How This ’90s Giorgio Armani Look Became the Most Influential Menswear Photo of the 2020s

The photo first surfaced in the August 2020 issue of this very magazine, in a story about ’90s-era Armani written by former GQ staffer Rachel Tashjian, who now serves as the Washington Post’s fashion critic. At the time, Tashjian recalls, The Row was looking toward the designer as inspiration for their womenswear. “And then I thought, let’s look at the man himself,” Tashjian told me via text message. Tashjian, who says she’s “willing to sit on Getty for hours looking at images,” was on the hunt for a new way forward in menswear. “Of course we talked about tailoring obsessively at GQ,” she says. “Where was it going? What felt good to wear next? I think we were all trying to find something INSANELY directional after the domination of Virgil [Abloh]’s streetwear at Off-White and Louis Vuitton.”

Whereas Armani once ushered in an era of louche tailoring, this archival picture of him helped herald another way of getting dressed—one that was dressed-down and comfortable yet supremely tasteful. “Even though it is so simple, I do think it is out of the norm for what I would wear, and for what is ‘in’ right now,” says Mic Nguyen, a comedian and menswear aficionado who recently posted a video of himself in the exact fit. “That’s because it’s somehow very elegant but very casual, and I think right now the conversation is around making casual outfits more costumey—like socks with loafers.”

What drew in the menswear influencer Victor Netland, who also put his own spin on the outfit this summer, was how Armani made looking dignified seem so effortless. “The simplicity and carelessness drew me to the outfit,” he says. “It was much easier to recreate than I thought.”

Perhaps the main reason this Armani photo instantly became a moodboard classic, however, is that it’s easy to draw inspiration from even if you’re not copying it directly. Outside of the extremely ’80s cell phone, the designer embodied a timeless mode of dressing. “I would say my North Star is that I always want to look put together,” says Brosbe. “The reason why that picture is so canon [in menswear] is because he looks extremely put together, but then also everything looks so lived-in and comfortable.”