THE JOURNAL
What, this old thing? Of all the trends we’ve seen in menswear over the past couple of years, there has been one constant: aged and well-loved clothing. The likes of Austin Butler, Jeremy Allen White and Jacob Elordi are often spotted wearing pieces that look as though they’ve previously seen action on a dusty ranch. But what is it about vintage clothes that’s so appealing? Is it tapping into a lifestyle that isn’t our own? Or just that these clothes have seen some things before they reach us.
This season, the lived-in trend is a big part of the menswear offering. The trouble with vintage clothing, though, is that it can take decades to reach that desirable pre-loved state. There are, of course, plenty of ways to speed up the process. The most obvious – and perhaps most overused in the 2010s – was ripping jeans, with some pairs taking the distressed look to its absolute extreme.
As the appetite for pre-loved clothing has grown, more designers have started incorporating this sense of wear and tear into their new collections. The result is a growing number of clever and creative ways of treating garments, from fading and distressing to manipulating fabrics, all in pursuit of that elusive vintage look.
The different processes of visually ageing clothes lie within three main groups: physical or mechanical distressing, chemical distressing and surface ageing. Each of these have, in turn, a wide variety of techniques within them – and the best examples can be found on MR PORTER. Read our explainer, below.
01. Mechanical ageing
Probably the most common way of imitating years of natural wear and tear. Many of us have even tried it in some form ourselves one time or another. The process is fairly simple: apply physical force to manipulate the surface of a garment or accessory. The most obvious example is taking a sharp edge to jeans to create tears and rips. Another is using an abrasive surface to buff a pair of white sneakers, taking away some of that pristine brightness.
Abrasive processes are often used on leather jackets, too. This season, our very own Mr P. introduced a distressed leather jacket. “The leather is hand-treated, with particular areas carefully distressed to define and highlight the seams,” says Emily Grieves, Design Manager for Mr P. “The abrasion marks and softened edges introduce a sense of use, giving the piece a lived-in character to age beautifully over time.”
It’s a considered way of creating the kind of worn-in look that would otherwise take years to develop naturally, giving us that much sought-after vintage effect from day one.
02. Surface ageing
Surface ageing involves several different techniques. Last spring/summer, we saw plenty of naturally sun-bleached pieces, where garments were left out for days on end, slowly fading under the glare of the sun. Another popular process is over-washing, which speeds up a fading process that would otherwise take years. This technique is particularly common in military and workwear, with Japanese brands such as A.PRESSE and ssstein repeatedly producing garments treated in this way.
Chemical ageing is another way of recreating the marks that naturally appear through years of wear. Denim, for example, often comes with whiskering and tacking already worked in – the creases and folds that form as the fabric rubs together when we walk, sit or move. Chemical treatments can artificially accelerate this process, creating those familiar signs of wear without having to wait for them to develop naturally.
03. Dyeing and treating
Garment-dyed products are becoming increasingly prevalent on the menswear runways. Brands such as Dries Van Noten, Auralee and Our Legacy offering a wide variety of pieces treated in this way. It’s another way of giving a garment a more weathered appearance. It can be particularly useful for more delicate fabrics that wouldn’t respond well to being washed repeatedly.
While different dyeing techniques can give you a weathered but still relatively clean vintage effect, you can also go in the opposite direction and deliberately make clothes look “dirty”. The most obvious way to do this might be through paint splatters. Enfants Riches Déprimés has been known to take it a step further, using clay to mark fabrics and give them a genuinely grubby, lived-in appearance.