Stella McCartney Men?s Spring 2017
NEW YORK: Luxury menswear has traditionally lagged behind womenswear, but that is already beginning to change as social media platforms encourage men to try out luxury clothing in new and innovate ways, industry experts have said.
Alexa Tonner, Co-Founder of Collectively, an influencer marketing firm based in San Francisco, told Digiday that Instagram and similar photo-sharing apps have drawn in male consumers who would not typically bother with fashion magazines.
“Men who would have never bought an issue of GQ or Esquire are much more comfortable following style influencers on Instagram,” she said.
“Fashion magazines present a pretty rigid perspective on men’s style, and you’ve got a lot more variety on social media. Even in the luxury space, you’ve got bespoke tailoring and vintage timepieces, plus you’ve got limited edition streetwear.” Another benefit of social media platforms, she added, is that they help to cultivate a sense of immediacy, which has given a boost to the luxury casualwear market.
“Social media rewards impact and immediacy which serves the world of higher end streetwear really well,” she said. “Traditional luxury is more understated and also requires patience: you’ve got to go to the tailor and then you’ve got to wait for that bespoke suit.”
Jonathan Feinberg, Retail and Fashion Merchandiser at Givenchy in New York, agreed that casualwea...