A classic navy suit might still be a Monday-to-Friday staple for some office-goers, but the new normal of corporate attire creates more space to share your fashion-forward sense with colleagues and peers.
Odessa Paloma Parker selects six spring collections that highlight how subtle tweaks to texture, volume and pattern can make you excited about getting dressed for work again.
From the women’s collections
Smythe
Toronto-based Smythe, which recently opened its first store in Calgary’s Chinook Centre, champions a style that could best be described as “corporate maximal.” Work wardrobe staples – blazers, blouses, trousers – are amped up through the use of boisterous patterns including all manner of checks and feisty florals. A vibrant wallpaper-scale flower motif looks fresh and accessible when it’s splashed across a one-button blazer with a subtly pouffed sleeve detail (think Poor Things-lite). The brand has been taking cues from those newly entering the workforce, touting an angular jacket style dubbed the ‘90s Blazer that’s suitable for Gen Zs going retro, and Gen Xers feeling nostalgic.
Max Mara
Office separates have come a long way, and Max Mara is pushing the agenda even further. The Italian brand’s collection relies on sophisticated layering, colour-blocking saturated hues and the use of evocative materials such as canvas and silk to give it depth. But it’s the shapes including well-tailored safari silhouettes that make these clothes stand out. A patch pocket pencil skirt in aubergine, for example, was styled for Max Mara’s Milan runway with an outsized navy shirt worn over a light blue button-down. Later in the show, a billowy, sand-hued canvas blouse was worn with a chartreuse coloured straight-fit gabardine skirt. Unexpected? Yes. But ultimately, anyone wearing these bold picks means business.
Lemaire
Many of us have become accustomed to wearing baggier silhouettes in the last handful of years, and the thought of reconfining oneself to sleek tailoring might make some uneasy to say the least. Parisian brand Lemaire had the perfect solution to this dilemma: Its newest collection is rife with oversized, flowy, slouchy and baggy shapes. Suits were oversized, and their simplicity is at the core of why these enlarged silhouettes are elegant, not clownish. Novel styling gestures, such as trouser cuffs drawn in with ties to further exaggerate their roominess, also enhanced the feeling of a much-needed unburdening fused with attention to detail. Overall, an easy-breezy mood was in the air – and that’s an attitude that would serve one well in the workplace, too.
From the men’s collections
Paul Smith
Paul Smith is synonymous with selling striking suiting that’s not quite as kooky as Thom Browne but certainly not staid, either. The London-based designer took his novel approach in an admittedly divisive direction for spring, featuring double-breasted blazers (another key trend for the season) with mismatched shorts. The length of the shorts fell just below the blazer’s hem, and that flash of thigh is not for the faint of heart – or most workplaces. But Smith’s lesson here is that the trick to contemporary workwear is to have a cohesive feel, and this, as Smith illustrated, is as simple as sticking to a monochromatic colour palette.
Amiri
Californian creative Mike Amiri saw our affinity for tactile suits and said, why stop there? His latest pieces include metallic-spiked tweeds, wavy woven shirting, retro-inflected light knits and pinstriping punctuated by beaded embellishments. The culmination of these looks ushers in a new wave of dandyism: dressing for success meets dressing for yourself. Even the accessories in this array were chic updates to office standards, including woven backpacks and, instead of pocket squares, large bloom-shaped brooches in their place. Unfussy, unstudied, utterly appealing and quintessentially cool, the vibe exuded here is one of total confidence. And isn’t that the secret to success in a professional setting?
Kith
New York’s Kith has built its name offering sportswear separates and casual pieces such as hoodies. This season, it’s infused tailoring with this insouciant spirit too. Take, for example, a set composed of a shawl-collared, short-sleeved single-breasted shirt paired with straight-cut elasticized waist trousers. A faint pinstripe is really the only thing tethering this ensemble to old school office dressing, yet this doesn’t feel like a radical reimagining of workwear either. It’s taking the best sensibilities from all hours – 9-to-5 and extracurricular – and mixing them together. Fuss-free meets forward-thinking, with a large dose of comfort.
