While chatting with fashion historian Fiona Tedds on the phone, she recalled something her Fashion Institute of Technology art history professor, Lourdes Font, said during a lecture upwards of a decade ago: Fashion is always the indicator of what’s to come. In the Roaring Twenties, for instance, leg-baring flapper dresses symbolized a shift toward women’s liberation. Style also represents what’s currently happening in society. A prime example of this is the rise of menswear in the fashion industry. Suiting has long been a symbol of power and control, something women are tirelessly fighting for amid the country’s current climate.
For spring/summer 2025, power suits populated the runways — which, according to Tedds, wasn’t a coincidence. “If you think about the designer collections you’ve just seen on the runway — they were planned, probably the germination of them was over a year ago,” Tedds explains. “It predated the fact that now, in the United States, women’s rights are under attack in a big way.” To recap, Saint Laurent, a purveyor of the look, centered a majority of its collection on menswear. Creative director Anthony Vaccarello served up slouchy suiting with strong shoulder pads, sharp ties, and crisp button-ups. Meanwhile, Loewe gave menswear a sexy spin, sending a model down the runway in an oversized suit sans shirt. Then there was Stella McCartney’s embellished blazer and matching trousers.
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Industry experts believe this movement goes beyond the flash-in-the pan trend cycle — there’s a connection between the rise in menswear and modern-day society. “I think there’s a need for women to dress in ways that are asserting their power today,” Alexis Romano, a part-time assistant at Parsons who specializes in 20th-century fashion, tells TZR on a recent call. “We’re experiencing a relinquishing of our bodily autonomy and power,” she says, pointing to the recent political unrest surrounding Donald Trump’s reinstatement as president of the United States. Indeed, a hovering outrage and fear of the gradual abolition of women’s rights has been present (and growing) since November.
To wit, The New York Times reports that as of February 2025, 19 states now ban abortion or restrict the procedure at an earlier stage of pregnancy than was allowed during Roe v. Wade, which was overturned in 2022. Also, on his first day in office, the president issued an executive order that the United States will only recognize two genders — male and female — which were assigned at birth. As a result, trans women, one being Euphoria star Hunter Schafer, have been misgendered on legal documents, such as their passports. “Bureau of Consular Affairs has frozen passport applications requesting a gender marker change or renewals or new applications with the gender marker differing from an applicant’s gender assigned at birth,” the actor explained in a TikTok video, later showing a close-up of the “M” on her passport.
Tedds ponders the explosion of androgynous style and its seemingly coincidental timing: ‘Is this part of a pushback against [women’s rights being taken away]?’ That seems to be the case. And it wouldn’t be the first time females wore menswear as a way to convey authority. Tedds brings up the ‘30s and ‘40s World War II, a time when women leaned into femininity. “Women were always pushing for the freedom and the independence they gained during wartime,” the historian explains. With men absent, millions of women took on traditionally male jobs in factories and the military — where they needed to dress for their new roles. Remember the Rosie the Riveter poster from 1942? Featuring a woman clad in a denim top and red bandana with the phrase “We Can Do It,” the ad promoted the idea that women could do the same jobs as men (and just as well).
When more women entered the workforce in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the concept of power dressing — which mirrored their male counterparts’ office dress code — emerged. According to fashion historian Sonya Abrego, it wasn’t until the ‘70s that females adopted suiting for the office, which quickly became the norm. “It didn’t seem as provocative as or connected to the politics of feminism,” she explains. “It was becoming more of an option for day-to-day.”
However, according to Tedds, it wasn’t as common on the red carpet — at least not in 1990, when Julia Roberts raised eyebrows at the 47th Golden Globe Awards, wearing a gray Armani pantsuit, complete with a tie. “That was a big deal,” the fashion buff explains. Roberts herself recently reflected on the slightly controversial look in a video with Vogue. “This was one of my all-time favorite outfits,” the actor said in the clip. “I didn’t even know that people wore really fancy gowns to the Golden Globes the way they do now. I could not have known that it was going to become this, like, statement outfit.”
Fast forward to today, and hardly a red carpet or star-studded event goes by without a menswear-inspired ensemble appearing. This rang especially true during the 2025 awards show season. The Bear star Ayo Edebiri paid homage to the aforementioned Roberts look at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in January, arriving in a Loewe gray suit. (Edebiri, however, made it her own with the addition of a shiny gold feather tie.) Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman suited up for the 30th Annual Critics Choice Awards last month, opting for a full Saint Laurent outfit. And the season wrapped up with various menswear-inspired looks at the 97th Annual Academy Awards, with the likes of BLACKPINK’s Lisa and Oprah Winfrey tapping into the trend.
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The recent menswear boom could also be linked to the fact that the look stands the test of time. A suit is akin to a little black dress — it’s a classic with enduring appeal. As such, for some brands like The Frankie Shop, menswear has always been a core component of its business. “From the start, we carved out a niche with oversized suiting — strong shoulders, relaxed tailoring, and an effortless attitude,” explains founder Gaëlle Drevet, who launched the brand in 2014. Similarly, Argent has been designing menswear for nearly a decade now — 2016, to be exact. Its founder, Sali Christeson, says there’s a growing appetite for structure and polish without the stiffness of traditional corporate dressing. “People are gravitating toward suiting because it signals confidence and capability in a way that feels more personal and intentional than it has in the past.”
Abrego agrees that androgynous dressing for women has changed over the years. “For a while now, there’s been a bit more variation and fun in menswear,” she explains. Romano echoes her, adding, “As opposed to the ‘70s or ‘80s, I think that there’s more flexibility in terms of creative styling.” For example, it’s common to mix and match suiting separates with, say, a tee or jeans. Women are also experimenting with sultry takes on office staples, like forgoing a shirt underneath a blazer à la Loewe. “The idea of suiting as a uniform, also works as a shell — whether for the office or everyday wear — has evolved into something more expressive, less rigid, and ultimately more personal,” notes Drevet.
Yes, a suit is a wardrobe staple and, nowadays, can be incredibly high-style, but the look also represents equality, empowerment, and respect — all of which are essential at a time when women are facing so much uncertainty in this country.
