"Menswear category is slated to register growth of 2-3% per year with a market size of $570 billion and annual revenues of $333.4 billion, according to a recently released report by Fashionbi. The Increased consumer spending, global companies exploring untapped markets are the reasons leading to this stupendous growth."

Menswear category is slated to register growth of 2-3% per year with a market size of $570 billion and annual revenues of $333.4 billion, according to a recently released report by Fashionbi. The Increased consumer spending, global companies exploring untapped markets are the reasons leading to this stupendous growth.

The credit for this stupendous performance goes to the consumers going digital and adopting e-commerce as their favoured choice. Fashionbi found that over the last three years, ecommerce has grown by a whopping 127%. With size and revenue on an upswing along with increased consumer spending, menswear has witnessed 18% uptick in purchases over the last five years. Today’s youth is not restricted to basic functionality; they are coming of age with latest style and trends, marking their bold statements.

“The growing fashion-conscious men consumers, their tendency to spend on more high-end durables and functional fashion items and the upcoming men influencers that have highly impacted their fellow men audience - these all factors paved way for increased sales in the menswear segment," said Ambika Zutshi, CEO, Fashionbi, Milan.

With fashion becoming no-holds-barred affair, fashion brands are experimenting with unisex styles. According to the report, ‘Menswear Industry Market Research’, the fashion goes genderless and menswear has overtaken women’s wear in terms of global growth. Menswear, for example, grew by 1.9% to $29 billion in 2015, while women’s wear saw a 1.6% increase in growth.

Giving Asia-specific perspective, Zutshi said, “Asian markets have been quite ignored when it came to promoting men’s fashion. However, statistics show that Asian men are growing in every sense, in terms of personality, income/social status, fashion-consciousness and knowledge of the available goods.

” YUMMIES, coming of age, new categories

Lately young urban professional men (YUMMIES), categorised by being status-conscious, affluent and late-to-marry have grown in numbers. Fashionbi highlights that the YUMMIES consumer segment has taken off due to omnichannel retail, which has assisted in ensuring consumers, are well-informed through digital and social media pushes. Similarly, same-sex, double-income-no kids (DINKs) in the US have a much higher disposable income than heterosexual DINK couples. Same-sex DINKs have an average household income of $103,980 whereas heterosexual DINKs see an average HHI of $62,857.

Performance wear is also making its presence felt in the menswear category. As athleisure responded to consumers' demand for comfort and utilitarian fashions, performance wear has answered consumer interest in functional, well-designed pieces that fit within an active lifestyle. For menswear, this trend has been doing wonders with brands designing semi-tailored clothing with functionalities such as washability and wrinkle resistance. Italian menswear brand Ermenegildo Zegna blended the performance of its Zegna Sport line with the fine tailoring of the Z Zegna Collection.