If the straight boys are exploring a softer masculinity, queer fashion is embracing kinky leathers. WORDS TOM GEORGE IMAGES COURTESY OF FASHION EAST Every September, around the same time that coffee shops fight to be the first to drop a PSL and Caitlin Covington awakens from her slumber, TikTok and Instagram gays signal that it’s going to be a ‘femme top fall’.
It’s not; according to Google Trends at least. Perhaps the queer desire for femme top recognition is a response to the recent universal fawning over straight-identifying ‘babygirl boys’ such as Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal and Timothee Chalamet.
Or, the rise of softer masculine expressions among straight men – Pleasing pastel nail varnishes, cutesy broccoli perms and preppy sweater vests, all on the biggest DL fuckbois you’ve ever met.
Or perhaps, it’s a desperate attempt by influencers to gain cultural capital by coining a viral seasonal aesthetic. One thing is clear though, in reality many designers have been leaning far from femme energy in their most recent menswear offerings – think more: wipe-clean leathers, whip-like belts and harnesses over oiled up pecs.