Runway

Menswear Milestones: The Best Looks of the Decade

We’ve brought you nothing but the hits in anticipation of the menswear shows, which kicked off in London today with Topman—the models, the trends, the people who matter most. We even went to the maestro of menswear shopping himself, Style.com resident street-style snapper Tommy Ton, for the inside scoop on his clothes obsession.

Today we’ve reached the apex of this unofficial week of menswear mania: Style.com editor at large Tim Blanks picks the most important men’s fashion runway moments of the decade, from Helmut Lang’s last hurrah to Craig Green’s breakout tour de force. See the looks that defined the last 10 years of men’s fashion below.

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    Photo: FirstView.com
    1/19

    Spring 2005 Helmut Lang Look 9

    Our hello to a decade of menswear begins with a good-bye: Helmut Lang s last menswear show before he walked out of his own label. No one knew at the time. There was certainly no premonition in the collection, which had a lightness, a lyricism, that felt new for Lang—or maybe he was just feeling good about the freedom he had in mind for himself. Boyd Holbrook in transparent plastic jeans or rococo florals were images for the ages. And even with this, his sign-off, Lang buried some treasure, like the nautical knots and the goat-fur clogs, for designers who came after to unearth.

  • Photo: FirstView.com
    2/19

    Spring 2005 Raf Simons Look 41

    As Helmut Lang exited stage left, Raf Simons moved front and center to assume the minimalist mantle. Except that such a label was as reductive with Simons as it was with Lang. This collection consolidated a shift for him. "History of the World," he called it, with an invitation that listed "people, places, and things that have made a difference." So the picture was bigger than the angsty youth cults that absorbed Simons earlier in his career. And if the picture was bigger, so were the proportions of the clothes, expanding from gymnast streamlines to huge white coats that floated like angel s wings. With such visionary images, Simons was making his own difference to the world of menswear.

  • Photo: FirstView.com
    3/19

    Fall 2005 Kim Jones Look 1

    The sartorial-sporty hybrid has changed the shape of menswear. One of its pioneers was Kim Jones. He s now ensconced at Louis Vuitton, but a decade ago, alongside his consultancies for sportswear companies like Umbro, he was telling extraordinary stories with his own collections. Like this one, a mash-up, he claimed, of a Russian prison camp and the sensual art of Antonio Lopez. Surreal that may sound, but prison-uniform items like sweats and trackpants were elevated in combination with sophisticated tailoring. It felt like a way that The Modern Man—this one, at least—might actually want to dress.

  • Photo: FirstView.com
    4/19

    Fall 2006 Junya Watanabe Look 1

    Junya Watanabe s fascination with Americana was never sharper than with this collection, which appropriated Taxi Driver, lock, stock, and soundtrack. The models sported Travis Bickle s mohawk and army fatigues, reconfigured in precise, patchworked tailoring. And their glazed psycho glares guaranteed they were almost as disturbing as Bickle. With any other designer, there would have been something supremely ironic about such a presentation, but irony is not in Watanabe s vocabulary. For him, Bickle represented "motivation"—and an irresistible example of the way his outsider s eye recasts reality.

  • Photo: FirstView.com
    5/19

    Fall 2006 Valentino Look 15

    Valentino claimed inspiration from a time when airports weren t quite the obstacle course they ve become, and the collection itself offered a perfect soup-to-nuts wardrobe for the well-heeled traveler. Luxe, calme et volupté, indeed. But it was the presentation that made this show such a standout. The invitation was a first-class plane ticket, the soundtrack by Frédéric Sanchez a dreamy mix of Brian Eno and airport announcements, the models an all-ages microcosm of the one percent. And all styles were served here, too, from the aging heiress with the kept boy to the cowboys walking hand in hand, Brokeback Mountain with a happy ending.

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TopicsMenswear