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Fashion: When it came to the clothes, the mood was distinctive this Autumn/Winter 2025 menswear season, with a dual focus on creative tailoring and laid-back casualwear. But as male consumers seek versatility and longevity from their clothes, accessories took centre stage this season to inject some personal style and flavour.
Where the looks of previous seasons might have been complemented by leather goods or eyewear for the sake of styling, today’s designers are using accessories to demonstrate the versatility of their clothes — from dressing up a suit, to injecting practicality into a more frivolous look. “Men’s relationship with accessories has definitely shifted. Now, they serve a purpose,” says fashion critic and creator Osama Chabbi. “Not every look is shown with a bag now, so if there is a bag, it’s a huge one that actually fits stuff. If it’s a shoe, it needs to be something you’d want to wear throughout the day.”
Men’s accessories, notably handbags, are having such a strong moment and are in high demand right now, adds Stavros Karelis, founder of London concept store Machine-A. “Equally, other accessories such as neckties or statement belts and caps are performing extremely well, as men are looking to elevate their outfits,” he says.
As market potential grows, Vogue Business breaks down the key trends to note.
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XXL bags
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The AW25 runways were dominated by the giant tote and the weekender. In Milan, models sported capacious bowling bags at Prada, hugged oversized slouchy satchels at Magliano, carried multi-pocket megabags at Dolce & Gabbana and clutched suede earth-tone totes at Giorgio Armani.
In Paris, maximalism was also the mood for Louis Vuitton Men’s creative director Pharrell Williams, who presented a collaboration with A Bathing Ape founder Nigo. Huge monogram weekenders appeared in various shades of pastel and denim this season. At intervals, models even wheeled enormous monogram trunks down the runway, with Japanese tea sets inside and showed off new-age Birkins at Hermès. Rick Owens was also thinking about packing his bags: “Rick Owens’s recent Rimowa tie-up put a new perspective on travel accessories like packing cubes, but also ID lanyards, which showed up as the invite for this season’s Louis Vuitton show,” adds Jian DeLeon, menswear buying director at Nordstrom.
It makes sense. Handbags are “experiencing a resurgence” in menswear, says EDITED fashion and retail analyst Krista Corrigan, adding that leather bag sales have increased 112 per cent year-on-year over the last 12 months, led by shoulder bags and weekender styles. Mini bag sell-outs declined overall, while roomier shopper totes grew significantly, she adds. “This shift towards larger bags is predicted to continue, with totes spotted at Fursac and Dolce & Gabbana for AW25. Retailers also shifted investment away from belt and sling bags,” she says, concentrating instead on more elevated and premium designs, particularly in leather. According to EDITED, sales of nylon styles decreased 34 per cent year-on-year, while leather bag sales grew 24 per cent.
“For the longest time, men have had a hard time justifying bags,” Chabbi says. “But a tote or a weekender you can use practically, at the gym, the office, on a short trip. It is what the client wants today, which is return on investment. You only get that with a bag you can fit stuff in.”
“Larger-than-life bags are making a powerful impact this season — taking form in an array of shapes and silhouettes from the likes of Acne Studios, Amiri, Berluti and more,” adds Daniel Todd, buying director at Mr Porter. “Classic top handle silhouettes have been reimagined with embossed, textured and glossy leathers alongside added pockets, providing for a look that is as unique as it is functional.”
Of course, every trend has balance. And while weekend bags reigned supreme, many looks featured a smaller, more intricate bag stacked on top. We saw denim mini bags rested atop totes at Louis Vuitton, tan leather nano-bags hooked onto matching weekenders at Amiri and shoulder bag-stacked totes at Dolce & Gabbana. “For me, it was a commercial choice, for brands to show the [spectrum] of what’s available from their leather goods,” says Chabbi.
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Slim-soled shoes vs chunky comfort
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Footwear trends are polarised this season, from the chunky to the slick. On the one hand, there’s an embrace of “lower profile silhouettes and sleek slip-ons” for AW25, says Nordstrom’s DeLeon, which is in line with the growing barefoot shoe and retro sneaker trends we’ve seen bubble up over the last year. “The new low-profile Aqua sock-style shoes at Lemaire are an instant favourite for me,” he adds. The style showed up elsewhere, with thin-soled high-tops at Magliano, slight pumps at Yohji Yamamoto, thin-soled, brightly coloured sneakers-cum-boots at Kiko Kostadinov (a new iteration of its collaboration with Asics). Even beyond sneakers, we saw thin-soled, square-toed loafers at Amiri and patent slender flats at Kenzo.
The slim-sole surge checks out, looking at data from EDITED. “Sneaker sell-outs surged 58 per cent over the last year, driven by suede and retro styles,” Corrigan says. Meanwhile, sales in chunky sneakers declined 9 per cent during the same period.
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That said, some designers still went supersize with footwear for added comfort or added drama. At Feng Chen Wang, the designer sent monstrous shoe covers down the runway that resembled Crocs (if they were doubled in size, melted and placed in front of a fan to set). At Comme des Garçons, Oxford shoes were upturned at the toe almost at a right angle. And at Louis Vuitton, Williams and Nigo favoured printed, chunky snow boots in suede and leopard print fur. “There’s a sense of comfort that menswear is craving at the moment,” Chabbi says. He notes Sacai, which debuted its latest Ugg collaboration, with knee-high furry boots and sheepskin-lined ankle styles.
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Neckties and rosettes
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Neckties and scarves were another major trend this season, paired with sharp suiting for a refined, maximalist look or with denim or plaid for a more rugged, outdoorsy aesthetic. From furry neckties at Giorgio Armani and Sacai to silk scarves and paisley neckties at Dunhill and Willy Chavarria.
“Neckties are a huge trend that aligns very well with the [popularity] of tailoring and shirts,” Machine-A’s Karelis says, noting Junya Watanabe’s multiple neckties, paired with plaid shirts and outerwear. Rosettes were another key trend, spotted most notably at Willy Chavarria, with brightly coloured, exaggerated silk rosettes on suiting. And at Kim Jones’s Dior Men show, silk bows adorned the back of suit jackets and coats, while equally as luxe scarves were tied around the eyes.
These additions take a suit from corporate to compelling, Chabbi says. “Menswear is reappropriating corporate codes in a fashion sense today,” he says. “Accessories like the necktie allow consumers to elevate.”
“Auralee’s knit mittens draped over refined tailoring in place of where we would usually envision a scarf were a clever, unexpected detail that caught my eye,” says Mr Porter’s Todd. “It was a small-yet-impactful detail rooted in nostalgia with a contemporary touch.”
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Carabiners, charms and novelties
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Critics and buyers also loved small details like bag charms, carabiners and novelty jewellery, all of which injected a sense of fun into collections this season. At Vuitton, Williams featured scores of bag charms and chains attached to bags and on shoe tags, including a lobster that was inspired by a fishing trip he and Nigo took together where they unexpectedly caught one; as well as a teddy bear wearing a baseball cap and a navy blue fluffy die. While at Dior Men, Jones featured metal trinkets dangling from chains at the hip. Even ahead of the season, EDITED had noted a rise in carabiners and keychains on belt loops over the last 12 months, capitalising on the popularity of bag charms in womenswear, Corrigan says.
Karelis notes Prada’s basketball earrings as a fun accent. While at Sacai, models carried camping-style canteens with carabiners, featuring charms and key chains, Chabbi says, adding that “it gave such a cute and personal touch”. It remains to be seen whether they will be sold separately; but amid the current slowdown, they could pose an entry-level slice of luxury for the Gen Z consumer.
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