Fashioning Masculinities - What Makes a Man, by Sonny Thaker

You will come to understand that the fashion and beauty industry are complicit in their constant reinforcement of these masculine stereotypes. Feeding us all with athletic images, white dominated stories and best of all, a whole lot of over hyped boring blahhh that is the same old, same old, season, after season, after season. Blue denim, white t-shirts, navy suits, and boring dress shirts remain staples in most men’s wardrobe, while women are free to express their inner and outer beauty with splashes of style, prints that pop and colours that communicate.

It wasn’t always like this though. Men in fact were once leaders in style. This was not only seen in one culture, but it was also true across the world as demonstrated by men from many different nations. Fashion in fact used colours like red to convey power. Style and good tailoring were used to convey status. Creativity in appearance was not shamed, instead it was celebrated throughout history. Men of all sizes and shapes were allowed to remain men in who they were, without being prodded into becoming something homogenous and less imaginative that they should be. There was even a time where the sexual relations of men between men was a thing of beauty and not a thing of absolute disgust.

So what happened I wonder?

As time has progressed flamboyant style for men has gradually diminished. Just walk down the street and you will see hundreds of men, in cookie cutter suits exhibiting bare minimum effort in their presentation style. To ask them about fashion, you will usually be met with a standardised reply of “I don’t care” or “it makes no difference to me” Is this the truth? Or is it a colonial society that has gradually given more and more power to men. Men that have continued to take liberty upon being and doing as they so please... simply because they can. Men that admonish their nonchalant attitudes upon all those they meet, in a show of determined independence. Men that expect their women to beautify themselves as concubines for their amusement... for they are doing all the providing and so they should be rewarded — right?

Thankfully this is slowly and surely shifting. A new tale is spinning and the thoughts of men choosing power over creativity are starting to take shape with Gen Y & Gen Z trailblazing a new paradigm. Look to the sneaker culture of today and you will find an explosion of colour, style and creativity booming from the shop shelves to the pavements pounded. Men around the globe are lining up to exhibit their own sense of style and culture, hoping to catch a limited drop of Supreme sweats or Bathing Ape T’s in hopes of standing out in style just as the men of yesteryear did in their masterfully tailored and blissfully glamorous garb. Miraculously the men of now and potential leaders of our future are even shedding shame when it comes to beautifying themselves with hair, nails and make up.

There is only one thing I could fault with the Fashioning Masculinities exhibit. Although they managed to wonderfully capture so much diversity and variety as we are whisked through time learning how men dressed, there was little to no mention of sportswear or athleisure. Somehow this very key fashion category was largely missed. Most men I know today could rate themselves as experts in this casual no effort look, with looks from Nike, Adidas, Tommy, and other such brands being the stars of the present show. There was a gap in the exhibit I could not connect, where men went from being brilliantly curated fashionistas in time, to men in boring black and neurotic navy Saville Row suits. Still however there was so much to take in and learn in this incredible visit. One not to be missed.