Free the neck with style
The tie is dead, but men can still dress well without one, writes Damien Woolnough.
When independent senator David Pocock delivered his first speech in the Australian Parliament, the former Wallabies rugby captain was vocal about inclusivity and climate change but more silently championed new style rules for menswear.
Pocock’s significantly sized neck was unburdened by a tie to go with his bright blue suit and crisp white shirt.
In the House of Representatives, incoming Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather took a similar approach, prompting a complaint from Nationals MP Pat Conaghan on his ‘‘state of undress’’.
The Speaker acts as the fashion police in Parliament House, with members expected to display ‘‘neatness, cleanliness and decency’’. In 1977, permission was given for men to wear tailored safari suits without a tie, which was revived by former attorneygeneral Phillip Ruddock in 2015 for charity.
The Speaker declared Chandler-Mather’s tieless approach did not violate standing orders, which follows an international trend. Tie-free world leaders include US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who went tieless for official portraits at the G7 summit in Germany.
Even Ermengildo Zegna, chief executive of Zegna, the label favoured by former Australian prime minister Paul Keating, has given up on ties. ‘‘Let me be clear – the suit is not dead,’’ Zegna said at a conference in May. ‘‘But the tie is!’’
To look smart without a tie, or resorting to a safari suit, Melbourne menswear designer Brian Huynh, co-founder of the label Mndatory, recommends focusing on your shirt. ‘‘So it looks like a deliberate choice you want to look at the collar height and shape,’’ he says. ‘‘A taller collar can sit more proudly and will make not wearing a tie look intentional.’’
To achieve this look, even with two buttons undone (three might be too provocative) Huynh uses strong interfacing, which adds stability to shirt collars. ‘‘A strong interfacing will help you achieve more structure, especially when sitting beneath a jacket, while a shirt with no interfacing will look more nonchalant and relaxed.’’
Former National Designer Award winner Christian Kimber doesn’t sell ties, but has simple tricks for looking formal without them, starting with an iron.
‘If your collar is properly ironed, there is less chance of people thinking you took your tie off before the event,’’ he says. ‘‘I love looking at pictures of Barack Obama giving speeches now, and he nails looking respectful without a tie.
‘‘We also have a secret button under our short collars, which keeps them in place and stops them from curling up at the end of the day.’’ These buttons can’t be seen when the collar is turned down, unlike a button-down Oxford shirt.
‘‘That would be considered too casual,’’ Kimber says. ‘‘You can also wear a pocket square. Long gone are the days when you had to match your pocket square to your tie.’’
For Kimber, suit jacket lapels can make a subtle difference. ‘‘Perhaps I’m being too specific, but I prefer a notch lapel over a peak lapel on your jacket if you’re not wearing a tie. It just looks better.’’
Stylist Mel Boyle, who has worked at GQ and Vogue, suggests male politicians pay closer attention to the fit of their suits. ‘‘If you’re not wearing a tie, you want to get the other details right. Ill-fitting suits where sleeves are too long, shoulders too wide or too small will draw unwelcome attention.
‘‘Choose your suit fabrics wisely, as they fall differently depending on the weight and some can look unkept and messy.’’
Ties may be falling out of favour but Huynh says that they can still be used to make a fashion statement, rather than as a symbol of following the flock. ‘‘Politicians should understand that ties are no longer mandatory but a fashion choice.’’