The suits that came down the runway at Gucci’s Milan show two weeks ago featured jackets in exquisite, brocade-like fabrics and pants with a crisp crease running from waist to ankle.
But there was also something incredibly familiar about the look, specifically that of a 15-year-old trying to squeeze into a suit he last wore for elementary school graduation.
Perhaps a consortium of budget-conscious mothers finally persuaded the top men’s designers that tight and tiny is in, thus ensuring that their sons will whine less when they are buttoned into last year’s bar mitzvah suit (“You look just like a Prada model, Davy!”).
More likely, however, the trend of slim-fitting pants and skinny jackets emanates from the increased focus on the male form, heightened by the fact that those who are wrapped in the image-conscious world of fashion are the same people who are logging additional squat time at the gym.
“Are you fit? Are you going to the gym?” asks British designer Ozwald Boateng, whose spring/summer 2007 line for Givenchy menswear featured snug shirts and trousers. “Yes? Then you have nothing to worry about.
“There’s no question that there’s been a boom in men being more aware of how they look. There’s more pressure to be fit and beautiful. It’s almost like men are getting the same pressure that women have been getting for many, many years.”
The cut of Boateng’s suits, which have been worn by Jamie Foxx, Jude Law, and Keanu Reeves and are currently gaining notoriety on a Sundance channel documentary, recalls the Brit-pop mod look of the 1960s and its early 1980s, skinny tie-loving revival (sans shoulder pads and accordion-pleat pants).
Once the sole domain of the undernourished boy-men of the indie rock world, the skinny silhouette has made the leap from scuzzy clubs to Cameron Diaz’s boy toy. Justin Timberlake models a slim- cut Dior Homme suit by Hedi Slimane on the cover of his new single and forthcoming album.
“A body-conscious look is just more flattering,” Boateng says. “If there’s no shape to your clothes, your body is also going to look shapeless.” If you’re not comfortable wearing thinner-cut clothes, Matthew Edelstein, fashion editor of Details magazine, suggests starting with narrow jeans before making the jump to suits.
“Dior makes a great narrow jean,” he says. “And Acne Jeans makes a narrow jean that’s really a perfect entry into the skinny look.”
The idea is not to bury yourself beneath layers of fabric, but to find a suit that moves easily with you.If you opt for a narrow suit or skinny jeans, remember to pair it with a shirt that is also fitted (otherwise, you’ll look out of proportion).
