MEN, JUST WANT FASHION

Fashion is no longer just a woman’s thing; the man has staked his claim on the perfectly stitched suit and the eye catching bow tie. The usual stereotypes around fashion conscious men have reluctantly subdued. With the rise of the metro-man came a surge in the runway shows showing men’s wear; and designers who only designed for women now have a men’s line. 

 

The French men have for decades been termed ‘fashionable’; the men’s fashion industry in France can be traced back to Louis XIV’s era. Modern day Paris has a men’s fashion week; where French man can ooh and aah over the latest trends in fashion. It’s no surprise then that many consider French fashion the benchmark against which all fashion shall be compared.

The African fashion industry is still very much focused on women, a men’s fashion week at the moment is a pipe dream. However there is a commendable number of SA fashion designers who have put the much needed spot light on men’s fashion; David Tlale with his feminine take on the macho men, Carducci and Fabioni dressing the stylish corporate man. 

The men’s designer fashion in SA may still be teething but there is a fashionable African man demanding to be noticed. This man chooses to wear a shirt because it gives that ‘I just don’t care what I wear’ impression as opposed to the man who chooses any shirt because he really could not care less what he wears.

 David Tlale stunned fashion enthusiasts nationwide recently when he showed an ultra feminine men’s line. The line showed astonishingly flowing men’s skirts. Needless to say the SA man was not ready for this radical move; but one can’t help but hail king David for this bold step. The skirt line may have been somewhat drastic; and the SA men may not have welcomed it with open arms, but there is an inspiring audacity and fearlessness in this designer. With avant garde designs such as Tlale’s that force the audience to stretch their imagination and re-examine their predefined concepts about fashion, SA fashion is on the right track.

 

The art form of fashion is one many can identify with. It is an expressive art; through which one’s individuality can shine. Men who have found the balance between the art of fashion and the practicality of clothing can take better calculated risks with little disastrous outcomes.