As the menswear season begins, rigid rules in fashion no longer apply

The once-regimented world of men's fashion is being upended as luxury brands seek to capture a more freewheeling, expressive male consumer, according to Italian buyers and stylists at the start of the men’s Spring Summer 2025 fashion season.

Speaking to Italian news outlet Pambianco, they share a collective mood that the days of clearly-defined seasonal trends dictating what qualifies as stylish menswear are gone. Established codes like the traditional suit and tie are being deconstructed on runways.

Whereas fluidity and gender neutral dress codes occupied the earlier 2020s, in their place is a kaleidoscope of archetypes - the financier, the athlete, the rock star - all remixed by designers into modern interpretations of familiar masculine tropes.

"Few things are innovative in men's fashion today," stylist Simone Rutigliano told Italian news outlet Pambianco. "Looks are usually created by brands to satisfy specific menswear categories, repackaging archetypes from the 60s and 70s rather than creating genuine new trends."

Leading Italian buyers agree there is no predominant commercial direction this season. Paolo Molteni, CEO of luxury chain Tessabit, cited a "search for essentialism - simplicity and quality...reducing logos in favour of overall minimalism."

Affordability is also key in the current environment, buyers noted, with consumers weighing the value of paying premium prices for seemingly ubiquitous, "quiet luxury" staples like simple blazers.

What's often lacking, in Rutigliano's view, is the "dream component" - the fantasy and aspiration that genuinely pushes boundaries and gets men excited about fashion again, beyond just reinterpreting menswear's indelible uniforms and archetypes.

"The suit was the starting point to try to free ourselves," he said. "But paradoxically, the right uniform is the one that, once worn, makes us feel better about ourselves."