More than a casual classic: The SS22 polo shirt trends

A polo shirt is one of those basic items that are indispensable for casual wear - sporty, simple but still a little bit more elegant than a simple T-shirt. Polo shirts can also be trend pieces that can be seen on the catwalks of the men’s fashion weeks in Paris and Milan, as the Spring/Summer 2022 season shows.

FashionUnited has summarised the trends surrounding the polo shirt and finds that there is something for everyone.

Oversized

One of the easiest ways to add some variety to the polo shirt is to go oversized. Wide shirts were particularly popular within the skating and streetwear scenes in the early 2000s and were sold by brands like Zoo York and Pelle Pelle. The French fashion house AMI and the Italian brand Ermenegildo Zegna are now bringing back this trend. An extra wide polo shirt is also part of Tommy Hilfiger’s collection collaboration with actress Indya Moore.

Pattern

Whether as a small detail on a breast pocket or large-scale, print or knit, patterns on polo shirts were seen on the catwalks at Hermès, MSGM and Bluemarble. The US label Kid Super shows a striped long-sleeved polo shirt with a painted portrait in its video presentation and Ernest W. Baker put a red rose on his creation.

Knitwear

For those who like something more classic and less playful, perhaps the polo shirt in a coarse knit could be something. Many labels focus on colourful accents but also on plain versions. The Parisian brand Casablanca, where polo shirts in wide variations have become an integral part of the collection, brings some colour into play with cream tones. Solid Homme, on the other hand, shows a simple knit polo shirt in white.

Polo shirts rethought

Casablanca doesn’t just leave it at a regular-cut knit polo shirt, though. The brand gives another knitted model a wave look and shortens it to a crop-top version. British fashion label J.W. Anderson replaces the cotton fabric completely and uses coloured dots instead, reminiscent of those on a ruler. Y/Projects Glenn Martens brings his reconstructive design approach together with the polo shirts of the sportswear company Fila, playing with the position of the collar and cutouts.

Back to basic

If all this is too much for you and you prefer a classic polo shirt, Italian fashion houses like Berluti, Salvatore Ferragamo and Brunello Cucinelli offer simple polo shirts.

But one thing is clear: there is no getting around the fashionable polo shirt in the spring/summer 2022 season. Joseph Brunner, menswear buyer at British luxury department stores’ Browns, agrees. He has a bit of a love affair with fashion polo shirts, which are best knitted and a bit edgy, he told FashionUnited in an interview

You can find out what else Brunner has in store for the SS22 season by clicking here.

This article was translated from German.