by You’ve no doubt watched the classes at Emerald Fennell Saltburn. Silly, complex and sometimes deadly serious; the film exposes the indolence of the English elite, puts a microscope on those who have fun with their privilege, and the wardrobe is a celebration of a certain boarding school boy at home for the week who soon became successful . to the mid-Nineties.
From Felix Catton (played flawlessly by warden Jacob Elordi) and his bootcut jeans and V-neck sweater with white T-shirt combo, to the ill-fitting Moss Bros tuxedo that Oliver wore to his college “bop” in opening scenes – and not forgetting the perfectly placed eye piercing that Elordi wears for the first half of the film – Saltburn set in 2006-2007 and costume designer Sophie Canale has dressed her characters to period perfection. There are many rugby shirts with collars and chiseled toes.
“Fashion is cyclical and people often talk about the 25 or 30 year trend cycle, so I think so. Saltburn riding the crest of that wave,” says Canale The Telegraph. “Felix Jacob Elordi embodies the very aesthetic of the Noughties fine boy with his self-assured way. He’s cool and approachable but there’s also an aloof, elusive side to his character, which is what makes him so charismatic.”
It wasn’t just the popularity of the film – it took over £16 million worldwide – that gave British men a clarion call to dress up as Ethnic with a first generation iPhone. Several major brands have put the “Neo-Posh Boy” look at the center of their seasonal collections, with surprising levels of success.
At The Row, pythonesque twins Mary-Kate and Ashely Olsen showed off a three-button, Noughties-inspired dress suit with high lapels and a wing-friendly Felix collar shirt. There was also a selection of oversized tertiary tasters for adoption which looked like they had been collected by Oxfam on Cowley Road. Bottega Veneta’s creative director Matthieu Blazy elevated the Noughties “jeans and shoes” look that was first immortalized by the original. Top Gear dry. He teamed leather trousers, which looked like denim, with suit jackets and clompy leather shoes.
At Neil Barrett, the 59-year-old British designer (who founded his eponymous brand in 1999) showed gray V-neck sweaters worn with white t-shirts and charcoal school uniform trousers; and Officine Générale and Dior both showed deep V-necks worn with suits. AKA, the height of Neo-Posh Boy chic.
“A nostalgic nod to school days gives any outfit a sense of comfort and sophistication. Recently, the trend has reemerged, with men looking to dress up and away from the comfortable tropes of casual wear,” says Damien Paul, head of menswear at Matches Fashion. “This has come through in our menswear section for Spring Summer 24. Sales of categories such as loafers have increased by 30 per cent year on year, with brands such as Marni, Prada and JM Weston driving performance .
“Sales of straight leg jeans have increased by 90 per cent in the same period, from brands such as Our Legacy, The Row and Acne. V-Necks from Arch 4, Ben Cobb x Tiger of Sweden and Comme des Garçons Shirt are also doing well.”
But why all the fuss about dressing up as a teenage Prince Harry on Short Leave? For stylist Dan May, who was the fashion editor of 10 Men magazine in 2007, the look has been doing the rounds for a long time – like a classy boy on the blog at The Botanist. It’s just now that it has trickled down to the wider native fashion.
“Walk around Chelsea, Sloane Square, Parsons Green or Kensington and you’ll see that bootcut jeans, loafers, blazers and V-necks are still the school uniform – as I’m sure every sixth year in public school has them. of the country,” says May. “I think the look is becoming more prominent now because of movies like Saltburn and recently Netflix One day adaptation. This is also why preppy brands like Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger are still part of the zeitgeist. Their continued dominance plays a huge role in influencing how men dress and what other brands produce.”
Portrayed with proper public school braggadocio by British actor Leo Woodall, One day’s Dex provides another good example of why the Neo-Posh Boy aesthetic feels so relevant right now. Oversized blazers, pairs of Levi’s Twisted jeans and bang-on-trend pinky signet rings – Dex’s look is imbued with effortless arrogance, which feels not only as the next logical sartorial step after the apologetic mood yet in the realm of “quiet luxury” , but also. it provides a welcome dose of millennial swagger in our increasingly disaffected age.
Furthermore, the Neo-Posh Boy aesthetic is, at its core, class cosplay. And as Catherine Hayward – who was fashion director of Esquire magazine in 2007 – explains, “It’s tribal. Loves group fashion that shows class. Especially a photogenic one.”
In 2005 Joe Casely-Hayford was appointed creative director of Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes. The late designer was responsible for dressing members of the establishment in the roomy blazers that were at the heart of Sloane Ranger’s truly prepared uniform. Casely-Hayford’s son Charlie, now a menswear designer, believes today’s Neo-Posh Boy aesthetic is this generation’s version of that look.
“The re-emergence of the public school look feels like Indie Sleaze, the Noughties movement that adopted garments from Sloane Ranger’s toolbox – Barbour jackets, shrunken tweeds, boat shoes – in a conscious embrace of the prevailing indie aesthetic at the time,” Casely- Hayford explains.
“The new take on public school boy is a reimagining of this era’s Sloane Ranger, and once again it’s a backdrop for discord and friction,” he says. “From that comes a new visual language that is not just a pastiche, that is tongue-in-cheek, energetic and fun.”
If you are up to try the Neo-Posh Boy aesthetic for yourself, the key to look as well as Elordi drive Defender in Saltburn (and nothing like Jeremy Clarkson binge-watching a Lotus Elise Top Gear), don’t focus on the proportions of the clothes you choose to wear.
For example, choosing an oversized blazer from Our Legacy or Acne will make you look deliberate, rather than wearing something you inherited from your Tory grandfather. Likewise, some raw straight-leg denim jeans from Bottega Veneta or The Row will provide that mid-Noughties vibe, while looking much more relevant than the baggy pair of Levi’s Twisteds that have been sitting at the back of your wardrobe since birth Elordi since. A good pair of solid black loafers will forever be an investment, whether you dress like a Neo-Posh Boy or not.
Or, you could keep it simple and go shopping in your own wardrobe. “You’ll always find an oversized tweed jacket or a grubby V-neck knit somewhere in men’s circulation,” says Hayward, who also extols the virtue of buying second-hand. “Vintage clothing taps into that very English, punk attitude of breaking rules and ‘making and mending’. It is part of the British sartorial psyche. It’s underrated.”
So, it’s about dressing like a twenty-something toff with a trust fund. But what about eyebrow studs? Should we all start booking piercing appointments at Claire’s Accessories? “It’s a big NO from me,” says May. “Jacob Elordi didn’t even get to take it off.”
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