The new trends in menswear

GQ's November 2019 cover featured musician Pharrell Williams in a Moncler puffer dress with the cover line "The New Masculinity." This cover was a controversy, a conversation, and challenged notions of what qualified as menswear as we enter this decade and the concept of gender becomes more fluid. This was evident during New York Men's Day this year, because while the word men was in the title, traditional notions of masculinity went out the window.

Brands including Official Rebrand, Ka Wa Key, and Him presented gender fluid collections featuring everything from unisex oversized blouses, colorfully patterned shirts, and frilly tops. The idea is that there is no men's or women's clothing, there is just clothes. While gender fluid fashion continues to be a microcosm of the fashion industry, it is a growing one. More and more gender fluid labels are popping up, and as New York Men's Day has long been the home for emerging designers, more genderless labels can be expected at the event in the future. Even designers like Timo Weiland, who don't necessarily identify their brand as gender fluid, held a presentation that featured both men and women wearing his pieces, showing how they have versatility for everybody.

Gender fluidity, sustainability, and tailoring are ruling menswear fall/winter 2020

Sustainability, which continues to be the hot button word on the fashion industry's lips, both Ka Wa Key and Official Rebrand's collection were not only gender fluid focused, but also sustainability focused. Rather than any traditional means of production, Official Rebrand takes used clothes, repurposes them, and treats them as a canvas to create new artistic pieces for customers. The brand takes what would've once been clothes in a landfill, and makes them fashion again.

Men's tailoring is also back in a big way. The roaring '20s 2.0 is here, and with that comes menswear designers figuring out how the men of today want to suit up. Timo Weiland and David Hart presented suits in statement making colors like red and yellow, with David Hart even doing a floral embroidery on the lapel of a yellow suit. While the last decade was all about athleisure, this decade mean appear to be ready to suit up again.

This trifecta of trends will be the menswear staples for 2020. For the gentleman in the mood for their sustainably minded, genderless, tailored staples, this will be your year to shine.

photos 1 and 4: courtesy of Agentry photos 2 and 3: © FashionUnited