Men's fashion in 2026 got adventurous—here's how to experiment with your style

It's only October, and I realise some might consider it premature to declare the defining fashion trend of 2026. But this year has already felt like 32 years compressed into one, so what is time anyway? I'm calling it. Men's fashion has had an adventurous year, with men embracing adornment and dressing with the full intention of being looked at. The brown chinos and polo T-shirts can retire. All hail the return of the peacock!

Padmanabh Singh, better known as Pacho, doesn't reserve his sartorial adventures for the red carpet. His everyday wardrobe makes room for linen shirts, local textiles and jewellery. At this year's Met Gala, where extravagance is practically the dress code, he took things further in an elaborate velvet Phulghar coat created with Prabal Gurung and embroidered by artisans in Jaipur. When I met Pacho in Jaipur for the De Beers Group and Forevermark Diamond Jewellery festive celebration, he wore a crisp white bandhgala with polki buttons.

Vijay Deverakonda was equally enthusiastic about dressing up for his wedding celebrations, with everything from a draped lungi to a sweeping crystal-embroidered cape and a diamond-and-emerald necklace.

Alexander Skarsgård has been indulging his more provocative instincts, spending the Pillion press tour in thigh-high leather boots and other delightfully daring ensembles; he turned up at the London premiere of Wicker this October in a gold Saint Laurent suit, sans shirt, and transparent shoes that left very little to the imagination.

The men I've been dating, meanwhile, seem determined to get every last wear out of theirs. After several underwhelming dates featuring overwashed T-shirts and slippers that pattered like rain on a stormy night, I welcome this newfound enthusiasm for getting dressed. No one expects a man to show up to dinner in a sheer sequin shirt bedazzled with diamonds. Although if he does, we're certainly not asking him to turn around. A man who actually enjoys making an effort would be quite lovely. The bar has been a faint line for far too long.

Bring back the bling

“I'm always wearing earrings. And on every occasion I go out, I'll wear some kind of jewellery, especially with Indian clothes,” says Pacho.

For anyone who still thinks a man wearing a brooch is making a radical fashion statement, portraits from Mughal and Rajput courts offer an extravagant history lesson. Men wore magnificent jewels, elaborate turbans and richly embroidered garments. Somewhere between those portraits and modern dress codes, men's accessory collections seem to have been reduced to a watch and, if he's feeling adventurous, a bracelet.

“I think fashion has been a very steady companion to people in Rajasthan,” says Pacho. His own approach to dressing draws on that history, muck like De Beers Group's initiative Heera Hai Sada Ke Liye although the pleasure of wearing beautiful things is hardly confined to Rajasthan or royal wardrobes.

Charles Melton, who seems equally unconcerned with the idea of limiting his accessories, turned up at this month's Academy Museum Gala in a black ERL Artisanal tailcoat decorated with gold brooches, mismatched earrings and three watches. Cricketer Abhishek Sharma favours diamond studs and a tennis necklace, which he wears on and off the field.

Three watches might be an ambitious starting point. Manglien Gangte, fashion editor at Vogue India, recommends giving one piece the spotlight. “Don't overdo it, take one key piece and let that be the star of the outfit,” he advises. “Wear a diamond brooch on a battered denim jacket, fasten a chunkier earring at the collar of a white T-shirt or wear a diamond tennis bracelet alongside an everyday watch. I like the idea of something incredibly precious being worn with complete nonchalance.”

I quite like the prospect of a diamond brooch on a denim jacket that's seen better days. Jewellery that might otherwise spend months in a velvet-lined box could finally get out and meet people.

The rules are optional

Menswear has been getting playful with its proportions, from cropped shirts and sleeveless tailoring to plunging necklines that leave the chest with very little to hide behind. Ishaan Khatter has been having fun with these conventions, wearing sleeveless shirts with wide-legged trousers and swapping conventional tailoring for leather trousers, a printed tie and lace-up boots.

With tailored trousers, Khatter's shirt and tie would hardly warrant a second look. The leather changes that, and Gangte would take the experiment further. “Break the rules of dressing up by adding a surprising element to your outfit, something that shouldn’t belong. Wear dhoti pants with a T-shirt, wear cummerbunds with a shirt and straight-cut jeans. Lace is also a great fabric for men to experiment with.” A cummerbund with jeans might sound daunting, which is probably why I'd like to see someone try it.

Indian craft doesn't need an occasion

Dhoti pants and T-shirts aren't the only unlikely companions worth considering. “A lot of people often limit craft and textiles to traditional wear,” says Gangte. Yet a kantha-embroidered workwear jacket, a block-printed camp-collar shirt or relaxed trousers cut from ikat would hardly look out of place at lunch, at work or on a date. Labels such as Kartik Research, Kardo and Harago are exploring these possibilities, incorporating Indian handwork into contemporary shirts, jackets and relaxed separates.

Pacho believes that preserving traditional techniques and experimenting with them should go hand in hand. “I don't think that you should lose traditional silhouettes, traditional designs, or traditional techniques. Absolutely not,” he says. The same embroidery techniques that have decorated traditional Indian clothing for generations can find themselves on entirely different garments, while the original silhouettes continue to have their place.

Gangte's easiest suggestions are an indigo bandhani or plain khadi shirt, neither of which needs a festive invitation to make it out of the wardrobe. A kurta doesn't need to become a shirt, but why should a beautiful kalamkari be confined to a kurta in the first place?

Give your pockets a break

Jacob Elordi's handbag collection could probably support an exhibition of its own, while Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland's enviable rotation of Hermès bags became a talking point throughout his FIFA World Cup campaign. Men are increasingly discovering what women have known for decades—a handbag is both useful and an opportunity to accessorise, with the added pleasure of choosing one just because you love how it looks.

“My grandmother got me a beautiful black purse with my initials on it and I used it for many years as my bathroom kit and then carried it as a purse," shares Pacho. It is a lovely reminder that an accessory doesn't have to be new or even originally intended for the purpose you're using it for.

Gangte's list of favourites runs from book and shopping totes to oversized and origami styles. He likes medium-sized shoulder bags for casual daytime dressing and boxy top-handle styles for formal evenings.

And if this enthusiasm for handbags means women are asked a little less often to carry someone else's phone and wallet, I can think of worse developments in men's fashion. If the men in your life need some more inspiration, point them to A$AP Rocky, Lamine Yamal and Role Model.

The pleasure of dressing for yourself

Keeping up with trends in men's fashion can feel like a full-time job. One week the trousers are enormous, the next the shirts barely reach the waist, and before you've figured out how to wear either, there's another trend clawing for your attention. Pacho admits he's usually late to all of it. “I have unfortunately never succeeded in following trends,” he says. He prefers clothes and accessories that have a personal story, often drawing on his family and the traditions he grew up with.

Perhaps before another wardrobe overhaul, it's worth looking through the clothes already in the cupboard, the family wardrobe or that jewellery locker nobody's opened in years. Who knows, you might find something more interesting than whatever the algorithm is trying to sell you this week.

And if one of those discoveries makes it to a date, all the better. That bandhani shirt he's been saving for Diwali could do with a night out, or maybe the embellished blazer that's seen more wedding mandaps than dinner reservations. As for the T-shirt auditioning to become a pochha, perhaps it's finally time to give it the part.

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