When did you last wear a suit? For a job interview, perhaps? A wedding, a funeral, or even – gulp – a court appearance? In the past couple of decades, the suit has suffered a seemingly irreversible decline, from its status as the cornerstone of the male wardrobe to its current position as an ‘also-ran’ contender; in the open-necked, cashmere-hoodied environs of the modern office, as many as one in five men don’t even own one.

But like other phenomena whose death has been declared – painting, vinyl, even the beard – it seems we’re not quite done with it yet. The suit may have been out of fashion, but fashion now has its eye on the suit. The spring/summer 2019 catwalks were full of tailoring, but not as we know it – these were suits with a sportswear twist, in loose, slouchy cuts, vibrant colours, and performance fabrics, with eye-catching detailing and a far-from-formal attitude. Today’s tailoring trends are less suited-and-booted than suited-and-sneakered.

Double-Breasted, Reimagined

The double-breasted suit – buttoned-up livery for senior bankers, right? Wrong. “Today’s double-breasted cuts take their shapes from the 1970s and ‘80s, and are much lighter and freer in the way they’re worn,” says Timothy Everest, the tailor and designer who’s long-married the notions of smart-casual; his new venture, MbE (which stands for Made by Everyone), offers everything from bespoke Harrington jackets to luxury cargo trousers.

For spring/summer 2019, Kim Jones at Dior offered pastel-coloured DB tailoring with floral details, while Dunhill’s blazers came in silk and leather; its clean-silhouetted minimalism echoed Brunello Cucinelli’s celebrated, easeful “one-and-a-half-breasted” jackets. “Everything’s cyclical, and after years of streetwear, I think men want to look handsome again,” says Everest. “Younger guys are cottoning on to that, but in their own way – the new suits are an elevated, luxe version of the streetwear styles they already know.”