For the Most Directional Fall 2023 Menswear, Don’t Miss the Women’s Shows

March 21, 2023

The fall 2023 collectsions—men’s, women’s, and everything in between and beyond—align on one thing: elegance. The menswear shows in January represented a vibe shift: Logo hoodies and tees made way for flouncy going-out tops, Gorpcore puffers were replaced by tailored jackets with hefty shoulders, and cargo pants and workwear vests morphed into dress slacks, maxi skirts, and even sheaths. If it’s a more traditional take on menswear, it’s nonetheless more expansive than it has been in the past, and that story continued at the women’s shows. Yes, the women’s collectsions embraced a new formality, but sophistication means something different for everyone.

The overall message of the season was elevated wardrobings: Designers continued to emphasize this concept as a means to explain otherwise pared-back collectsions. Closet essentials from ties and jackets to shorts and trousers were fashioned in luscious leathers, top coats were cut in oversize silhouettes, and sweaters received sophisticated 3D surface treatments. While the season’s rave-ready outfits and heavily distressed separates don’t exactly count as basics, they do qualify as “dressed up” versions of overtly casual pieces.

It’s unlikely that we’ll all be wearing tailored two-piece suits come fall, but the curiosity about formal wear that saw younger fashion types adopt suits and ties over the last year, together with a general taste for restraint, has impacted every corner of fashion. Take Willy Chavarria. Though he’s hardly known for formal wear, he delivered an all-black collectsion of pussy-bow blouses, workwear jackets cut in couture-ish proportions, and silk polos and track jackets paired with wide-legged Dickies that is bound to be as influential as his recent collectsions.

We started this exercise of rounding up the menswear trends at the womenswear shows last season, keeping track of the menswear in “co-ed” collectsions or the occasional men’s looks sneaking into otherwise women’s only lineups. Designers embracing gender-expansive casting has opened up the field for playful (and noncommittal)explorations in menswear, and pushed brands with both men’s and women’s collectsions to weave their narratives together more intentionally—Anthony Vaccarello’s fall 2023 menswear collectsion for Saint Laurent being a good example. No doubt, the line between menswear and womenswear will continue to blur by way of both casting and design. Read on for a guide of the “menswear” at the fall 2023 womenswear shows.