The big GQ guide to Spring/Summer 2023 menswear trends

The best-dressed guys are the guys who get ahead. And with Spring/Summer 2023 on the horizon (thank God), those guys have already started incorporating the main trends from Paris, Milan, London and New York into their wardrobes. And with all those big runway drops trickling into stores as speak, now is the perfect time.

From going shirtless under your office wear, sleeveless in the summer sun to the ever-increasing expanse of baggier, billowing jeans and sexed-up short shorts, we’ve got you covered (well, apart from your arms, but that's Spring/Summer baby!)

Justin Bieber's was pushing baggy jeans for the best part of 2022, as was Pete Davidson. Now, the biggest brands are going bigger still on billowing denim. From floor-skimming, roomy jeans at Louis Vuitton to denim that sits tighter at the thigh and loose and lofty at the hems (JW Anderson), jeans are only going to get bigger for 2023. The best bit? They're mad, mad, mad comfy.

Perhaps inspired by the recent surge in quality sci-fi films (Dune, Moonfall, The Adam Project et al) – or maybe our favourite designers just got together to stream some classic Star Trek episodes – high-shine galactic metallics have been given plenty of air time on the catwalk. British designer Bianca Saunders presented boxy suiting in eye-catching silver lamé (shoes to match), Etro's shirting was floaty and dazzling, while Erdem presented sleeveless tops embellished with sparkling sequins and paired up trousers.

Remember when Kanye West went shirtless under his Louis Vuitton suit at the Miami wedding of 2 Chainz and Kesha Ward? Well, while the Internet might've roasted him as it always does, but designers cottoned on and made it next season's big trend.

Tiger of Sweden presented slim-fit suiting with nothing underneath, burgeoning London-based designer Ahluwalia made the case for waistcoats worn with bare chests, while Mrs Donatella Versace sent models strutting down the catwalk in gaudy, baroque-printed suits, with plenty of chest flesh flashing. Elsewhere Fendi proposed spezzatos (broken suits) sans shirts and plenty of ab air time, Saint Laurent's suits had deliberately wide lapels to ensure pecs were given their moment, as were McQueen's, while Dolce and Gabbana flashed a little upper torso skin.

While the workplace might've largely ditched the neck tie – here at GQ we aren't required to wear them, while City giants like JP Morgan also no longer have strict dress codes – the menswear shows were awash with them. More fashion than inner city banker, Kenzo and Nigo presented them with matching collegiate striped shirting (Paul Smith too); Dries Van Noten heralded the return of the Pete Doherty skinny tie; Dolce and Gabbana tucked theirs into high-waisted trousers (a mood); Moschino went hell for pattern-slashing while Canali served prep school pastels. But it was MSGM who really pushed for the neck tie, putting models in not just one, but two of the formalwear staples.

You've probably seen the pictures of Ryan Gosling shooting Barbie: The Movie (if you haven't where have you been?), stomping around Los Angeles in matchy-matchy double denim. Well, that's about to be all of us if the men's shows were anything to go by. Doubled-up (and even tripled) denim bottoms and tops were all the rage in the collections, with Glenn Martens' Y/Project presenting rinse-washed ponchos under long-line denim trenches and worn with jeans, Prada serving tucked in Western-style shirts into straight-cut jeans and Givenchy pushing sleeveless vests and ripped denim bottoms.

Elsewhere Craig Green revealed bib-like denim vests and billowing jeans and MSGM went big on tie-dye denim. Casablanca and Moschino also showed Buffalo Bill style aplenty, with denim chaps and jeans hoisted with Western belts.

Oh the mighty crop top. Once solely worn by the likes of y2k icons Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Dennis Rodman, the cut-off has become a must-have in menswear. Justin Bieber loves them, as does Evan Mock, but so do the world's biggest designers.

Case in point: MSGM was all about cut-off shirting in June, while peak prepster brand Thom Browne pushed for the same. Alled Martinez, the super sexy Spanish label, said yes to pant-flashing tees, as did Mowalola and Celine, while at Wooyoungmi broken suits were given a sexed-up edge by way of sheer and cropped T-shirts.

Magenta, lilac, mauve and juniper: the men's collections were painted every hue of purple. Saint Laurent's all-black collection was interrupted by a single magenta belted jacket, Louis Vuitton proposed the wear of boxy deep mauve monogrammed two-pieces, while Georgio Armani wants you to play around with hues (juniper and Iris), as well as textures (silk, satin and velvet). Elsewhere Kenzo's all about contrasting stripes in jam and violet, while Canali wants you to wear suiting in blush lavender.

Ah, the V-neck! It runs the risk of being stuffy, or something your old man would wear, but now it's a high fashion favourite. The V-neck has many advantages over its crew neck cousins. It makes wearing a T-shirt under your jumper look intentional rather than accidental and when worn with a suit, its cut-out shape just so happens to work with the shirt-and-tie combination.

Loewe's about the slouchy fit of an oversized V, Ami has pushed for argyle knits worn under contrasting leathers and sweatpants and Dolce and Gabbana is all for see-through, sexy Vs. At Etro we saw the most chest-flashing V-necks of all the brands, while Saint Laurent's came in at a close second (necessary in the heat of the Moroccan desert where the show was held). Kenzo opted for V-neck sweater vests – bit of arm, a little chest – and Armani's were more office-appropriate, worn neatly under louche suiting.

Short shorts that sit just above the knee are no new thing. Donald Glover's rocking them all around New York City, while Elton John cemented himself as a style icon in them in the mid-Eighties. Well, what's different now? They're even shorter than before, that's what.

Prada's are the sort of thing you'd catch guys in at Berlin metroclub Berghain, Ami went for micro safari pants and Bianca Saunders presented geometric patterned shorties that fell mid-thigh. Emporio Armani's shorts were retro-inspired and the sort of thing you'd find David Beckham training in back in 1998, while Irish designer Robyn Lynch served spangly sunflower cut-offs. Wales Bonner's had a sporty heritage feel to them, and Tiger Of Sweden's were functional (black goes with everything, right?) and thigh muscle flaunting.

Think summer stripes and you probably think of swashbuckling sea farers in Breton tees. Well, think again because SS'23's sunshine stripes are anything but.

At Emporio Armani striped smock-necked baggy tees were worn with matching trousers, oversized horizontally-striped trousers dominate Dries Van Noten's collection, while at Dolce and Gabbana striped and low-cut V-neck polo shirts were half-tucked into trousers. At Etro metallic shirting was pinstriped, Prada's skin-tight knits were given the treatment, while at Canali cardigans came with striped detailing in a sort of The Talented Mr Ripley vibe. At Kenzo creative director Nigo reimagined the striped suit, serving up an oversized preppy suit not unlike those seen in the Harrow and Eton school grounds.

Designers have long been obsessed with the wear of Buffalo Bill, Billy The Kid et al, but arguably this season they rode the Wild West runaway train like never before. Givenchy went buckin' bronco sleeveless, Casablanca served tassled suit jackets and denim chaps (same at Greg Lauren), Dries Van Noten dished out silk Western shirts and matching slacks and British designer Wales Bonner, who showed at Pitti Uomo for the first time, presented suede jackets that were cinched at the waist.

It was at Thom Browne that the Western heat really surfaced. Here the American designer took the assignment seriously and sent models strutting down the runway in chaps, cowboy hats and cropped and sleeveless denim vests. Yee haw.

With weather forecasters predicting that the months between May and September are only going to get warmer following this year's hottest summer on record in the UK, you might have expected designers to have taken note. Well, no. Instead they're pushing you to ignore the heat (how?!) and slip into garb made from leather. Proof could be found in the extraordinary array of leathers (in a wide display of colours) on display on the runways in London, Milan and Paris.

Dunhill's Mark Weston proposed leather blazers, buttoned up and worn over tees, at Alexander McQueen the brand's signature denim jumpsuit was replaced by a belted leather one, while at Fendi leather chore jackets came oversized and ready for, well, the heat?

Elsewhere at Louis Vuitton bomber jackets were crafted from supple leather and were worn under harnesses and Brit designer and former Balenciaga alum Martine Rose matched thick leather button-up vests with high-shine stomper boots. Prada's micro-shorts came in calfskin, while Saint Laurent, which staged its show in 40 degree climes in the Agafay desert, layered leather trench coats over pussy bow blouses.

Going sleeveless like Hulk Hogan has been rippling in menswear for some time. Last season brand's quietly pushed for it, while the likes of Evan Mock and Shawn Mendes barely ever wear sleeves. At the men's shows in June there were more sleeveless looks than ever before, with Brunello Cucinelli presented gilets worn with shorts, while Dior and Kim Jones made a strong case for nipple-showing, translucent sleeveless vests. At Etro carefully embroidered vests were worn with trousers (and bare feet!) and at Emporio Armani bare arms were all in the name of sport. Kenzo has super-tight sweater vests, while Versace had rib-clinging cut-out vests tucked into loose-fit trousers. Our advice? Should you go sleeveless, don't forget to moisturise.

In the wake of a pandemic, which saw the shutting of night clubs, restaurants and bars across the world, the clothing presented in the past few seasons wasn't as colourful as we've often seen, reflective of our stay-at-home lifestyles. Now though designers are back to their best and the SS'23 collections are begging to be worn out for all to see.

Full of colour, the likes of Louis Vuitton, Versace, Dsquared2 and Paul Smith served garments in technicolour hues of acid yellow, neon pink and sweet orange. Rick Owens went even further proposing that it's time to envelope yourself in lucid pink. Why not?