Menswear and Inclusivity: A Long Way To Go (Article

MENSWEAR & INCLUSIVITY:

A Long Way to Go

BY ROSA TORIELLO

26th January 2022. Pierpaolo Piccioli, Creative Director of Valentino, presents his Haute Couture collection “Anatomy of Couture” in Paris. Piccioli challenges beauty stereotypes and places value on the uniqueness of identity, diverse perspectives and imperfections through the collection’s name as well as the choice of models with various body types. However, while the female models represented this message, the male models were not as diverse or inclusive. A few days after the show, Piccioli responded to this criticism by posting a slideshow on Instagram detailing the reasons why male model presence is not as diverse and inclusive as female presence. He declared that “men never had to accept any specific body stereotype, the only fashion obsession reserved to men was around youth and ageing”. This statement did nothing but exacerbate the criticism, and in fact, brought up a whole new debate about older fashion models including Jeff Goldblum and Kyle MacLachlan who modelled for Prada during the Milan Fashion Week and Ivo Raspudic who modelled for Balenciaga. These men shattered fashion norms with their age, but age is not the only issue male models are battling in the fashion industry.

While in recent years the fashion industry has made progress in terms of body diversity and inclusivity for womenswear, menswear has lagged behind especially when it comes to shapes and sizes. The little progress which has been made for men includes the case of Steven Green, a fashion photographer-turned-model who posed for Savage X Fenty Vol. II by Rihanna in a US size 2XL. He agreed to pose wearing only a pair of boxers with the aim of promoting body positivity and racial diversity, immediatly rising to fame. In various interviews, he declared how honoured he felt for having been offered the possibility of representing a broad group of people still neglected by the fashion industry. He has condemned those who refuse to accept larger body types often appealing to health-related discourses as an excuse. Many people thanked Green for his confidence and bravery clearly signifying that something in the fashion industry and in society as a whole has to change.

Plus-size males continue to have limited access to fashion garments, and while they are not as basic (eg. t-shirts, shorts) as they used to be, they are still unavailable compared to what brands offer in smaller sizes. As a consequence, shopping experiences are much more difficult and less satisfying when compared to their female counterparts and smaller-sized males. Not only are XL mannequins non-existent in stores, but it’s also rare to find XL and XXL items on display, forcing

customers to ask shop assistants. Particularly, in an era of constant judgement of others and perpetual insecurity, having to ask for your size from a shop assistant can be incredibly demeaning and potentially have an impact on mental health. Furthermore, most of the time, plus-size items are also not designed to fit actual plus-sized bodies which often prevents customers from buying in cheaper stores as they search for well-constructed items.

Our society has continually framed men as being disinterested in fashion, but maybe the reason behind this is partly attributable to the fashion system lacking representation of a large portion of males. If more designs were catered to men of all shapes and sizes, would menswear become more successful?

Most men have opted for increasingly popular streetwear and oversized items, but often not by choice. While these streetwear brands cater to all body types, the industry more broadly does not, neglecting plus-sizes in other types of garments such as a pair of simple

tailored trousers, discouraging inclusivity and oppressing certain individuals’ creativity. Parth Rahatekar, Creative Media Professional, non-binary and plus-size, is one of many who believes this has to change. Beyond the necessity of opening fashion to queer people, the disabled and various other minority groups, Rahatekar first wants to challenge outdated stereotypes of masculinity that still pervade. He explains how he “invented” his aesthetic by adapting clothes that didn’t suit him, that were often too short for him, which he managed to transform into a distinctive style, although this wasn’t intentional or pleasant at the beginning.

Going back to the starting point of this article, on the 6th of March, Piccioli revealed another collection, “Valentino Pink PP Collection”, during the Paris Fashion Week. The inclusivity he promoted during the previous shows completely disappeared with this new collection. Both female and male models were thin and tall, contradicting his previous work. This not only erased Valentino’s progress but also revealed that body diversity and inclusivity has not been cemented in industry practices and was treated as a one-time celebration during a single fashion show.

Savage Fenty 2022 Beauty is a social construct that has developed overtime so what gives someone the authority over another to decide what is an aesthetically appealing body type? As long as the industry professionals continue to push their authority and beauty standards upon us all will the fashion industry ever be an inclusive and diverse place?