Waders you could wear to a gallery opening, vests cropped weirdly short and laden with pockets. I tried the biggest trend in fashion to find out why so many non-fishers are wearing it
I
t was, in the end, a fashion trend awaiting better weather. Now that summer is here, the “fisherman aesthetic”, long heralded as one of the key looks for 2025, has finally arrived. Or has it? Standing on the beach at Hastings, with a stiff wind blowing into my face, I am adding one layer of fishing gear on top of another while holding my fisherman’s hat on my head, gently overheating under a hazy sky.
I’m not sure this is what Vogue had in mind when it predicted that “the menswear customer will take to water, embracing the ‘fisherman aesthetic’” earlier this year. I can’t see anyone else on the beach embracing it. Then again, I can’t see anyone else on the beach.
These early predictions have now hardened into a mantra. “What started as a humble nod to weathered knit sweaters, sturdy boots and utilitarian outerwear has turned into a full-fledged movement,” declared lifestyle website The Velvet Runway. “Practical gear like rainboots, work jackets and canvas totes abound,” said Cosmopolitan. “Less yacht club, more fishing dock,” said InStyle. By the end of March, Veranda magazine felt able to confirm that “the fisherman aesthetic now reigns supreme in both fashion and interior design”.
