A distracting heatwave, the skinny conundrum, and the new formality. Men’s Fashion Week SS27 brought sophisticated ease and outdoor-bound collections to the fore across Pitti Uomo, Milan, and Paris. Discover the top trends from Menswear Spring Summer 27.
Week at a glance
Men’s fashion week, colliding with a record-breaking heatwave in Paris, was a particularly affecting moment for the international fashion crowd. Staying ‘chic in the heat’ isn’t just a fun resort getaway edit, it's becoming a valuable wardrobe category - and real commercial opportunity - for navigating 100°F days in city centres. Any livestream or social media video from SS27 will show the sudden discombobulation of the front-rowers in response to the warmth: fans flapping, flushed cheeks, bare legs, and flip-flops.
There’s nothing like being uncomfortable to get you thinking about what needs to change, and buyers and editors most likely were looking for clothing to fit several briefs: lightness, modularity, and ease. Something that would satisfy right in that moment.
Coincidentally, several designers had already considered the weather. Dries Van Noten’s ethereal seaside ballet was a masterclass in whisper-thin technical layers and heatwave colour theory. Louis Vuitton presented Pharrell Williams’ latest collection in front of a man-made beach, including a tubular wave, while Rick Owens’ inflatable wind-suits were no such gimmick but perhaps a future projection. Originally invented by the Japanese to cool down runners, Owens’ suits were made from the same durable plastic used to make hazmat suits, and worn with ice vests underneath. The models’ very own "personal air conditioning system".
However, as Australian designers know well, with any summer or resort collection, the less you leave on the body, the more the scrutiny on the garment left. This season, the heavy focus on feather-light fabric and refined fits, landed craftsmanship and precision squarely in the spotlight.
Consider the stripped-back-ness of the Prada show. It offered itself as the blueprint of the baseline wardrobe. The super-skinny classic 5-pocket jeans and tightly cropped trucker jackets were very exposed to the eagle eyes of the audience. With the requisite precision and refinement, Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada went so far as to add Helmut Lang-inspired see-through shirts and trousers. The simple, white long-sleeve tee will be enough to seal the deal for aspirational shoppers, and as reported by industry insiders, there were many clients at the re-see eager to place their orders, both male and female.
While the slimmer proportions of Prada, Dior, Lemaire and Auralee appear as a response to a significant change in appetite for a reimagined silhouette, their emergence also speaks to a new way of dressing and creating outfits. “People can be individual with common garments if you really think how to wear them and how to combine them,” said Simons post-Prada, “So there is on the one hand our suggestion [in the show] from today, but we like the audience to also suggest to themselves new ways to combine.”
It reflects the overall break away from ‘drop’ culture, particularly in menswear, where hyped pieces or collaborations have been so dominant over the years. Along with the rise of long-tail content from menswear influencers, like podcasts, Substack commentary, and Pinterest moodboarding, there’s less of a focus on hero or statement pieces and instead, building full wardrobes.
Designers, like Michael Rider for Celine, are creating pieces that work together to create emotion that can be mixed, matched, and worn time and again. This was echoed at Dior, Jonathan Anderson’s morning-after-disco collection, rife with slouched jeans, loose blazers, and schoolboy knits, or at Lemaire, Sacai, and Zegna, where the collections don’t begin with a new theme or inspiration; they simply build upon the last season for optimal longevity.
Runway highlights
Zegna got a head start on Spring Summer 27 by showing in Los Angeles as the resort shows concluded. Finding a natural habitat on the Malibu Pier, the brand was able to pile on the layering connotations without getting heavy on the clothing. Louche tailoring, striped separates, and linen done in a Mediterranean colour palette of ocean blues, natural greens, warm oranges and yellows, and chocolate brown. According to Edited, brown has become the top invested blazer color in store arrivals for SS26, representing 20% of blazer options on the market.
Similarly, Giogio Armani leaned into soft summer tailoring, with beige, green, and brown featuring varying degrees of exotic influence. Ralph Lauren’s Polo and Purple Labels sat once again right in the pocket of the moment, offering fisherman’s motifs, maritime suiting, and youthful camo trousers and parkers. According to Lyst, camo has seen a 21% increase in month-on-month demand.
Saint Laurent’s epic of sultry summer tailoring was the latest in a line of collections that hinges on the codes of classicism and kink. As in, for every straight-laced single-breasted blazer, there was a translucent knit, see-through derbies, or a choker neck-tie. Anthony Vacarello’s spring suiting and sporty outerwear spoke to broader themes in men’s fashion, one that increasingly leans into the feminine aspects of dressing - a great moment for Simone Rocha to introduce menswear - as well as the absorption of streetwear into more formal dressing.
Not to say streetwear is over, but its monolithic nature has now diluted into evolved technical utility, cleaner silhouettes, and muted palettes. Like Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton, the trending looks are less about logo-heavy hype-branding, but a more refined, individualistic take on casualwear.
The trends
And now, the major trends from the Menswear Spring Summer 27 runway season.
Indian Summer suiting
With the reprise of more sophisticated dressing for warmer weather, linen tailoring has evolved from its wrinkled connotations to become the men’s suit fabric of choice, elevated beyond simply vacation wear. Answering the questions of ‘chic in the heat’, designers looked to 1940s double-breasted jackets, soft blazers, Mao-inspired collars, and nonchalant open vests over shirts to evoke a nostalgic mood of bygone summers. According to Lyst, double-breasted suit jackets are up 33% in searches, month-on-month.
Surf safari
It’s not a mistake that men’s flip flops have surged 41% in search volume on Lyst over the summer. Fashion has taken its retro-surf vibe to the desert plains, with several designers leaning into holiday culture balanced by the natural world. From Louis Vuitton's surfboard chains, wetsuits, and flower pins to Dries Van Noten’s forest and sky prints on coats and parkas. Auralee’s T-shirts came in sunset-hued stripes or aquamarine tropical prints, while Dolce and Gabbana looked to macramé lace and postcard prints, and Zegna found belted safari jackets and leather slippers.
The slim down
The prevailing trend of the menswear season, even Hedi Slimane couldn’t look away from the stick-legged models on various runways, which forced the former Dior and Saint Laurent designer to post his past collections that heavily feature the super-skinny cut, on his Instagram. More than a 2000s resurgence, the look suggests a need for personality-driven and neater dressing, a departure from super wide-legs and Balenciaga-era Demna-style exaggerated hoodies and blazers. Demand for men’s skinny jeans and pants rose 25 percent month-on-month on the platform in June. While the assortment of skinny jeans for men and women listed on the platform rose 5 percent.
Down-to-earth green
The 2027 market appears to be taking up more earthy foundations in its colour palettes as men take to outdoorsy pursuits and sporty adventures over bars and clubs. Shades like moss green have seen a 50% increase among key influencers according to Trendalytics, and this bucolic tone is set to be supplemented by a palette of desert-inspired hues like terracotta, clay, pale yellow, sand tones, and sun-faded neutrals.
Mountain men
According to Trandalytics data, mountain-approved styles are gaining traction in menswear this season, driven by growing interest in outdoor pursuits like camping and hiking. Men's utility shirts (+37% to LY) and hiking pants (+79% to LY) are emerging as outdoor essentials, while utility-focused pieces like chore and toggle coats bridge the gap between nostalgia and everyday function. For high fashion fans, this meant outerwear straddles technical fabrics with a sartorial edge, like Saint Laurent’s windbreakers, Sacai’s utility jackets, and Dries Van Noten’s summer trenches.
The dandy knit
The intellectual vintage-style knit seen during last season’s shows has evolved for the summer, with designers playing into its eccentric nature with varying prints and either shrunken or stretched proportions. At Prada, patterned sweater-vests finished at the waist, while V necks dropped to the navel. Elsewhere, Celine showed multiple varieties of sweaters from Fair Isle vests to sloppy joes, while Saint Laurent’s subtle V-neck sweaters sat very lightly and close to the body.
