AS YOU LIKE IT
Enter menswear’s new age of self-expression
Words: Thea Bichard. Images: Daniel Sannwald
Thanks to these strange times, the old style rules are out and boundaries are blurred. We’ve been wearing tracksuits for the 9–5, bringing out tailoring for virtual celebrations and wearing our usual going-out-to-the-bar outfits for our going-out-to-get-some-milk trips. And yet, it has also given us time to reflect on our tastes and question: what do we really want to wear when all bets are off? Who are the brands we truly identify with, and why? And with spring just around the corner, how do we want to emerge back into the world?
Freed up from trends and the usual fashion rules, self-discovery is key. With that in mind, Daniel Sannwald’s surreal photographs capture the many sides of your character you can explore this spring and beyond. A distillation of true, individual style.
Explore the collections
– Vincent Levy, Selfridges Senior Fashion Editor
Have you found yourself wearing some, shall we say, unorthodox outfits over the past year? Thought so – but we bet a few have opened doors to clothing combinations you may not previously have considered. A designer who’s forever freeing up room for new ideas, Virgil Abloh said of his latest Off-White collection, “I thought of this muse, sort of half businessman, half youthful teenager – and how they can crash together.” Channel that childhood playfulness and newfound experimental side of yourself. How about a hiking vest with a collared jacket? Wellies with tailored trousers? Clashing prints? Patchwork denim? Why not!
Trench coats. Ties. Adidas’s Tristripe. All mainstays in men’s wardrobes for as long as we can remember. How can we shake things up a bit? Alexander McQueen’s answer is a spliced, reversible version of a belted trench – part of a collection created during lockdown that drew on archive styles and deadstock fabrics for inspiration. Ties – as much neglected as the office water cooler right now – showed up as belts at Versace and in shirt fabrics at Craig Green. Grace Wales Bonner, meanwhile, said of her collaboration with adidas Originals, “I was interested in elevating the familiar, and bringing an eveningwear and tailored sensibility to this essential collection.” Across these designers’ collections, the evolution of traditional menswear ‘uniforms’ grants you free rein – when you find what works for you, go for it.
MEET YOUR NEW SELF: HOMME PLISSE ISSEY MIYAKE SS21 “For the future that is healthy, bright and full of hope”, a fitting narrative for a positive outlook on things to come, whether it be in life or fashion. Assuming both, it comes as the closing statement to the lively Homme Plissé Issey Miyake Spring/Summer 2021 video performance entitled, “Meet Your New Self”, which showcased the brand’s latest collection. 
RAF SIMONS: POST-APOCALYPTIC SEPARATISM Delegating through the air of nostalgia, Raf Simons has always touched upon youthful reference within his artistic expression. A culture of rebellion and free-spirit has been a depiction of his early years, celebrated on a rolling cascade of innovative, distinct and stand-out styling. 