The Rise of the “Performative Male”: How Fashion and Culture Have Embraced the Trend
A young man sits on a park bench, sipping on an iced Matcha latte and listening to Clairo through his wired headphones. He rummages through his oversized tote bag, adorned with a Labubu plush charm, and pulls out a book by feminist author Bell Hooks. This is the “performative” male, a Gen Z-born archetype that has taken the internet by storm.
From Jacob Elordi carrying a Bottega Veneta bag while holding an iced Matcha latte, to Paul Mescal sporting a Clairo hoodie and wired AirPods, to Pedro Pascal reading shirtless on the beach, the “performative male” trend has become the center of a viral meme. Social media posts, from skits to text-based memes, satirize the behaviors “performed” by men in public spaces, including listening to Clairo, drinking Matcha Oat lattes, and reading intellectual books.
This interest in the “performative male” can be traced back to the end of the 19th century, when sociologists like Thorstein Veblen and later 20th-century theorists like Pierre Bourdieu described the shifting class relations and technologies that gave rise to modern archetypes like the Dandy. In his 1899 text Theory of the Leisure Class, Veblen explains how men of leisure curated their tastes and interests to demonstrate their knowledge of “the noble and the ignoble in consumable goods.” Bourdieu’s 1979 work Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste further expanded on this idea, stating that nothing is more distinguished than “the capacity to confer aesthetic status onto banal objects” and everyday choices like clothing and decoration.
Today, the “performative male” archetype is bolstered by the meticulous curation of every detail in his presentation, from his use of analog devices to his niche cultural references. This trend has been embraced by fashion and culture, with trompe l’oeil designs and meme-inspired marketing. Classic literature titles have been transformed into handbags, wired earphones have become the muse for accessories, and collaborations like Aminé x New Balance’s Biblioteca 2000 have been announced with billboards featuring the “performative male” aesthetic.
The “Performative Male” in Fashion
As the “performative male” trend continues to gain popularity, it has also been absorbed by the fashion industry. Designers like Jonathan Anderson have incorporated elements of this trend into their collections, with Dior’s SS26 debut featuring handbags inspired by classic literature titles like Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs De Mal. Racer Worldwide has also released a RacerPods Necklace, inspired by the wired earphones often seen on the “performative male.” And collaborations like Aminé x New Balance’s Biblioteca 2000 showcase the intersection of fashion and the “performative male” trend.
So where exactly does this interest in the “performative male” come from, and why does it elicit such a strong reaction? Perhaps it is a reflection of our society’s obsession with image and the pressure to curate a certain aesthetic. Or maybe it is a way for men to break free from traditional gender norms and express themselves in a more “feminine” way. Whatever the reason, the “performative male” trend shows no signs of slowing down, and it will be interesting to see how it continues to evolve in the fashion and cultural landscape.
