The Indie Sleaze Skinny Suit Is Back
Will the debate about whether the suit has died ever end? Likely not. Politicians, bankers, and my editor Alex Bilmes – who I’ve never not seen in the office without a suit – would argue they’re never going away. Streetwear stalwart Jaden Smith would probably say otherwise.
On Tik Tok, those making OOTDs inspired by the musician The Dare would be on the former’s side. To the soundtrack of the artist’s song ‘Girls’, Gen Z transition from everyday ensembles into a black suit, tie and sunnies; the on-stage outfit Harrison Smith is notorious for. One video with the hashtags #dare #fashion has 11.5 million views.
Yet these two takes on suiting are not the same. The Dare’s is distinctively skinny, the width of his tie emulating the very slim silhouette of his trouser leg. While my editor’s choice is more suited to meetings with Very Important People, this style harks to a 2000s Albert Hammond Jr. or Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos. If a band frontman from 2002 walked down Saville Row today, this is the type of suit they’d have tailored.
“The Strokes with the small blazers, skinny ties, jeans and Converse; The Hives in all black with a white belt and white skinny tie; Interpol did the gothic Ian Curtis/Joy Division military feel; Muse and Green Day made it into more like a punk uniform... I could go on and on!” says Piper Ferguson over email, an L.A.-based photographer and author of ‘Indie/Seen’ who shot a lot of the look’s frontmen during the 2000s.
“It was about blue-collar kids in the UK wanting to feel special, stylish, respected, well dressed,” she continues about why the look was adopted during that period.
Skinny suits and ties have a long history in the wardrobes of rock 'n roll stars, notoriously claimed by The Beatles in the sixties but equally as synonymous with mods. But really, it seemed the 2000s take was more reactionary.
“They dressed up to be taken seriously and feel good about themselves. Peter Meaden [a publicist/manager for The Who] coined the phrase: ‘Clean living under difficult circumstances.’ Even if you came from a trailer park, it didn’t mean you couldn’t put a tie on and up your game.”
“We are always drawn to the opposite of what came before,” says Mark Knox of @brit_cult. “If you look at the early noughties in fashion, the alternative indie scene had two real looks: the baggy nu-metal vibe seen on the likes of Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park, and then what we later came to describe as normcore – jeans and a t-shirt – from the likes of Travis, Starsailor and Coldplay.”
“So, when The Strokes arrived in suits and Converse everyone took notice. Suits can be seen as stuffy and corporate, but actually when everyone was dressed down in baggy cargos and oversized skate shirts, it really stood out and looked very rock and roll.”
And (The) Dare I say, it was very indie sleaze – a ‘trend’ you'e likely heard of over the last few years. But unlike many of its defining hallmarks, which are always reported on yet haven’t trickled down into many wardrobes, skinny suits and ties are actually appearing in real life.
Esquire’s Style Director Johnny Davis noted how many he saw at Glastonbury this year when I first pitched the story – many hoping to have been mistaken for Julian Casablancas, I’m sure.
Outside of muddy fields, the look has reached high fashion. Demand for men’s ties has increased by +479% on Mr Porter over the last three months, while on the catwalks, Giorgio Armani, Gucci and Paul Smith had them at the autumn/winter ’24 shows. Even on the red carpet, Joe Alwyn and Franz Rogowski have been rocking the ensemble.
“I don’t think everyone will start wearing skinny suits and ties everywhere they go, but will the look return to the club and for ‘going out,” says Knox.
“The mix of casual with sharpness will definitely return. Remember in the early noughties, when people would match a striped shirt and skinny tie with a jumper, jeans and Converse? Think: Steve Jones in the T4 days; Seth Cohen on The OC. I think this look looks sharp and fresh again in contrast to the styles of the last few years.”
“I also think a slimmer silhouette will return to fashion. This doesn’t make the ‘I nEvEr StOpPeD wEaRiNg SkInNy JeAnS’ millenial crowd cool. I don’t think there will be a return to the spray on Topman jeans but to a vintage, skinnier style of denim and a sharper cut of a suit.”
Perfecting this means you need to get sleazy. Match your slimline trousers with a pointed dress shoe, and leave that top button undone. Why not go the full Miles Kane and get a mod cut. But with thanks to this look, it seems there’s life in the old suit yet.
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