HAL FISCHER, STREET FASHION: JOCK, FROM THE SERIES GAY SEMIOTICS, 1977.
(Picture: © Hal Fischer. Courtesy Project Native Informant, London)Vest, tank top, sleeveless T, undershirt, gilet to the French, and occasionally (outdatedly) ‘wife beater’, with so many names it’s easy to understand why Hal Fischer — author of the queer bible Gay Semiotics — had to clarify exactly what I meant when speaking to him.
A true M&S classic, it’s what you associate with PE class; 1950s underwear ads; Helmut Lang and Herb Ritts; Channing Tatum’s entire portfolio; the oil-stained mechanic wiping sweat from his brow (or hers, ahem, as in Michelle Rodriguez in Fast & Furious). But from perspiring brow to… highbrow, the AW22 runway collections made a case for vests last season, with the garment cropping up in abundance at Prada, Bottega Veneta and Chloé.
