Menswear swings classic

The suit on menswear mood boards is getting looser, longer, and a lot less squeezed-in than the one that dominated the 2010s, with wider trousers, softer jackets, and pleats showing up across recent runway coverage and retail assortments. That is a sharp turn from the ultra-slim era, when jackets were cut close to the ribs, trousers sat low and short, and the goal was a narrow silhouette that looked almost shrink-wrapped. The newer shape borrows more from Giorgio Armani’s roomier 1980s tailoring than from the cropped, tight suits that filled offices and weddings a decade ago. You can see the shift in the trousers first. Giorgio Armani’s current menswear offer includes double-pleat and single-pleat wool, linen, and seersucker trousers, while Drake’s is selling both pleated trousers and a separate relaxed-cut “Games” line. You can see it in jackets too. Zegna’s current ready-to-wear pitch centers “lightweight tailoring” and “modern ease,” and Tommy Hilfiger used Pitti Uomo in Florence on June 17, 2025 to debut a 19-look “sartorial menswear vision” built around a more relaxed way of dressing up. Runway reviews have been describing the same silhouette for more than a year. Esquire’s spring 2025 menswear review singled out Giorgio Armani’s relaxed tailoring, double-breasted blazers, and loose box-pleat pants as especially relevant to the current moment. Trade coverage says the trouser swing is not just editorial talk. The Business of Fashion reported on October 21, 2025 that roomier trousers were becoming a more important part of men’s wardrobes, with brands trying to meet demand without abandoning their own house style. Part of the appeal is practical. Pleats add fabric at the top of the trouser, which gives more room through the seat and thigh, and a fuller leg hangs straighter than a skin-tight taper when you sit, walk, or wear the trousers all day. Part of it is social signaling. The “old money” polish people talk about online usually means high-rise trousers, fuller drape, dark loafers, muted colors, and clothes that look inherited from a banker grandfather rather than borrowed from a nightclub promoter. That aesthetic fits relaxed tailoring better than ankle-baring skinny suits ever could. (armani.com/) Stores tend to follow this kind of silhouette change slowly, then all at once. When brands from Armani to Zegna to Tommy Hilfiger are all pushing softer tailoring, that usually means more pleated trousers, broader lapels, and less aggressively slim suiting on racks over the next season. The easiest way this lands in real life is not a costume. One pleated trouser with a higher rise, one jacket with a little extra room in the chest, and one longer coat will read current in 2026 without looking like you are headed to a period drama or a finance cosplay party.