Leggings and shorts for men have been on the rise for almost six years now and are finally making their way to the streets of Toronto. Originating in Japan and later being featured on the runways and streets of New York, Paris and now Toronto, this tough to adopt trend for men is finally catching on.
With a combination of blurred gender lines and slimmer cuts in men’s fashion, alongside the furor for athletic wear, this is the perfect look for highly trendy, contemporary men. Since sportswear is a prevailing trend this season, including sneakers, jerseys and varsity jackets, the look has escalated further. Compression pants under running shorts are worn to stay warm while working out in the colder months. Basketball players have worn their tube socks with basketball shorts since the beginning of the sport, and even women are putting aside their Daisy Dukes and opting for the Bermuda short this spring. Layering longer shorts atop men’s leggings seem to be the most consequential step up in the game of fashion.
Though sports luxe style has been on the forefront of fashion for years, the freshest influencers have been combining trends and layers alongside clean lines to create a new style dubbed “Street Goth.” Mixing streetwear and high-end fashion in a dark, gothic-inspired aesthetic has heavily influenced men wearing leggings with shorts. Brands such as Black Scale and Rick Owens have motivated the highly layered, monochromatic look. Though Givenchy seems to be the starter of it all when incorporating men’s tights into his S/S 2010 collection, male leggings, also know as “meggings,” were actually introduced into the contemporary fashion scene with Marni, Calvin Klein and Prada in 2007, and with Alexander McQueen and Mihara Yasuhiro in 2008.
An increasing number of men have been spotted sporting the adventurous, bold look in the front rows during Toronto Fashion Week and on the streets of the city over the last few months. Just as men are getting used to the skinny jean, their ensembles are becoming increasingly slenderized. Are you ready for this craze?
Cover image: MTV Fora
Collage image: dossierjournal.com