Moncler Genius Roc(s) out with Jay‑Z

We’re out the other end of Men’s Fashion Week AW24, after two solid weeks of shows in Paris and Milan. What do we have to look forward to next winter, boys?

Well, suits – lots of them, in all sorts of iterations. At Gucci, a perfectly simple, sharp black suit and white vest combo closed Sabato de Sarno’s second show as creative director, while Prada and Martine Rose got us all fired up for the 9 to 5 with slick, deal-making two-pieces that cut through the cloud of drab commuter clobber. And, elsewhere, there were suits in teddy textures, denim and even leather. And at Loewe, a loose-cut cross-button blazer and relaxed trousers were made all the more cool and youthful by models’ shoulder-length red hair.

If suiting up isn’t your usual bag, reconsider. After slumping through what is arguably the year’s unsexiest month, let the mighty suit sharpen up your wardrobe and do the talking. You’ll get oohs, ahhs and maybe even a date in the bag for February.

Read more about suits, Dior’s ballet pumps, the cult of Kiko Kostadinov, Jonathan Anderson’s indelible sex appeal and loads more in our big, fat round-up of Paris and Milan Fashion Week Men’s.

It was never going to be too long before another Moncler Genius collab dropped, what with last year’s link-ups coming thick and fast, courtesy of Pharrell, Alicia Keys, Rick Owens and Palm Angels, to name but a few. This time, it’s the turn of Jay‑Z and his music label Roc Nation, with the New York rap legend lending a hand with the designs. Titled The Art of All, the collection includes casual off-white jersey two-pieces, printed T‑shirts, a bronze croc-effect bomber jacket and a fluffy bucket hat. Bonus: it comes with a film, too. So, while you decide which pieces to buy, allow directors Páraic and Kevin McGloughlin to take you on a whirl around New York City. Saying that, we don’t recall a mountain being in the middle of Times Square…

Alright, so you haven’t started Couch to 5k like you said you would. And that gym membership you’re paying through the nose for? Untouched. But don’t beat yourself up – there’s still time to get physical. And 66North’s AW24 collection offers plenty of motivation to zip-up and climb to the highest heights. Designed by the Icelandic brand’s creative director Kei Toyoshima (also a menswear designer at Louis Vuitton), these techy pieces were dreamt-up after he discovered a load of vintage pieces in the depths of an old warehouse. “[They] embodied the ethos of ​‘Keeping Iceland warm since 1926’,” he told us, echoing the brand’s tagline. ​“The research resonated deeply with Icelandic life and provided an exciting yet reflective moment for us as we entered the phase of becoming a global brand.”

Race you to the top?

Marc Jacobs spent the week shouting, loud and proud, about the brand’s nearest and dearest; the personalities, old and new, who have been part of MJ’s cultural canon for 40 years. With Juergen Teller behind the camera (the duo first worked together in 1998), the likes of Cindy Sherman, Dakota Fanning, FKA twigs, Lil Uzi Vert, Lila Moss and Teller himself took to the streets surrounding Marc Jacobs HQ in Soho, NYC. Looking all kinds of cool, the gang styled out the brand’s cult pieces, such as the sky-high Kiki Boot, the Sack Bag, Tote Bag and The Snapshot for a whole new generation. I’ve got all my sisters with me…

If the stocking-filler pants your mum got you haven’t quite hit the spot this year, look to Pleasing’s new Ribbed collection. With boxer briefs and vests in lavender, black, robin egg blue and brown, the undies put comfort-first, made with slinky, stretchy organic cotton and a feel-good rib pattern. For your pleasure, of course.

Ireland’s finest Simone Rocha was the latest guest designer for Jean Paul Gaultier’s couture show, following turns by KNWLS, Y/Project’s Glenn Martens and Sacai. And what a show it was. Rocha took Gaultier’s corsets, cone bras, sailor hats and kinky belts, reimagining classic pieces in her ethereal style that subverts folklore, femininity and romance. All in all? A smasher.

Earlier this week, Kim Kardashian was announced as Balenciaga’s latest brand ambassador. Hey, we break up, we make up. Congrats, Kimmy.

The V&A’s major, sold-out exhibition Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto has been extended for an additional two weeks, now closing on Sunday 10^th March. The first ever UK exhibition dedicated to Chanel, the mega show covers everything from the designer’s early years to what the brand has become today – a house so big it can shut down Manchester.