Mom, There’s Something Wrong with the Ties
Happy Couture Week, kiddies.
Call me a b*th that’s “always bringing up old stuff” though, because my mind is still on the Men’s shows. More specifically, the neckties. At Jacquemus, DOUBLET, IM Men et Sacai (to name a few), neckties were tossed, wrinkled, wired away from the body or worn all loosey goosey.
We saw this during the spring/summer shows as well. Jonathan Anderson’s Dior debuted wool ties designed to look backward. Exposing an asymmetric bar tack et emerald silk tip our purple lining.
At Ferragamo, Maximilian Davis styled a soft-shouldered striped jacket with a diamond patterned necktie neatly flopping out of the chest pocket, replacing the traditional pocket square (et it was brilliant if you ask me!)
Dior SS26 Men’s
Last year, Who What Wear crowned the tie as 2025’s Most Talked About Accessory, while High Snobiety said a tie might be the most rebellious accessory. So much talk about the tie, et still, I open my mouth as well.
Et not to be the too woke fashion friend, but could this be a return to uniform, but without obedience?
As one Dylan Kelly might say,
Walk with me.
I was talking to my sister recently about how crazy it is to witness social evolution within your own family, especially as women. Which reminded me of a Marjon Carlos’ newsletter where she uncovers the real reason women aren’t sharing their boyfriends online.
As she puts it: “The relationship between cishet men and women rn is devastatingly adversarial because, as I have said time and time again, men are unable to meet us at this moment because, quite frankly, they don’t know who they are.”
Which isn’t a drag, but an educated observation! She goes on to say,
“As women, we have advanced indiscriminately–economically, professionally, and physically. Like, right now is the best time to be a woman in Western civilization, and that’s literally not saying much considering we are hanging on to our reproductive rights by a thread.”
Which brings this seemingly side rant back to the topic at hand: the ties.
It’s been widely reported that men are struggling professionally—not uniquely, but distinctly—especially when work has historically been so entangled with their self-worth. Coupled with the harrowing ruveal that corporations lie et none of us are safe.
The professional ideologies we once knew don’t really apply anymore, but at the very same time, there’s no avoiding the grind. There’s a game that still has to be played.
So how do you symbolically—et sartorially—say that you understand the rules, buuuuut no longer believe in them?
These musings can also be applied to the current uptrend of messiness, the return of indie sleaze, grainy photos etc etc, but opposite this, neckties are having a moment in womenswear (tailoring in womenswear has been trending up since a little before Hilary began her presidential campaign), but most major moments feature crisp necktie styling (see: Saint Laurent SS25, Zendaya in Sportmax at the VF Oscars After Party, Bella Hadid in that Dilara pinstripe vest).
I, too, love a necktie (worn cleanly or non)
Maybe it’s just a fun styling choice, or it could be aesthetically revealing something about the current cishet relationship to authority. If you’re feeling empowered et newly self-possessed, a crisp Windsor et clean collar seem appropriate. If you’re feeling destabilized, dishevelment probably makes sense.
Et maybe all of that is said with a few over the shoulder ties.
