Reigning Men Part Two: The Fashioning

Yesterday we took a look at some of the more sedate styles at LACMA’s Reigning Men exhibition. Today: the wild ones.

The highlight here is an exceedingly rare zoot suit, one of the only such suits still extant. As we wrote a few months ago, it was purchased at auction, and LACMA is making the pattern publicly available so it can be studied and recreated.

Some other favorites:

• A suit made entirely of tie silk for the runway just a few years ago, and a smoking jacket made of cigar silk a hundred years ago.

• Thom Browne’s literalized deerstalker cap – complete with deer horns.

• A motorcyclist’s leathers from the 1950s that would look just as at home on a leather enthusiast in the 1980s.

If you’re in Los Angeles, Reigning Men runs through August 21st. You can see more photos, video and patterns at the exhibition’s website.