David Beckham has increasingly strengthened his influence in fashion to the point he’s now dabbling with designing. Photo: Hugo Boss
The recent Met Gala put the spotlight on menswear, but male celebrities were already somehow showing that bold style choices are not just for the red carpet’s leading ladies.
Well-dressed men like Colman Domingo, Timothee Chalamet, Pedro Pascal and more regularly turned heads at awards shows, but beyond that, dandies were getting in on the action with collaborations – or even their own brands.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar was announced as Chanel’s ambassador recently. He featured in the fashion house’s Spring 2025 eyewear campaign.
“Chanel has a timeless legacy, and that is always something I can get behind. Since they don’t make clothes for men, I knew it would have to be glasses,” read his press statement.
Yes, Chanel has never released a menswear line before. Chalamet however, has once starred in a campaign for a Chanel fragrance.
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Kendrick Lamar is somehow the ambassador for a fashion house that does not produce menswear. Photo: ChanelMusician Pharrell Williams (now the creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear, and the Met Gala co-chair) worked with Chanel to release a capsule collection in 2019 though.
To note, artistes Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Future, Usher and Lil Yachty have all successfully incorporated the more unisex Chanel designs in their looks.
Last month, it was announced that footballer David Beckham has helped design a collection for Hugo Boss. This is a first for the label.
Marco Falcioni, senior vice president of creative direction at Hugo Boss, noted that working with Beckham has been “absolutely incredible”.
“His passion for fashion is authentic and he has been deeply involved in all aspects of our collaboration,” he said about the style icon.
“We had a lot of fun during the shared design process, and the result is this remarkable collection of timeless pieces that exude effortless confidence.”
Beckham is known for his passion for dressing up. He has had a long-running collaboration with eyewear manufacturer Safilo.
“It’s allowed me to really get into the detail of the pieces and to create a wardrobe of looks that aim to be effortlessly stylish and suit a range of occasions,” he said about the Hugo Boss endeavour.
Singer Justin Bieber has been teasing fans on his Instagram account about his new clothing brand, Skylrk.
This has been going on for several years, but the past month or so saw more posts that included pictures of marketing shots and product mockups.
He has been photographed out in public wearing Skylrk designs – neon slides and basketball-style sneakers in 2023, and a pink beanie in January this year.
Bieber once had a brand, Drew House, which he co-founded together with stylist Ryan Good back in January 2019.
He then announced on Instagram last month that he is no longer associated with Drew House, even going so far as to throw shade at it while promoting Skylrk.
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In February, it was announced that ASAP Rocky took on the role as Ray-Ban’s first creative director (he was also a Met Gala co-chair).
“For nearly 80 years the brand has been on the faces of the most iconic musicians, artistes, actors and heroes – shaping and reshaping the status quo, leading cultural revolutions of all the times,” Ray-Ban president, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, stated.
Rocky is an ambassador for Bottega Veneta. Last year saw him starring in a Father’s Day campaign for the fashion house together with his two young sons.
He has also designed shoes for Puma as creative director, plus staged a runway show at Paris Fashion Week last year under his creative agency AWGE.
With such male stars now shaping trends both on and off the runway, it is clear that menswear is no longer just following fashion – but leading, in its own way.
