ReviewBehold the history of men’s fashion and see how splendid it used to be
- ‘Fashioning Masculinities’, the catalogue from the Victoria and Albert Museum’s current exhibition, is full of beautiful images of menswear through the ages
- The publication reminds us that there once were alternatives to today’s sobering styles, gesturing towards a more colourful and extravagant future
It’s been more than a decade since social critics began to lament – or celebrate – the “death of men”.
The idea was that in a technologically advanced world where connection and cooperation were indispensable to success, masculine virtues – physical strength, bravery, stoicism – were no longer necessary while once tolerated masculine vices – violence, anger issues, recklessness, emotional detachment – were increasingly unacceptable.
Men, it turns out, have not quite died out yet. Some are clinging to the old ways in a desperate attempt to retain patriarchal privilege. But others are reinventing masculinity, drawing on the most evocative, seductive and charismatic examples from the past to fashion a new man who doesn’t so much defy conventional gender roles as transcend them.
Fashioning Masculinities, the catalogue from the current exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London, comes along right on cue to illustrate and explain 21st century masculinity.
The book contains short, savvy essays exploring aspects of masculine fashion. And it is beautiful: full of crisply rendered images of paintings, photojournalism and photographs of garments from the V&A’s unparalleled collection.