From JFK. Jr. lookalikes and Michael Rider’s Celine to Harry Styles and big shorts, menswear is having a moment. Good timing as the spring 2027 shows are now officially underway in Pitti, before stopping off in Milan and then heading to Paris.

Now more than ever, guys are embracing fashion as much as their female counterparts, and the industry is meeting their demand. To get a clearer sense of the state of things, I talked to three tapped-in experts and enthusiasts: stylist and consultant Marcus Allen of The Society Archive, the men’s fashion director of Nordstrom Jian DeLeon, and co-host of the men’s fashion and culture podcast “Throwing Fits,” Lawrence Schlossman. We discussed the designers and brands they’re excited about, who has the real influence in menswear, what they’ve seen change in the last decade, what they think is coming next, and much more.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Which designers are you most excited about right now—who’s doing the work that’s shaping menswear?

Jian DeLeon: Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford—traditional tailoring meets true luxury meets fashion with a capital F. It meets the moment where men want to feel sexy in a way they’re not normally allowed to. Haider nails what the male equivalent of the little black dress would be: you put on one of his sport coats, and it hugs your shoulders in the right way, almost demanding that you stand up. You put on his trousers, or you put on a silk shirt, and it strikes this tone—men don’t think they’re allowed to feel a little bit naughty, but you put that on, and you’re like, ‘Oh wow, I didn’t know I could dress this way.’ Elegance with ’70s sleaze. He’s consistently someone I’m excited about.

Thom Browne, too, now that he’s really expanding his brand universe—we saw that a bit with the Asics, but I was excited to see him do really good denim too: selvedge, straight-leg jeans you could wear with a shirt, or as a more casual item with varsity jackets.

From the younger-designer perspective, I love what Zane Li at Lii is doing. We brought his line into the space recently—what he’s doing with the nylon sets is sporty but elegant, loose, and reminds me of the same reasons people love Raf Simons and Jil Sander.

Marcus Allen: I shop The Row—I can’t say I’m “excited” about it, but in terms of wearability, and feeling like I’ve spent my money on something valuable that will last, that’s a brand. In terms of brand identity and brand integrity, I love what Commission is doing. I really like a brand called Raimundo Langlois. It’s very Americana. There are so many brands right now looking at the same references and imagery, where it feels like copy-paste. Raimundo is a brand that’s doing it through their own lens, as opposed to just cut-copy-paste, lazy vibes.

And I love what Dries Van Noten does. It’s not a super-wearable brand for me, but I really respect it—the stores, how they curate the furniture and artwork, it feels like you’re stepping into a lifestyle, a world. Those are the kinds of brands I really respect.

Lawrence Schlossman: On Throwing Fits, we’ve always been huge fans of Japanese fashion. There was the wave of Auralee, Ssstein, and A. Presse, and those brands are all incredible—if I had unlimited funds, I’d wear them head to toe. But what’s interesting to me right now is this next group, smaller and a bit harder to pin down in terms of ‘newness’ or size: URU, Niceness, Yoke, and Graphpaper. None of them have fashion shows. They’re not on the Paris Fashion Week calendar. It’s not anything crazy or conceptual.

I saw this beautiful 100% cotton, loose-weave V-neck—the fit was perfect, oversized where it needed to be, and cropped exactly how I wanted. That’s a URU sweater. Maybe $400. Not cheap, but that’s not a thousand-dollar knit either.

On the designer side, it’s Michael Rider at Celine. I think it’s incredible to have an American designer with a pretty classic pedigree find this kind of bullseye that feels so of the moment, but isn’t directional. Any guy could wear it, assuming they can afford it.

Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford—the bar was impossibly high going in, and I feel like the proof has always been there, at least for menswear guys, that Haider was the most underrated designer in the game. A lot of people know his work through Kanye, but to see the tailoring—chic, sexy, bold—the legacy of Tom Ford feels like it’s in safe hands. I’ll go as far as to say I was never a Tom Ford guy, but Haider came in and made me think about a brand I’d never thought about that way.

And I’d be remiss not to mention the Ralph Lauren resurgence. For menswear guys who’ve worshipped him forever, there was a period where being an acolyte of Ralph was almost entirely about the stuff that came before we were buying our own clothes. Vintage Ralph is a class of its own. But what’s interesting now is that the feeling has been restored —the juice is back.

Do trends still matter? There’s a feeling that trends are happening all the time—or no trends, because everything’s trendy.

Jian DeLeon: I think there’s a reason the term “trend” has been superseded by “aura” and “vibe.” Culture wants to put things in boxes as a way of generalizing the nuances of what makes something appealing to a collective group of people.

As media has become algorithmic, everyone’s closet, and everyone’s taste has become their own ‘For You’ page instead of a shared brand matrix. It’s a combination of the media landscape we live in and the fact that millennials are getting into their 40s. The older you get, the less curious and less likely you are to explore—but more likely to explore within a predetermined set of tastes. And I think that’s especially true of menswear, but it’s also mostly true of this moment generally, where technology has enabled people to only like things similar to things they already like.

Lawrence Schlossman: In general, I love trends. It’s my job to pay attention to them. I love trying new things when they’re presented as popping and happening right now. The problem is the hyper-trendiness—how fast it moves now—and an even newer, worse thing: trends that come and go before the product representing them is even available.

Marcus Allen: I did this questionnaire around December that asked what I thought was trending, and my answer was, ‘I’m not sure what’s trending.’ I still feel that way. I can see what’s trending in editorials and brand content, but in terms of an actual menswear trend, I don’t know. So many people keep talking about prep, but for me that’s never really been a “trend”—it’s just very wearable. Maybe the highly stylized version of prep, or Americana if you will, has been and still is trending. But I don’t know. Everything feels so TikTok-y, very “get ready with me,” and I don’t think anyone has any real, personal sensibility anymore.

Where do you get your fashion news? What are your trusted sources—for people, trends, new brands, or anything else?

Lawrence Schlossman: Honestly, there’s no outlet I’d call my Bible. The way to stay tapped in is to be liberal with the follow button on Instagram and to have a screen time you’d be embarrassed to share publicly. I follow the brands and the people in the industry I respect directly, rather than rely on any one particular outlet—though I do follow plenty of them. Some independent, some bigger, like Highsnobiety, all the way up to GQ. But so many of these big outlets, what needs to be said at this point—they’re beholden to advertisers, they’re pushing affiliate links. I’ve just dialed my algorithm based on who and what I follow. Instagram is the hub.

Jian DeLeon: Because I work in the industry, the group chat is the source—people who also work in media, and whose information I trust. Not everyone has that, but the other thing is newsletters and Substacks.

The newsletter economy is interesting because, on one hand, it’s an RSS-feed function—there’s a set of newsletters that are more in line with how you’d think of an independent magazine. And then there’s another set that’s more enthusiast- and community-driven, in that old vein of ‘I’m going to start a blog because I like sneakers, and here’s me talking about all the new sneakers I’m excited about,’ which I think is great. I think those are two sides of the same coin: on one hand, you have insidery information delivered in a way that feels newsy and wonky in the old sense, and on the other, you have that excitement and enthusiasm—the authenticity of someone genuinely excited to talk to other people who like the same things.

Marcus Allen: I hate to say it, but we’re all on our phones. Instagram is a major news outlet at this point—at least what’s being targeted to me is very much information about who’s where and what brands are doing. I also look at Vogue —I open the Vogue Runway app very regularly.

For me, I’m more about looking at imagery and editorials, for research or inspiration, I’m buying old books and old magazines. The top three stores that have my hard-earned money would be Dashwood, High Valley Books, and I've just discovered that the Strand actually has a rare books section. But I’m looking less for breaking news and more for inspiration for my work.

What do you make of the retail landscape right now? We’re seeing department stores struggle but smaller boutiques breaking through. Where do you shop, how do you shop, and where do you think men are shopping these days?

Lawrence Schlossman: When it comes to spending money consistently, I buy vintage, and mostly on eBay. I hyperfixate on a vintage reference, try to find that thing or something similar for extremely cheap, and buy a lot of it so I can walk away with one or two pieces I really love. Right now, that’s been Big Mac flannels from the ’60s and ’70s—finding the right colorways, the right size, the right amount of distressing, and spending maybe $50 on a shirt. That’s how I actually shop.

In terms of browsing in New York, it’s all the same stores everyone’s going to say — Cueva, Colbo, Ven. Space Space, CHCM. All the standbys. There’s some overlap between them, increasingly, but they all do a good job of having their own look, and I like buying pieces from various retailers and putting them together myself.

Jian DeLeon: Retail, in some sense, is a reflection of society—the closest analog is what’s happening in entertainment, where a lot of the bigger entities are shrinking. There’s an analog between what’s happening with Amazon, MGM, and the new ‘Masters of the Universe’ movie—basically one giant piece of branded content from the same companies behind Amazon Prime and the Barbie movie.

On the other hand, the success of A24, to me, reflects the rise of indies. For every Obsession and Backrooms, you have Outline, Ven, Space, or Cueva. People are readily adopting that independent-film point of view—supporting independent retailers and independent brands feels good in this economy, and people want to actively discover new things outside the mass pop-cultural events. But people still obviously enjoy Star Wars and Marvel, so you can have your cake and eat it too. Pop culture isn’t a monolith anymore; you don’t have to be in just one thing.

Marcus Allen: It’s very challenging. I don’t shop online. I like going into a freestanding store for a brand, because I really appreciate brand integrity—brands taking the extra step to invite you into their world. I definitely miss Barneys, because even though it was a multi-brand store, you were stepping into the world of Barneys.

I like going into a store to experience the brand. I already mentioned The Row and Dries. Ralph Lauren, of course. I love the classic vibes of Armani, though I’m not really shopping that so much as buying vintage pieces from those eras. Oh, and Prada. I love Prada. It feels like you’re stepping into Miuccia and Raf’s world.

How do you feel about Fashion Week right now? Is it still the most effective way for brands to communicate with people? Shows are being previewed six months in advance, more brands are combining men’s and women’s collections—this upcoming Milan men’s week feels light, with mainly Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, and Giorgio Armani.

Jian DeLeon: Thom Browne is showing too, and Ralph Lauren. The Americans are taking over!

Lawrence: Fashion Week is an industry mechanism that exists for the industry. And it seems like people are starting to crack away at that ivory tower—these novelty destination shows and brands are going to where their actual customers are, turning shows into a touchpoint with VVIPs, the 10% of customers that account for 90% of sales. I understand why you’d ask, but frankly, it’s irrelevant even to a tapped-in consumer. Fans of Rick Owens want to see the spectacle. But for the most part, even someone who loves Michael Rider’s Celine isn’t necessarily refreshing over the menswear debut. It comes down to what hits their Instagram feed, what they see, and ultimately what’s in stores. Who cares that it’s on a model at Paris Fashion Week? Maybe that’s naive, but I think it’s mostly inside baseball for the industry.

There’s actually this interesting distinction between Fashion Week proper and what I’d call the ‘Other Fashion Week’—all the showrooms and smaller brands with open-door policies, letting creators make content, throwing aperitivos that are open to everyone from the most senior editor to an independent creator to a random fan who happens to be in Paris. That’s a more democratic thing happening, almost divorced from the runway, but it exists because everyone is there.

Marcus Allen: When I go to a show or an event, I’m a little confused about who the guests are—I see a lot of influencers and TikTokers—it feels like a lot of clickbait, for lack of a better term. I’d love to walk into a space full of writers, photographers, and stylists—people who really care about what’s happening in menswear.

I’d love for men;s fashion shows to feel like a real, sincere effort to push menswear forward. I’m not really seeing it—especially in New York, where there are so many cool things and people and American brands that could really step up for menswear in a big way. Maybe I’m naive, but I’m not seeing it. There was a show I saw recently, Aubero. I like [its designer Julian Louie] a lot. It’s a very distinct point of view, and that’s what I’m looking for—even if it’s far from mine, as long as you’re sticking to it.

Who do you think are the most influential people in men’s fashion right now—celebrities, influencers, designers? Who actually has the power to shape how men shop and dress?

Jian DeLeon: I think it still comes down a lot to the brands. As fashion has become pop culture, it’s empowered a new breed of pundits and creators. I think Wisdom Kaye is amazing at what he does—he’s the best-dressed person on the internet, and he uses fashion as a form of expression. I’d say he definitely has influence. I don’t know that he influences how everyday people dress, but at least in how people think about menswear.

But TikTok and short-form video have made the conversation less intellectual overall—you can only dissect and engage in discourse for about a minute, so the bite-sized narrative of modern media isn’t the most conducive to a real conversation about fashion. But it is good for boosting overall awareness of the conversation. As a result, you have a lot of people in the conversation, but the question is, who’s actually saying anything worth listening to?

Marcus Allen: Celebrity culture is still very, very relevant. Look at Jacob Elordi, Jeremy Allen White, Harry Styles. People are looking at those guys, and I think they have quite a bit of influence—but mostly for men who aren’t in this industry. They hit moments where you think, “Oh, their stylist is doing a great job,” and that looks great, but I’m not going to go buy a Bottega bag just because it looks cool on Jacob Elordi.

Harry Styles has terrific stage outfits—well, not the onesies—but then you also see him walking around with Zoe, and there’s something super-natural, effortless about his style. I look at a lot of images of Keanu Reeves and Brad Pitt in the ’90s and early 2000s, and Johnny Depp when he wasn’t looking too rough.

Lawrence Schlossman: All I can really speak to is who’s influential to me, and that’s mostly smaller accounts—I wouldn’t even call them creators. I literally just followed a guy whose Instagram handle I couldn’t tell you, some amorphous job title in his bio, but his personal style is great. He posts fit pics and photo dumps, and I follow a ton of people like that. At the end of the day, my interest isn’t ‘fashion’ or ‘menswear’ or ‘product’—it’s personal style. That could be the Edouard kid who works with Michael Rider—I follow his Instagram because his style is sick. That guy might have 7,000 followers. Some other guy I follow has maybe 3,000. I don’t care. If someone wearing menswear is doing it in a cool way that makes me think about how to pair things differently, try a new trend, take a risk, investigate a new category—follow.

Speaking of influence, do you think celebrities and red carpets are where men are looking these days? Or is that more the influencer space?

Jian DeLeon: I think in general, men are validated more by celebrities than they look to celebrities as style icons. Every now and then, if there were one, I think it would be Jacob Elordi at the moment.

But I think the single biggest thing that’s influenced how men get dressed—something where men instantly said, ‘Oh shit, I want to start dressing more like that’—was Mad Men That was a big cultural shift: the Ludlow suit, Tom Ford, Hedi Slimane—those things were already happening in the fashion conversation, but it took the pop-cultural validation of seeing Don Draper in a slim suit for the average guy to think, ‘Oh shit, maybe I need a new suit.’ Love Story and JFK Jr. is the equivalent for Gen Z in their early 20s, early career. That’s the point in a lot of men’s lives where they get the majority of the wardrobe they’ll wear for the rest of their lives.

Pulling back to the big picture—where do you think we are in menswear right now? We’re publishing some street style from 2016, so I’d love your take on the last decade in menswear, and how this moment fits into the broader culture, where technology, entertainment, healthcare, and everything else feels like it’s in flux.

Lawrence Schlossman: It’s insane to me how popular and part of the mainstream culture this is now. I feel lucky that I got in when the getting was good and built a reputation and a point of view, because this is genuinely big business now. More guys, every day, care more than ever. I’m not shocked—you could see the writing on the wall with the streetwear and sneaker boom, and then watching how Kanye and A$AP Rocky influenced the masses. But the fact that menswear and men’s clothing is now a legitimate hobby—it’s not as big as sports or gambling or film and TV, obviously, but the fact that it even registers the way it does? Sometimes I think, Damn, that’s crazy.

Jian DeLeon: We’re definitely in a moment of changing of the guard—the older, more established generation is ceding to Gen-Z and Gen Alpha, who will go on to redefine the trends. Most millennials and Gen X have become comfortable in their own taste—it’s the ‘chore jacket’ generation, right? Like, ‘I’m good. I’m about to be 50—do I need new stuff every time, or am I in maintenance mode with my wardrobe, where I’ll get a new suit when I feel like I need one, but otherwise I’m good wearing what I have for the rest of my life?’

The more exploratory, envelope-pushing side will keep going to the younger guys. You can see this in why a lot of brands are courting figures like Central Cee, and internet rappers and social stars of the moment, to speak more directly to that younger customer and get into their headspace.

Marcus Allen: Well, I can tell you my Hedi Slimane-era Saint Laurent jeans are packed away, very tucked away.

But I think there’s more freedom and openness now for men to be interested in fashion—that’s definitely a change over the past decade, and it’s awesome. Regular guys who aren’t in the industry feel empowered to express themselves through fashion, which is great to see. Maybe for some guys it’s natural, and for others it’s more cut-copy-paste from a ‘get ready with me’ video they watched that morning. But overall, I think it’s moving in a nice direction in terms of that freedom.

Looking ahead—to next season, but also further out—what do you think we’ll see, and what are the next big changes on the horizon?

Jian DeLeon: It’s really hard to predict the future, but what I have seen is an overall willingness and interest in more artisanal fashion. I think about Engineered Garments, but also Auralee in Japan—this kind of uncanny-valley space where young customers love vintage, and some of the best men’s product right now aren’t vintage reproduction, but have the feeling of vintage goods: built to last, but priced at what it would actually cost to make to that standard today.

That’s something I want to see more of—menswear is always about a balance of novelty, utility, and nuance that makes something feel fresh and unique. It’s like, ‘This could have been a pair of vintage jeans I came across, except they’re naturally in my size and I’m not at the mercy of a hunt to find this exact jean, this exact wash, in my waist size.’ Everyone’s talking about jeans in menswear, and if you look at the past couple of seasons—one of Jonathan [Anderson’s] first collections at Dior, he did a Japanese-style salvage repair jean.

It’s like that meme—evil never dies, it just reinvents itself. But it goes to show why a lot of designers feel limited by menswear: it’s such an item-based business, built on foundational staples, and it’s about reinventing and recontextualizing them for different eras. If you look at how jeans fit in the ’60s versus the ’70s—a T-shirt and jeans were never inappropriate in either era; they just fit very differently.

Marcus Allen: I think we’ll see more of what I like to call “treats.” For instance, if I go to The Row or 45R and buy a shirt I’ll wear every day, that doesn’t necessarily feel like a treat. A treat is more like what Celine is doing with those charm bracelets—charms you put on a bag, or emblems you put on a necklace. I think accent items will be a big push.

And things with a little more flair—not glitter, but some shine, some sequins, something a little more inspired by womenswear but done in a way that feels masculine and wearable. Can a guy who knows nothing about fashion reach for something with a little sparkle? I think that’s a direction we could be heading in. Dries has these slides that are basically covered in sequins, and I keep toying with buying them—I’d wear them with some baggy Patagonias and a flannel.

Lawrence Schlossman: Who knows, but it’s always interesting to watch the macro trend cycles ebb and flow. If you think about where things are right now—classic menswear, the idea of looking put-together or grown, timeless brands—that’s what’s happening. Michael Rider at Celine, Ralph Lauren, whatever you want to call it: classic menswear that isn’t super directional. And the fashion-is-art crowd always exists and is always valid, but when things get this classic, when people start throwing around the word ‘timeless’—in my experience, that’s always been followed by a period of weirdness and experimentation and things going a little left. When things are zigging for long enough, enough people zag, and there’s momentum behind that. So I think weirdness is coming. And as always, I’m just excited to see it play out in real time.