model opening that runway show in a red silk pussy-bow blouse with bracelet-length sleeves, fluid trousers and fur slides. Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.