Men’s fashion is about a lot of things—color, texture, silhouette, character, and, increasingly, vibes. Through jackets, pants, and other garments and accessories, designers are telling us how a man should be, and, more importantly, what about a man we should be paying attention to. Maybe it’s Versace’s sleeveless muscle polos and their emphasis on the shoulder and arm, or a barely-there pair of shorts from Tom Ford, saying, damn, look at that thigh. Perhaps it’s an entirely new silhouette, saying that men should be lean, sinewy, and that we should all be gazing at their hips.
Dolce & Gabbana, spring 2027
Photo: Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com
Ralph Lauren, spring 2027
Photo: Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com
After last summer’s toes-out obsession with the foot—revealed in all its glory by the minimalist straps of a flip-flop—we’re staying in the general area, but shifting the focus a few centimeters northward, to the ankle. In Milan, Ralph Lauren and Dolce & Gabbana both showed us espadrilles with ribbon that wrapped around and tied at the crucial anatomical juncture, while, in Paris, Dries Van Noten’s Julian Klausner did a similar trick, but with little leather ballet flats. And at Auralee, a vacation vibe was conjured with charming little beaded bananas hanging from an anklet. Often overlooked, it’s (finally!) the ankle’s time to shine.
A beaded banana anklet at Auralee.
Increasingly the foot is a little weighed down by its various associations, some of which are … well, quite prurient. Why not instead focus on the much more wholesome ankle? And when I spoke to some menswear experts in the lead-up to fashion week, Marcus Allen said he thought the next big thing would be “little treats”—small accessories like a keychain or a brooch that someone could buy to give their outfit a little extra oomph. What’s more unexpected and yet fun than an anklet with a jingle-jangle trinket attached? A reason to draw your eye downward to the shoe. And what better evolution of the whimsical male ballet flat than a dainty little shoe with some ribbon attached? A lot of guys have gnarly feet, but an ankle, well, it’s hard to have an unattractive one. With a few days left in Paris men’s fashion week, we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled on the clothes but carefully and closely watching the new hottest spot on a man’s body, that hallowed spot between the shin and the foot, too.
Wrists are over! Necks are passé! It’s all about the ankle—dress accordingly.
