Once the uniform of emperors and dandies, velvet is staging a quiet revolution on the menswear runways. For Fall/Winter 2025, brands from Emporio Armani to Hermès, Dolce & Gabbana, and Giorgio Armani reached for the plush fabric with renewed interest, translating it into blazers, jackets, trousers, shorts, and even hats.
Velvet has always carried a complex cultural weight. Its softness belies strength; its history—woven through Renaissance courts, 1970s bohemia, and 1990s rock star wardrobes—reflects a material both decadent and democratic. Giorgio Armani’s velvet jackets and trousers, for instance, epitomize how the house continues to incorporate texture into the male wardrobe.
Emporio Armani & Hermès’ sophisticated take introduced velvet suits in a rich palette of earthy tones, lending everyday wear an unexpected gravity. Dolce & Gabbana, never shy of theatricality, leaned into the fabric’s natural drama with sharply cut blazers and shorts that shimmered under the light, a reminder that masculinity need not retreat from opulence.
There’s also a larger cultural subtext at play. As fashion continues to dismantle rigid ideas of masculinity, fabrics like velvet become instruments of subtle rebellion. They invite tactility, emotion, and confidence without performance. To wear velvet today is to acknowledge that luxury lies not in spectacle, but in how something feels against the skin, in movement, in memory.
If the runways are any indication, velvet is no longer reserved for eveningwear or red carpets. It’s entering daylight with ease, reminding us that the most enduring style statements often begin with texture.
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