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In the GQ offices, this time of year portends more than just apple picking and crunchy leaves: it means a fresh slate of fall fashion trends to help us really start dressing. Every autumn, we thank our sweaty T-shirts and shorts for their service, set them aside in favor of fuzzy sweaters and hefty jeans, and barrel toward new sartorial horizons at full speed. Which begs the question: What do we see coming around the bend in 2024?
To answer just that, we polished off our crystal ball (and, uh, mixed our analogies), and peered intently into its murky depths to suss out 11 men’s fashion trends way more exciting than pies or foliage.
Okay, so said crystal ball is actually the GQ Recommends braintrust—we’re a little more calculated than a mystical orb, and a lot less cursed than ChatGPT—but the point stands. To predict the can’t-miss menswear moves of the season, we scoured runway stills, street style shots, and our very own mood boards to make sense of where the state of our highly-specific union is headed next. Take a look, glean what you will, and start shifting your fits into high gear.
PREDICTION 1: Chunkier-Than-Thou Knit Hoodies
I’m not talking about heavyweight hoodies like those from Camber. The hoodies that are coming down the pipeline are made of thick-gauge wools with enough tooth to hold their structure, not the tissue-thin cashmere variety with flimsy hoods that look like unfilled dumplings. For whatever reason, these cozy miracles were usually reserved for the women’s section but we’re glad to see them styled on the fellas. Think of them as the next evolution stemming from the fuzzy cardigan epoch we’ve been living in for the last few years. You can bet on seeing them mixed with button-ups and pressed trousers, over grungy graphic tees and roughed-up jeans. —Gerald Ortiz
PREDICTION 2. Barnin’ Up
Whether you’re a hardcore chore coat stan or consider yourself a good friend, its close cousin has been gaining traction. The barn jacket’s New England vibes lends itself well to the current autumnal season, so be prepared to see a lot of dusty canvas jackets amidst the falling leaves. —GO
PREDICTION 3. A Touch of Suede
For fall, there appears to be quite the appetite for rich and sumptuous textures, never more obviously so than in the handsome array of suede outerwear on offer. While it’s perfectly advisable to go all in and get a hero piece (a luxe suede jacket is timeless to any fall capsule wardrobe), exemplary brown suede sneakers from brands like Miu Miu and Adidas have made the case for adding the nappy leather sparingly. While those collabs have long been sold out, there’s plenty more texture where that came from. —Michael Nolledo
PREDICTION 4. Crewneck Cardigans
There’s plenty of swervy knitwear moves you can make as the leaves change, but the best one this season is the most simple. The rise of the men’s crewneck cardigan is here, and like the demure assurance of a grandmother, it can support your fits like no other sweater can. The simple tweak of the neckline gives you more occasions to wear them than your standard cardi, whether open or buttoned all the way up for a purposeful take on the classic crewneck sweater. You don’t have to add pearls, but we wouldn’t be mad if ya did. —MN
PREDICTION 5. ‘Ton: Legacy
Remember Harrington jackets, those fusty zip-ups style gods of a certain era (think McQueen in that one photo reblogged a zillion times on Tumblr) couldn’t get enough of? They’re all kinds of cool now, mostly because the brands behind them have shorter memories than you, and they’re brazen enough to disregard the silhouette’s origins entirely. J.Crew makes a ridiculously luxe version crafted from luscious Italian suede, Prada sells a reliably Italian riff with minimal extra hardware, but the real nail in the coffin of the Harrington’s clean-cut reputation might be this icy Kool-Aid-blue joint from Baracuta, an OG of the genre that’s ready to let its hair down. —Avidan Grossman
PREDICTION 6. Electric Argyles
Argyle used to be the preserve of misty-eyed academics or the type of pencil-pushers who pronounce the ‘h’ in white. These days, the pattern still adorns plenty of sweaters, but its attitude is more punk than preppy (think shaggy mohair polos or oversized crewnecks in the perfect shade of scuzzy greige). The only outlier here? Bottega Veneta, where Matthieu Blazy and his team of fabric wizards render a classic V-neck silhouette in impossibly supple calfskin, a perfect leather jacket for the gerontocracy—or the cool kids who can afford to jack their style. —AG
PREDICTION 7. Rollin’ in the Deep
Not quite a turtleneck, not quite a crewneck. The rollneck sweater lets you protect ya neck that’s just a little bit Banshees of Inisherin and a whole lot less Dwayne Johnson. In the summer we all want to dress like a gardener, but I’m thinking that this coming fall we’re going to be seeing a whole lot of fisherman—even if we’re not near any bodies of water. —Tyler Chin
PREDICTION 8. Three Kids In a Topcoat
If you’re catching on that menswear moves are either long or short, no in-between, then welcome to the party. Like my colleague pointed out, there are only two coat lengths now, and we’ve mentioned the shorter one. Option two: let it hit your knees. Nothing’s more dramatic than watching a person in a flowing, unbuttoned coat going swoosh-swoosh as they walk down the street looking for a place to score a bacon-egg-and-cheese. —TC
PREDICTION 9. Oxford Education
In the halcyon days of my high school years, I owned too many Oxford shirts to count. (It was the height of the #menswear craze, and I refuse to apologize for it.) Now I own two: both Brooks Brothers, both from the ’80s, both equipped with the kind of long, snaking collar roll that makes a very specific clothing fan quiver with excitement. Oxford cloth button downs (or OCBDs) have lived a hundred lives since I was a teen—at their lowest, shrunken to stingy-collared cartoon proportions. But a new crop of brands is committed to making them like they used to. —AG
PREDICTION 10. Does Your Bracelet Have the Time
One of the best things I bought this year was a teeny-tiny Seiko bracelet watch from the ’70s, which is definitely more bracelet than watch and all the better for it. It’s a women’s model, but I have dainty wrists—and these days, the gals are beating the guys at their own game, anyway. If the coos of delight my new watch-let elicits are any indication, small watches will only be getting bigger in 2024. —AG
PREDICTION 11. Belt It Out
Women have long known that a belt’s ability to keep pants from crashing to the ground is the least of its benefits. In 2024, guys will finally see belts as something closer to jewelry—a fancy flourish on par with an icy necklace, wild sunglasses, or new shoes. I’m talking about belts adorned with studs, painted in vibrant colors, and sculpted in ways that belie their ability (or lack thereof) to battle gravity. —GO
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