Reinventing classics: How millennials killed the suit
Designers are cottoning on to the fact that formal attire won’t wash with a generation more at home in athleisure. They’ve responded by reinventing the classics, writes Deirdre Reynolds
Millennials have been blamed for the demise of many things, among them package holidays, voicemails, and golf. And now it looks as though they have another staple in their sights: the traditional suit.
The athleisure trend has slowly gained pace over the past few years. And now top-end designers are saying they’re going to have to rethink how they tailor even the most formal suits and office attire in order to attract young people who are just not used to dressing up.
At the recent spring/summer fashion shows Balenciaga, in particular, was in on the act. Once famed for its skin-tight tailoring, when the Spanish fashion house showcased its new spring collection in Paris, there was an abundance of slouchy suits, billowing shirts and oversized leather jackets, the show was more comfort than corset.
Swiftly dubbed ‘neo-tailoring’, designer Demna Gvasalia explained the desire to reinvent the century-old brand for a younger audience more used to tracksuits than skirt suits.
“It’s a way to make the new generations wear tailoring,” he said. “It feels like wearing a jogging suit and that’s what makes it approachable.”
The Georgian couturier isn’t the first to champion “the new casual”, as it’s also known in fashion circles. Globally, the activewear market is tipped to reach $567 billion by 2024, according to Reportbuyer.
With millennials expected to control 45pc of the global luxury market by 2025, getting down with the kids in leggings and sneakers has never been more important.
“The Western world has become less formal in every possible way,” says Irish designer Peter O’Brien, known for his expertly tailored coats and dresses. “The days of people demanding very specific clothes for very specific events have changed.
“People go to funerals in anoraks and tracksuit bottoms and it’s not frowned upon.
“I think the whole sporty thing has hugely influenced mainstream.
“Although, a beautifully tailored pair of tracksuit bottoms you buy from Balenciaga are probably not going to look the quite the same as a pair you buy online.” Boasting cinched-in waists and architectural shoulders, certainly Gvasalia’s trail-blazing designs were far from shapeless. Similarly loose-but-luxe offerings by Chanel, Prada and Givenchy are unlikely to give off a ‘Thanks hun, Penneys’ vibe either. “Slouchy I think is the wrong word for oversized garments as some are truly gorgeous,” argues New-York based Irish designer Don O’Neill, who has dressed everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Amy Poehler and Taylor Swift. “The look can be pulled off successfully for the evening if your hair, shoes, make-up and accessories are all ramped up.
“But the oversized garment itself needs to be special — a simple silk crepe or a gorgeous embroidered organza festooned with ruffles.”
“My approach to fashion is from the ‘atelier flou’, [with] soft draping and fluidity,” continues the creative director of THEIA.
“Demna is building armour — outfitting warriors with sharp power shoulders and blowing up the silhouette at times to gigantic proportions.
“I showed one athleisure look in my bridal fashion show last week — a four-ply silk crepe oversized top and drawstring pants with super-wide sequin stripes — and it’s still the most requested look from the show.
“It’s chic, elegant and easy.”
And so it would seam at alteration shops nationwide as neo-tailoring takes hold.
“There has been a definite emphasis on comfort with millennial fashion patterns in recent years,” says Caroline Wallace of The Zip Yard. “Comfort is key. Workwear and evening wear essentially needs to be as comfortable as a tracksuit.
“We’ve noticed a definite shift towards a wearability and also a gender neutrality.
“In the past, we would have referred to that type of dressing as androgynous.
“Fabrics are more voluminous, shoulders a statement, be they sharp and futuristic or raglan and relaxed, and waistlines are worn higher and pleated.
“It’s all about ease and relaxation.” Celebrity tailor Louis Copeland Jnr agrees: “Younger guys are going for a more European cut with soft shoulder and soft construction.
“Comfort has become vitally important for them. Italian styling, such as half-lined or unlined jackets, has become particularly popular. Younger guys are also beginning to buy suits as pieces so they can wear them in multiple ways.
“For example, pairing the suit jacket with jeans or chinos. One aspect they can’t ignore is the overall fit of the suit. Even if they want a casual fitting suit, the jacket and trousers should still be the correct length.”
With even Victoria Beckham swapping her signature pencil skirts for track pants, neo-tailoring looks here to stay.
Jogger or just couch hogger, Irish women are sure to follow (track)suit in the seasons ahead, predicts Irish designer Jennifer Rothwell.
“There’s a huge trend in leggings and it’s only going to grow massively,” says the Dublin-based designer, whose own activewear collection includes a range of €195 made-toorder printed leggings.
“Even I do a fitness challenge thing four times a week and you find yourself wearing leggings and a little top and throwing a jacket [on] over it. It’s much easier to wear that look than it is to get dressed up and dressed down.
“It’s great to develop lines that are very comfortable, wearable fabrics that last the test of time and that people are happy to be seen in a few times — I see that on Instagram.”
“Bespoke items will always be a little bit more pricey,” she continues. “Obviously leggings at €195 are out of a lot of people’s [price] range, but if we figured out a way to get them down to €95, then they’d be a lot more accessible globally to a younger age group, so that’s something that we’re working on.”
Ireland’s King of Tailoring confessed he’s succumbed to the trend — but insisted it won’t impact the way he works.
“I’m 110 years of age and it took as long as last year to buy a pair of trainers,” jokes Peter O’Brien, whose Autumn/Winter collection for Dunnes Stores has just dropped. “I hated them.
“I was walking from East London to West London, my feet were killing me and my sister dragged me into the Nike shop.
“I was so horrified, but she made me buy a pair of black Air Max and I was reborn — they’re so comfortable.
“For me, it still feels slightly slovenly, but I know that’s a generational thing.
“Nothing ever comes around the same,” he adds.
“No one has ever gone back to wearing crinolines or bustles, so I don’t think it’s ever going to go back to that.
“Having said that, if you look at things like debs, the races, weddings, people spend vast amounts of money getting incredibly dressed up in clothes that they wouldn’t wear in a million years every day.
“For women, there’s always going to be a demand for the perfect pair of trousers or a fantastic jacket they can throw on over their blouse and jeans.
“But I think the notion of wearing a tailored suit with a little jacket and a pleated skirt and a pair of court shoes [is gone].
“Then again, if Mrs Prada, does that everyone will think it’s the coolest thing in the world!”
It’s a way to make the new generations wear tailoring — it feels like wearing a jogging suit and that’s what makes it approachable