“There’s a real difference between confidence and pure ego,” said Mr. Tumidei, a designer who had created his own drop-crotch jeans with deep turned-up cuffs and a laser-printed vest/apron. “Vanity is a double-edged sword,” said Mr. Tumidei, who is in his 30s. It’s only bad when you start to love yourself a little too much.”Just days before Pitti Uomo began, an Hermès men’s wear fashion show had closed out the official return of Fashion Week to Paris (Giorgio Armani in Milan, which preceded it, gets credit for the kickoff) and an enthusiastic return of both an industry and a pursuit that, for all its shortcomings, remains among the most powerful drivers of contemporary culture. Hardly an area of modern life is untouched by fashion, as anyone even glancingly familiar with TikTok, hip-hop, YouTube or the N.B.A. While the pandemic drove the world indoors for safety, an evolutionary desire to preen ourselves proved tough to stifle.

Source: New York Times July 14, 2021 09:00 UTC