The “What Fashion Designers Think Men Want” meme pokes fun at the sometimes ridiculous and impractical clothing that high fashion designers create for men. The meme suggests that fashion designers are out of touch with what average men actually want to wear on a daily basis.
Origins of the Meme
The meme likely originated sometime in the early 2010s as a reaction to avant-garde men’s fashion shows featuring strange and esoteric designs. Some examples include huge fur coats, aggressively tailored suits with extreme shoulders, and avant-garde accessories like face jewelry or impossibly tall platform shoes.
The meme often features images from high fashion runways shows paired with captions highlighting how ridiculous and unusable the outfits seem. The captions suggest that fashion designers think average men want to wear these bizarre designer creations, when in reality most men prefer simple, comfortable, and functional clothing.
What the Meme Gets Right
The “What Fashion Designers Think Men Want” meme taps into some truths about the disconnect between avant-garde high fashion and mainstream men’s style preferences:
- Many high fashion shows do feature strange and exaggerated designs that are not meant to be worn in real life. These are artistic, conceptual pieces that push boundaries.
- Most men do tend to prefer simpler wardrobe staples that are versatile, durable, and comfortable for daily wear.
- High fashion houses likely create conceptual runway designs more for the spectacle, artistry, and press attention rather than commercial viability.
What the Meme Misses
However, the meme also oversimplifies some aspects of men’s fashion design:
- High fashion houses create both avant-garde conceptual pieces and more accessible, wearable designs sold at retail.
- Many men do enjoy fashion as a creative form of self-expression through style.
- Designers take inspiration from street style and youth culture to create commercially viable collections.
- Personal style preferences vary greatly across cultures, income levels, professions, ages, and individual tastes.
Appeal of the Meme
Part of the popularity of this meme lies in the fact that many people can relate to the disconnect between conceptual high fashion and everyday clothing reality. Some reasons it resonates:
- Humor: The exaggerated impracticality of the high fashion designs paired with the suggestion that designers think average men want this is funny.
- Relatability: Most men cannot relate at all to the avant-garde conceptual pieces, making the meme amusingly accurate about mainstream preferences.
- Mockery of Elitism: The meme mocks the fashion industry as being blind, elitist, and out of touch with the masses.
Critiques and Counterpoints
Some counterpoints about the meme’s portrayal of fashion designers include:
- Designers likely create avant-garde runway pieces knowing they are not meant for real world wearability, rather as an artistic showcase.
- Mass market and luxury designers do try to balance creativity with retail viability in production collections.
- Personal style varies immensely across cultures, income brackets, ages and tastes – no single look defines “what men want.”
- Many everyday men enjoy expressing creativity and personality through fashion choices.
Key Audiences
Some audiences who may find this meme especially funny or interesting include:
- Men: Both fashion-conscious and more pragmatic dressers would likely relate to the meme’s suggestion about mainstream preferences.
- Fashion Insiders: Industry people may laugh at the disconnect between conceptual artistry and retail realities.
- Comedy Fans: The meme’s exaggerated humor highlights the impracticality of avant-garde fashion in an amusing way.
- Art Critics: As commentary on the occasionally pretentious fine art world, the meme suggests fashion’s creative expressions are often meaningless.
- Counterculture Groups: Anti-elitist sentiments who feel high fashion is out of touch may appreciate the meme’s mockery.
Interesting Angles to Explore
Some interesting angles around this meme could include:
- A listicle of the most exaggerated and impractical high fashion men’s looks.
- An evaluation of diversity and representation in mainstream men’s fashion images.
- A debate about high fashion vs. accessible style and striking the right balance.
- Interviews with real men about their everyday style preferences and shopping habits.
- An analysis of how social media is democratizing men’s style and giving rise to new trends.
The Bottom Line
While meant humorously, the “What Fashion Designers Think Men Want” meme does speak to real gaps that can exist between conceptual high fashion and mainstream style preferences. However, the diversity of men’s style is vast and constantly evolving thanks to street style influences and shifting social norms around gender expression. In reality, there is no singular archetype for “what men want” – all that matters is wearing what makes you feel most confident and authentic.
