Classic elements of men’s fashion are changing. The usual suit is out, the boundaries between business and streetwear are blurring – these are the trends for spring and summer 2021.
When all the suit wearers return to their offices at some point, everything doesn’t have to be different – but it can. According to trend experts, the time spent in the home office could have changed fashion forever.
The time of the classic, uniformly coloured suits is over – except of course, the strict employer continues to rely on them. Because the trend is, among other things, the “broken suit”, in German the broken suit. This describes a combination in which trousers and jackets are each different in colour.
The plain white T-shirt remains trendy
And anyway: “If a suit, then with jersey or stretch comfort and in combination with a T-shirt or hoodie – or both,” writes the German Fashion Institute in its trend report for summer 2021. And in summer you wear the shortened blazer with a blazer Trousers.
In detail, this means that the designers now like to use other materials: soft jersey, chinos, denim, seersucker and power stretch. And the white T-shirt will continue to experience a hype – yes, the plain white T-shirt with no logo or other frills. Alternatively, the polo shirt is trendy, but if you like it more chic, you can wear a simple white shirt.
Workwear is a fashionable theme for anyone who doesn’t have to wear a suit. “Based on the type of work clothing that was once worn by down-to-earth types such as seafarers, farmers, steelworkers and woodcutters,” reports Andreas Rose, a fashion consultant from Frankfurt.
It’s all in the mix
The new “relaxed workwear outfits” such as cargo pants, overshirts and field jackets and even fishing vests are an integral part of summer men’s clothing. And of course denim too. “The look is completed by rock-solid, classic work shoes,” says Rose.
But that’s not all: “The boundaries between business, sportswear and streetwear as well as tailoring are finally blurring,” continues the German Fashion Institute. So it doesn’t matter whether you dress with chic, sporty or casual elements – somehow everything is mixed up anyway.
This development is not new. For several seasons, classic fashion has been becoming increasingly sporty – in other words, typical sports fashion is no longer just worn for sports or, in the case of sweatpants, on the couch. You can go out and be seen with a bit of chic even at work.
Jog pants are casual – but not sloppy
This trend is now increasing thanks to lockdown, home office and the new feeling for more comfort and casualness. The fashion institute speaks of an “extremely wearable casual chic”.
Nonetheless: “The new key pieces appear relaxed, casual, but not careless,” the trend report continues. So we’re not talking about the scruffy look that was once attributed to jogging pants. Instead, it is now called “Jogpant” and is made of high-quality materials. One of the must-haves of the season for fashion consultant Andreas Rose goes well with this: the high-waisted palazzo trousers with wide legs.
The colours of men’s fashion are based on nature – in addition to white and beige in particular, men’s fashion will wear earth tones, “refreshed with accents in pistachio, light yellow and turquoise”, according to the fashion institute.