Welcome To The No-Rules Era Of American Style

In the future, when the humanoids look back on America circa 2018 from the streamlined tidiness of their little sprocket colonies on Mars, they will surely think: LOL. What a shit show! And also: What were they wearing? Politically, socially, environmentally—the world is a mess right now, and we’re all dressing for it. Fashion has always been a sign o’ the times, and the sign currently has a blood-red “A” scrawled across it. That’s right: anarchy. Over the past ten years, men have dressed like preps and lumberjacks. Mad Men and stylish geezers. Even the athleisure movement had its moment. But now a new lawlessness has taken hold of our wardrobes—even here at the GQ offices. Just today I passed one colleague wearing gray sweatpants and another wearing spit-polished Calvin Klein cowboy boots. I’m wearing a tailored suit—but with a T-shirt that’s been screenprinted with hallucinogenic mushrooms and tie-dyed. And somehow none of us have been cited by HR. This chaos in clothing isn’t just a street-level trend, either. Designers are on the same gonzo wavelength. The Gucci collections seem concocted by an Italian painter whose evening vin santo got spiked with mescaline and Viagra. Balenciaga looks like the genius brainchild of the forklift-driving manager at a Zappos warehouse. And those are the two hottest fashion houses on earth. (Go figure.) Read more at GQ.