One would think that when the economy booms and the money rolls in, things would also be looking up for men’s fashion. After all, funds are then available for high-quality, fashion-conscious bespoke suits, and these in turn are excellently suited to maintaining a professional and competent look in business. Yet a look at past trends reveals that it is precisely in times of economic boom that a man tends to reach for rather unconventional and less business-suitable styles.
But why does men’s fashion suffer when the economy is on the rise?
Unconventional men’s fashion during the dotcom bubble
To get to the bottom of this surprising connection between the DAX index and men’s fashion, an example of this unexpected correlation is useful — such as the time before the bursting of the dotcom bubble. Hard to believe, but back then it was chic to wear T-shirts full of holes under expensive suits. To be honest, I still feel queasy today when I think back on it. If one takes a brief look at the background of the DAX crash around the year 2000, this negative trend in men’s fashion becomes more understandable. Fundamentally, the dotcom bubble promised quick profits even for small entrepreneurs thanks to the newly created opportunities in the emerging, accessible internet industry. This combination of hoped-for hefty future profits and a new openness — and the resulting casualness of the New Market via the internet — was reflected in men’s fashion in this unconventional style. A man wanted to stand out and deliberately break the old rules of the business look, in order to bring fresh air not only into the economy but also into men’s fashion. From the perspective of a style-conscious fashion maker, of course without success: the business look suffers. Because how can one make a professional and impressive first impression while wearing a T-shirt full of holes?
The DAX crashes — and the business look is on the rise
When the economic bubble bursts, everything looks different: in bad times, a man must present himself more assertively and fight for contracts and possibly for his job. When things go worse in the economy, a man dresses up more carefully again and is less inclined to break the fashion rules of the business look. Men’s fashion returns to the professional business look, because of course one wants to make a good first impression rather than making a fashion statement straight away and immediately standing out negatively.
The economic high and the low of men’s fashion: a recurring connection
If I look at the DAX highs and the men on the streets today, we are currently heading back onto that same course. So-called „casual Fridays“, on which the usual business outfit of suit and tie may be exchanged for jeans and a T-shirt, have existed in companies for several decades. Yet in the meantime the formal, style-conscious business look has rather become the exception in men’s fashion in new internet companies. Here there are hardly any dress codes any more, and people reach more for polo shirts and jeans. These trends in men’s fashion can be observed even in the business outfits of the giants of the internet industry, such as Mark Zuckerberg. One would never see him appearing in public in a bespoke suit, but rather in a casual, hardly business-suitable combination of blue or black jeans paired with a dark grey T-shirt.
Further reading
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