Blokes, our shoulders are about to get bigger from AW22’s collections.The trends that emerged from the past month of menswear are all over the shop, from suiting up and demining down. But standing tall above them all is the big shoulder, hyper-masculine and obnoxious in its stature. From extravagantly broad shoulder silhouettes to geometrically flawless precision cuts. It was perhaps best seen at Prada where the huge shoulder element was incorporated in a cinched crimson trench coat, with the first half of the torso protruding outwards dramatically.
From the razor-shouldered leather trench coats at Prada, through to the otherworldly enlarged shoulders at Dolce & Gabbana, when it comes to your glenohumeral joints this winter, more is absolutely more. Commonly combined with an inhumanly synched waist and worn on the frame of a particularly angular model, the look — which has its roots in Demna’s early collections for Balenciaga — is a little bit agro, a little bit 80s-infused and totally back-to-life ready. A bold structured shoulder silhouette instantly adds power to your outfit and is the finest shape to wear when you need a confidence boost. Whether you’re going to a party or seeking to make an impact at work, shoulders are the major menswear moment for 2022.
Fashion is cyclical, and once again, padded shoulders make a comeback. Dating all the way back to the 1890s, women used to pad their shoulders in order to create a broader silhouette, and then in the 1930s during the Great Depression to appear as confident as the men in the workforce.But as fashion progresses, so do styles and bold shoulders which today are less about a throwback and more about the women of today. The silhouette has evolved to become sharper, and extends from being simply broad, into puffed up, more pointed, sometimes cape-inspired styles.
– IRENE JAMES
