Posted on January 24th, 2023

The style icon of the moment is…Liberace?

During men’s fashion week here, designers trotted out a Vegas-ready buffet of spangled dinner jackets—ranging from tastefully sequined to full-blown disco ball.

Emporio Armani rounded out its 101-look collection with slouchy tuxedo jackets dripped in twinkling tinsel. Etro plastered its black dinner jacket with a cutesy floral lapel. And Brioni offered a medley of tux coats, like a debonair number with a shawl collar and almost wood-grain-like pattern. If Liberace were still alive and crooning, he’d need to up his credit limit.

This ostentatious and often cheeky formalwear stole nearly all the limelight, as the rest of the clothes on display were largely pared back and ready for a possible recession, a sign that sellability was of maximum concern for most brands.

Even this astral array of evening wear reflected a commercial savvy. “Men are making bold choices, making more interesting decisions about what to wear for evening,” said Bruce Pask, men’s fashion director for Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. “The market’s responded to this interest.”

For more than a year—really since the withering of pandemic lockdown restrictions in the western world—department store honchos have reported steady sales of formalwear, driven by pent-up energy for whopping weddings and FOMO-inducing parties. “We certainly were making up for lost time,” said Mr. Pask, before a Fendi show that concluded with a sequin-lapeled tuxedo. “Occasion-based dressing is gaining in importance.”

As to why these jackets aren’t your classically appointed black, Mr. Pask and others pointed a finger at Hollywood red carpets, where male celebrities have gone gonzo. Take the Golden Globes, where Seth Rogen chose a flamingo-pink suit that looked like something a prom rental company would offload on an unsuspecting teen. Adam Scott wore an emerald-green number (plus a Colonel Sanders string tie) and Donald Glover arrived in an ivory Saint Laurent “wrap robe” that looked more like pajamas.

Men of the non-famous variety have followed the path into peacockery. “Our clients already have the black tuxedos in the closet,” said Norbert Stumpfl, executive design director of Brioni, “They are asking for more and more tuxedos [that are] I would say a little bit more outspoken.”

Men are going to have their photo taken at their wedding and they want to dress for maximum compliments—or at least attention. Evening wear has become the portion of a man’s closet where even if he dresses in yawn-inducing navy sweaters 364 days of the year, he feels comfortable, and maybe even required, to explore his inner Elton John.

Brands like Brioni provide that indulgence. Mr. Stumpfl showed off an ungodly expensive silk velvet jacket that would almost camouflage with a wall at Versailles. (The brand would not provide a price.) He said it took five months to produce enough of the jacquard fabric to make a single garment, all for one particularly flashy client to make an entrance on a given night.

Beyond rococo tuxedos and formalwear, a four-day tour of shows and presentations went back to the basics. With chatter about a possible recession whirring, commercial appeal was a prime concern, and the best shows veered dramatically away from an overload of trendy prints and gimmicky silhouettes, toward a cleaner, commercial look.

“I feel like we’re going to head into a season of reduction and stripping back,” said British designer Jonathan Anderson, backstage after the show for his brand, JW Anderson.

Mr. Anderson stripped things back to such a point that he nearly showed no clothes at all. Models marched down the runway in uncluttered designs—white jeans, an auburn sweater, an elongated double-breasted overcoat—and little else. It felt a bit scandalous, but in stores, even suburban dads may feel Mr. Anderson’s quiet styles are worth the credit card swipe.

Contrary to the brand’s penchant for manic mosaic prints, Dolce & Gabbana’s nearly all-black show featured a deep well of highly-wearable topcoats. The similarly decorous Prada collection was defined by stark suits, button cardigans and, again, a number of tasteful topcoats. These easy-to-sell pieces could prove to be a safe harbor for brands during turbulent economic times.

“It is a complicated moment in the world—and we react to it. The most honest thing we can do is to create something useful for people today,” wrote Miuccia Prada in a statement about the show.

After years of menswear being awash in temporal trends (mega-scaled sneakers, logo-plastered parkas, patch-mad jeans and on and on) that made it nearly impossible for shoppers to decide what really works for them, men now crave clarity.

“We don’t need to be overdressed, we really don’t need overstatement. We just need a regular statement,” said Massimo Alba, an Italian designer who showed a palatable collection featuring a supple corduroy field jacket, a pinstripe sport coat and soft dress shirts.

The cashmere-loving creative is not a streetwear designer by any estimation, but he noted that even his 18-year-son, who once hoarded sneakers and hoodies, desires a simpler wardrobe. Mr. Alba’s mature label, he noted with a mix of disbelief and pride, is soon to be stocked by Kith, a New York store traditionally known for selling Jordans and sweats to teens.

Men, he said, “are super sick about feeling part of a tribe” by glomming onto trends. That is, unless it’s for over-the-top sequin-overloaded tuxedos. In that case, just call them Liberace.

Original article: The Most Vital Clothing Item of the Moment Is…the Tuxedo?