Ilustração para The Wall Street Journal
The suit is a brilliant idea—a triumph of simplicity and the ultimate symbolic demarcation between work and everything else. Serious work: When a man wears a suit, he looks ready for business-as-war. Just think of Tom Ford in one of his own razor-sharp creations.
Nonetheless, the suit has suffered during the WFH era as corporate types swap tailoring for sweatpants. Sales of men’s formal clothing dropped by 74% globally between March and June 2020, according to GlobalData Retail.
But the suit has a bigger problem: In the late 20th century it became a symbol of men bound to the corporate rat race. Ever since, these men—unwilling to be defined by their day jobs—have put their money into what they wear outside of work, splurging on expensive hoodies and branded sneakers. All the innovation has been in athleisure.
Times have changed, however. With the economy plummeting, I pity the styleless titans of Silicon Valley in their overpriced gymwear, share prices ’round their ankles.
Now is the time to look sharp at your desk. Historically, the response to recessions has been to dress up. “Impressions are everything,” said Sir Nicholas Coleridge, chairman of London’s Victoria & Albert Museum and former president of Condé Nast International. “There’s a conscious bias about how people look and how they represent your business. In the future, presenteeism—actually appearing in the office [and] looking smart—will count for a lot.”
Some men, at least, are heeding this advice. The Armoury, a tailoring store in New York and Hong Kong, is selling more ties than before, said co-founder Mark Cho. “People are saying, ‘I’d like to smarten up for the office.’”
The right response? Instead of channeling Gordon Gekko in his shiny, “greed is good” power suits, look to brands like Zegna and Officine Générale who are creating flowy cuts from lightweight blends. Perhaps one of these modern styles will catch on like Armani’s unstructured creations of the early 1980s did. The challenge is on, designers, to save Western capitalism by saving the suit.
—Peter York
The Wall Street Journal is not compensated by retailers listed in its articles as outlets for products. Listed retailers frequently are not the sole retail outlets.
