The new Dior show didn’t open with glamour; it opened like a warning. I’ve written about how Dior became a horror story about itself. Read Do You Horror Behind the Gilded Doors on Substack: 👉 profandrewgroves.substack.co… #Dior #AdamCurtis #FashionCriticism #Couture #FashionHistory

Why Vince Garments Are So Rare - and So Important These swim briefs by Vince Green, now on display in the Splash! exhibition at the Design Museum, offer a rare glimpse into a pivotal moment in British menswear. Originally a photographer for postwar physique magazines, Bill ‘Vince’ Green began selling continental-style swim briefs through classified ads in the Daily Mirror in the early 1950s. In 1954, he opened Vince Man’s Shop in Soho, widely regarded as London’s first dedicated menswear boutique. Over the past 8 years, we’ve been actively collecting garments from the shop for the Westminster Menswear Archive. But they remain incredibly hard to find. Few have survived, and even fewer are publicly accessible. Yet their influence is undeniable. Green’s imagery carried a distinctly homoerotic charge, shaped by his background in physique photography and resonating strongly with a gay clientele. His swimwear shared that sensibility, cut high, made from clinging towelling, or boldly patterned. What made his work so radical, however, was his ability to translate that aesthetic into the mainstream. Vince normalised a body-conscious masculinity that was modern, aspirational, and unashamedly visible. His designs helped shape what would later become the Carnaby Street look, years before that scene emerged. In doing so, he not only challenged ideas of how British men should dress, but also who they were allowed to be. Images: – Vince Man’s Shop swimwear display, Splash! Design Museum – Hawaiian print towelling trunks, 1968. Vince Green. Westminster Menswear Archive – Striped swim shorts, 1968. Vince Green. Westminster Menswear Archive – Men’s Beach Shorts, 1960s. Vince Green. The Textiles & Dress Collection at Falmouth University #menswear #archivemenswear #1960sstyle #britishmenswear #carnabystreet #designmuseum #vintagemenswear #swimwearhistory #vincemanshop #fashionarchive #exhibitionloan #splashdesignmuseum #physiquemagazines #mensweararchive

Before the Internet, This Was How Gay Men Found Style, and Themselves In 1968, Vince Man’s Shop in Soho offered a pair of boldly striped swim trunks called ‘Pearl Divers', designed “for swimming or walking,” made from stretch fabric with a nylon zip, and advertised for their snug fit. Price: 42 shillings. But here’s what really mattered: You didn’t have to live in London to buy them. You just had to send off a letter. Vince Man’s Shop (1954–1969) was based in Soho, but its influence travelled across Britain. Through its bold, image-filled mail-order catalogues, Vince offered men, especially gay men outside of major cities, access to a new kind of menswear: tight, tailored, and body-conscious. Filled with shirtless models in stretch briefs and snug shorts, these catalogues gave visibility to a new vision of masculinity: confident, coded, and queer. For many, it was the first time fashion had reflected their identity, available by post, no questions asked. This 1968 pair of trunks, now part of the Westminster Menswear Archive, features in the Design Museum’s new exhibition Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style (28 March – 17 August 2025), alongside other rare menswear artefacts from our collection. Curated by Amber Butchart, Splash! explores a century of swimwear, design, and social change, from lidos to Lycra, Baywatch icons to body politics. 📅 Splash! opens today, 28 March 2025 at the Design Museum, London. #WestminsterMenswearArchive #VinceMansShop #MailOrderFashion #MenswearHistory #SplashExhibition #DesignMuseum #SubculturalStyle #BritishMenswear #FashionArchives #AmberButchart #MensSwimwear #IndependentRetailers #FashionAndIdentity #LGBTQHistory #SohoStyle

To mark the launch of his new collaboration with Clarks, I spoke to Esquire magazine about the unexpected thread linking Liam Gallagher, Charles Baudelaire, and Manchester’s 19th-century Monkey Parades. “The figure of the flâneur, the idle urban wanderer immortalised by Baudelaire, found its working-class counterpart in the Clarks-wearing Gallagher of the ’90s, not a detached observer, but a swaggering participant, turning the streets into a stage for presence, attitude, and ownership. His Clarks-shod strut wasn’t just part of his look, it was the look. Like Manchester’s Monkey Parades of the 19th century, where young working-class men turned walking into a performance of status, the Mancunians of the ’90s revived this ritual; only now in Wallabees, their crepe soles adding a distinctive bounce to their swagger.” #LiamGallagher #Clarks #Baudelaire #MonkeyParades #MenswearHistory #StreetStyle #90sFashion #Wallabees #MancunianSwagger #Oasis #FashionCulture #FootwearHistory #BritishStyle #Menswear

Last Friday at the 4th @artefacta2025 Conference at the University of Helsinki, we explored a fundamental question: should archives focus solely on collecting finished garments, or should they also document the processes that shape them? Traditionally, museums acquire objects long after their cultural significance is established. But by the time a garment reaches an archive, the decisions, constraints, and revisions that shaped it are often lost. Through our collaboration with the Massimo Osti Studio, the Westminster Menswear Archive embedded itself in the brand’s development process, acquiring not just the final garments but also documenting the prototypes, iterations, and shifting strategies that determined their design. This approach raised crucial reflections: - Garments do not emerge fully formed, so why do we only archive them once they are ‘complete’? - If we don’t document the choices that shaped a design, what knowledge are we losing? - How do we balance collecting the ‘finished’ with understanding the tensions, constraints, and negotiations that led to its creation? - Can archives remain neutral observers, or does engaging in the process inevitably shape the outcome? The response to these ideas was incredibly insightful, reinforcing the need to rethink how fashion is archived. If we only collect what survives the commercial and creative process, do we truly understand how design functions? Thank you to everyone at Artefacta for an inspiring discussion, we’re only beginning to explore what this means for the future of archiving fashion. #Artefacta2025 #MenswearArchives #FashionHistory #MassimoOstiStudio #WestminsterMenswearArchive #FashionResearch #ArchivalPractice #MuseumStudies #FashionDocumentation #DesignProcess #MaterialCulture #MenswearInnovation

Thrilled to have made it into Private Eye's Pseuds Corner for a record third time! #PrivateEye #PseudsCorner #Humour #Satire #keepitcasual #Milestone #RecordAchievement #BritishHumour #ThirdTimeLucky #Publications #MediaMentions

I spoke to @lanre_bakare at The Guardian this week about the rise of Stone Island in the UK and its historical precedents. “The football casuals of the 1980s were, in many ways, the modern-day equivalents of the young men embarking on the Grand Tour in the 18th century, rather than bringing back art and antiquities, they brought back Italian menswear.” Image: A Conversation Piece in Rome, c.1760. With apologies to Nathaniel Dance-Holland theguardian.com/fashion/2024… #StoneIsland #FootballCasuals #MenswearHistory #GrandTour #ItalianFashion #SubcultureStyle #1980sFashion #UKMenswear #CulturalHistory #StoneIslandUK #FashionNarratives #HistoricalFashion #casualsculture

I am excited to share my latest article, co-authored with Dr Danielle Sprecher, which explores how Massimo Osti's visionary work influenced the development and direction of the Westminster Menswear Archive. Osti’s approach to archiving—a detailed collection of technical, military, and utilitarian garments—laid the foundation that inspired our collection strategies, educational focus, and commitment to industry engagement. His legacy shapes how the WMA functions today, providing a critical resource for understanding menswear's past and future. Link to the article here: tandfonline.com/share/BZWETC… Photo: The Massimo Osti Archive, Bologna #FashionTheory #Menswear #WestminsterMenswearArchive #FashionResearch #MassimoOsti #FashionStudies #ArchiveResearch #DesignInnovation

Just published in Fashion Theory. I am excited to share my latest article, co-authored with Dr Danielle Sprecher. It explores how the visionary work of Massimo Osti influenced the development and direction of the Westminster Menswear Archive. Osti’s approach to archiving - a detailed collection of technical, military, and utilitarian garments - laid a foundation that inspired our collection strategies, educational focus, and commitment to industry engagement. This legacy shapes how the WMA functions today, providing a critical resource for understanding menswear's past and future. Link to the article here: tandfonline.com/eprint/IDMJ5… Images 1. The Massimo Osti Archive, Bologna 2. Westminster Menswear Archive Initial Fit-Out, 2016 3. Invisible Men Exhibition, 2019 4. 18th-Century Frock Coat vs. Alexander McQueen 5. Research garments selected for an Italian brand, 2022 6. Umbro 100 Exhibition, 2024 #FashionTheory #Menswear #WestminsterMenswearArchive #FashionResearch #MassimoOsti #FashionStudies #ArchiveResearch #DesignInnovation