Spring 2027 menswear: rider’s celine sets the tone for eclectic excess
Ralph Lauren’s opulent displays and Prada’s unexpected return of skinny jeans signaled a spring 2027 menswear season brimming with contradictions – a delightful, almost chaotic, collision of formal and informal, luxurious and utilitarian.
A whirlwind of trends
The runways pulsed with flowing suits from Armani and Soshiotsuki, a deliberate embrace of relaxed silhouettes. Simultaneously, there was a push towards the miniature: Celine’s smushed shoes and Auralee’s diminutive footwear hinted at a playful, almost infantil sensibility. Color palettes swung wildly, from the sherbet hues of Dries Van Noten and Saint Laurent to the deliberately jarring swerves of Rick Owens and Junya Watanabe – a clear rejection of predictable seasonal trends.
But amidst this apparent disarray, one show stood out, dominating the conversation: Michael Rider’s collection for Celine. It wasn't just a collection; it felt like a deliberate dismantling and rebuilding of menswear conventions.
Rider’s triumph: a symphony of opposites
Leitch noted that Rider masterfully juxtaposed formality with informality, ceremony alongside a complete lack thereof, athleticism with delicate ornamentation. The accessories, in particular, were a revelation – a riot of miniature bags, sculpted belts, and unexpected embellishments. “It’s an ‘everything, everywhere, all at once’ approach,” Leitch explained, “and frankly, it feels like the mood of the moment. It’s about embracing complexity and rejecting rigid categorization.”
The show wasn’t without its provocations. Saint Laurent’s see-through shoes, according to Leitch, sparked a noticeable, almost unconscious, foot fetishism. And Louis Vuitton’s dramatic wave – a literal cascade of fabric – proved a show-stopping moment. Prada’s resurgence of skinny jeans, despite the famously denim-averse Raf Simons and Mrs. Prada, felt like a calculated, perhaps even subversive, statement.
Ultimately, the season underscored a desire for fluidity, for garments that defy easy definition. The echoes of Ralph Lauren’s success from the previous fall – the most viewed collection of that season – demonstrated a continued appetite for heritage, even when reinterpreted with a decidedly modern, and arguably, slightly unhinged, sensibility. The takeaway? Less about adhering to rules, and more about aggressively questioning them.