Men Receive Their First Body Positive Fashion Show

When it comes to men’s fashion, designers sometimes struggle to break the mold of the plain black suit and other neutral-colored attire. Men’s mainstream fashion is geared towards making men look more distinguished, some may even dare to break out some color without going overboard, but it never strays too far away from the standard design.  

Men’s Fashion 2020

When A-list celebrities take it upon themselves to break the norm and work with designers to express themselves how they see fit, who are we to argue? Some male attendees make a statement, like Spike Lee’s custom purple and gold Gucci suit as a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant. Other stars prefer to stick to the traditional attire but made up for it with charming accessories for added flair. 

Needless to say, the year 2020 has started with a bang when it comes to men’s fashion. From colorful but elegant suits in the Met Gala to fun patterns and accessories online. Ties.com says it isn’t Christmas without some fun festive socks! 

Society is encouraging men to try new things and go beyond the usual styles and colors. However, there’s one issue that plagues men just as much as women, yet no one brought it to the spotlight until recently.  

New York Fashion Week

Although it doesn’t receive as much spotlight as the womenswear,  the men’s category of New York Fashion Week presents both new and existing designers with the chance to push the boundaries of menswear. Women have made much progress in embracing beauty in all sizes, but only one male plus-size model walked the runway this year. 

While there is a market for the big and tall, plus-size men are under-represented in the media. It’s time for the runways and other ads to reflect that, especially since the plus-size menswear market set to grow over 22 percent to 2022.

Men and Body Image

Body shaming, eating disorders, and many other complications linked to societal standards have been something that women struggled with and fought against for a very long time. Celebrities from all backgrounds have come together to promote body positivity – a social movement that believes everyone should feel good about the body they’re in. The goal is to fight against beauty standards that profit from insecurity and social pressure.

Now that there’s awareness of this pressing issue, unrealistic body ideals enforced by the media are being challenged. In 2016 Mattel released a new line of Barbie dolls under the name “Fashionistas” with three different body shapes, and model agencies are hiring more models of different sizes. Now women of all shapes and sizes are normalized and celebrated in pop culture. Unfortunately, we forgot men. 

While the body positivity movement was primarily directed towards women and the features that weren’t widely accepted, such as cellulite, stretch marks, skin folds, or body hair, it isn’t to say that men don’t also deal with body image issues.

Causes and Symptoms of Male Body Image Disorders

While the beauty industry places a lot of pressure on women to be in shape and look their best, it’s not much different for men. Often from a young age, boys are influenced by how they should look from their favorite movies and action figures, and strive to achieve certain build through sports and other activities. With the rise of social media use, there’s more exposure to ideal physics. 

The unattainable standards lead men to feel inadequate and take on extreme measures to reach their goals. Dissatisfaction with body weight and muscularity can lead to overexercising, eating disorders, and steroid abuse. Symptoms include (but aren’t limited to):

• Obsessive body concerns
• Significant weight gain or loss
• Eating very small or very large amounts of food
• Drugs abuse such as steroids, or consumption of diet supplements or laxatives

Studies show that not only are men prone to depression and suicide due to poor body image, but they’re more reluctant to see the help. It’s about time we raise awareness and advocate for male body positivity as well. 

Ryan’s Secret

On February 12th, 2020, New York Fashion Week was taken over by the world’s first-ever male body positivity fashion show. Ryan’s Secret is a plus-size men’s underwear runway to raise awareness of weight-related stigma against men and to celebrate guys of all shapes and sizes. The theme is a parody of “Victoria’s Secret” where instead of wings and glitter, the male models dressed up as gods.  

Fifteen plus-size men took to the runway, modeling underwear and making history with their statement: men’s curves matter, too. One model, Daniel Jean, walked confidently while donning royal purple satin. “Yeah, I’m body positive,” he said. “I think it’s a good message to show people that you love your body, you love yourself.”

The creative director and designer of the project, Myriam Chalek, aimed to bring awareness to young men who experience body shaming and bullying. If you ask us, she succeeded. By showing the world how the media is negatively impacting them, men will learn to love and accept themselves despite what society says. 

Conclusion

Whether we realize it or not, men are just as heavily judged by their bodies or how they dress as much as women. Now that body positivity has shaken the beauty and fashion industry for women; it’s men’s turn to be represented.