The Female Designers changing Men’s Fashion

It is probably no secret that the fashion industry is actually one of the only places with a densely female population. Women have had fashion instilled upon them since the glory days of corsets but, for a short moment in time I was left wondering, what about the men? In a world saturated with athleisure and self-proclaimed ‘streetwear’, standing out has become ever more compulsory. Luckily, we have three women reinventing what it means to dress and walk like a man.

Martine Rose. Bianca Saunders. Wales Bonner.

With similar influences within their work and comparatively similar track records with awards, these three designers maybe understand what men want more than men themselves. Their play on silhouettes through the use of traditional tailoring has allowed for a reinvention of the suit and tie. Using influence from their families and society around them, they have managed to gauge a clear sense of British culture that is what I hope will become a reference point from here on out. Forget lazy dressing, ill-fitting suits and head-to-toe black, these women are showing men what they have been missing.

Martine Rose

Satirical slogans reaching the generations of anti-establishment. Football shirts as an ode to the 90s super fan. Silhouettes good enough for guys and girls alike. Martine Rose knows how it is done. Constantly challenging what it means to be a modern-day man, her new SS21 collection has done it again. This show in particular, in the wave of a pandemic, explored a realm that was discovered through her research into lockdown behaviours. The research took Rose down an unspoken path of men’s sexual endeavours. Thus, we saw models with trousers down at their ankles, seated on the toilet, laptop on lap [need I say more?]. This gave the show a backdrop that made everyone wonder, what goes on behind closed doors? This invasion of privacy was a given within the collection with models seemingly in traditional suiting but with lace corsets and suspender belts hidden just below the surface. Add this on to a backdrop of 90s sportswear [see football tops and ankle socks], and you have Martine Rose’s SS21 collection. With her mix of smart tailoring and club scene colours and prints, Rose has hit the perfect balance of everything we are longing for right now. Of course, Rose’s designing extends beyond fashion. Her satirical language and viewpoint on British behaviours has long been a favourite of hers with the ‘Promising Britain’ Clown tee becoming a cult favourite. This satire that Rose does so well has been expanded this season with characters titled ‘undone businessman’ and ‘slightly perverse banker’. These semi-unusual titles for the models looks paralleled everyday fits with suspender belts and tight-fitting shirts. Considering her relatively slow rise to fame, Rose has developed a strong aesthetic that reflects men of every day society, with women’s apparel now joining them. This effortless transition shows us just how transferable style and identity are so, expect to see more women in suits and men in lace camisoles this 2021.

Bianca Saunders

Creating a new identity for men to hold in fashion whilst challenging stereotypes of black masculinity we see every day is how Bianca Saunders has quickly become a household name in fashion. Think ruching, 90s denim, figure hugging shapes and short shorts worthy of Prada recognition. Graduating from the Royal College of Art in only 2017, Saunders has already been awarded the British Fashion Council’s NewGen prize and has graced Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2020. Collaborating with other black creatives like photographer Joshua Woods and filmmaker Akinola Davies, Saunders has created a brand to celebrate black culture. This authenticity within a brand is unfortunately not something that proves to be so common in the fashion industry, so seeing a designer with a long future ahead doing so, is delivered as a breath of fresh air. Saunders’ clever intertwining of male silhouettes with womenswear detailing has blurred the lines between gender to a point of natural subtly. With different ways of wearing pieces like a simple white tank, Saunders pulls in the notion of movement within her collections, taking inspiration from dancehall culture in her AW20 show. Her most recent SS21 collection titled ‘The Ideal Man’ was inspired by a unique combination of Ballroom categories and 70s art photography series by Hans Eijkelboom. Projecting her ideas of what this ideal man could be into her work, we see characters like ‘Gully Queen at his Engagement Party’ and ‘The Graduate’ emerge, switching between what it means to be a man today. This youthful energy portrayed in campaigns is balanced with Saunders’ clear vision for her collections that needs little explanation. Both every-day and avant-garde – a very Bianca Saunders combination – the collections continue to speak to all walks of society.

Wales Bonner

The creative excellence that is Grace Wales Bonner has been worn by the likes of Timothee Chalamet and Solange since her graduation from Central Saint Martins in 2014. Having collaborated with industry leaders across the board, from Maria Grazia Churi for Dior Cruise to an Adidas collection in 2020, Bonner has excelled with her twists on the modern-day man. Taking much influence from music, literature and history, the Wales Bonner brand went on to previously win the LVMH prize whilst continuing to expand her nostalgia-filled collections. Her recent collaboration with Adidas pulled inspiration from Bob Marley, an avid wearer of the 3-stripe, and Jamaican culture. The soft yet vibrant colour palette of blues, yellows and browns has breathed a new lease of life in to male athleisure - no more are the monochromatic t-shirts and tracksuits taking up space. Bonner’s own Jamaican heritage has allowed a well-needed expansion of inclusivity within the fashion industry. Her short film ‘Finding Saint’, a meditative film featuring emerging faces from Jamaica’s Saint Models agency, speaks on the models experiences of travelling away from home to be part of Des Hommes et de Dieux, the brands show for AW20. Expanding fashion in this way and reaching out of the western world has definitely allowed every Wales Bonner collection to relay a notion of soulfulness and honesty. It is widely known that Bonner has allowed a new viewpoint on black identity to enter society, one that has been long awaited. This strong sense of identity within her work has meant the clothes combine a notion of classic tailoring against fresh silhouettes and colour palettes that every man should have in their wardrobe.