Men’s earrings stopped being a lazy symbol of rebellion a long time ago. Today they’re worn by men of every age and background; the trend has had its peak, its plateau, and now seems ready to make a return. Worn by whom? By men who pay attention to the message they’re sending with the way they dress.
That’s exactly the trajectory of Vivienne Westwood when it comes to men’s earrings. A compact, almost intimate collection of fashion items, ready to be worn when the outfit calls for it – or when you want the entire look to revolve around one seriously charismatic accessory.
Not everyone can pull them off. What we’re looking at is an almost feline collection, one that does more of the choosing than being chosen.
Ahead of everyone else
It’s been more than 40 years since Vivienne Westwood stripped the king bare – not the one in England, but the king of a tired, divisive fashion system, unable to include two different souls at once. Vivienne Westwood, on the other hand, managed to embody a multitude of them, sometimes all at the same time.
She did it by blending genders, but also by bringing together the most regal side of British style with the one born in the suburbs and historic streets of London.
A short circuit, at least in the early days, that later became the symbol of the UK’s real soul: a country able to hold together two very different spirits, in equally different contexts. Two sides that have always fed off each other, even outside Vivienne Westwood’s world, but perhaps rarely had the courage to say so out loud.
Vivienne Westwood’s men’s earring collection is perhaps exactly this: not being afraid to show yourself, to state who you are – even through a single earring.
Too much choice is no choice at all
What stands out about Vivienne Westwood’s collection of men’s earrings is the decision not to offer endless options, but a tight line-up of pieces that all matter.
The pair of Mini Bas Relief earrings – available in gold or silver tones – sets Vivienne Westwoods’s iconic orb into a pair of studs that are never too demanding to wear. A rich, detailed style that still works with more informal occasions.
The pearls are non-negotiable, of course. You’ll find them in the Man. Pearl Drop Single Earring – a single earring that really doesn’t need an introduction. In silver, it frames one pearl with Vivienne Westwood’s space disc and lets another fall with more ease.
There are also the more spectral themes, Vivienne’s way of playing with the fears we try to exorcise, expressed in the Skeleton Earrings: articulated skeletons that move as you do, always carrying the house’s orb with them.
Decisive pieces, as we said, because they can speak to the many different men we might feel like being on a Monday morning before the office, or on a weekend finally given back to the fun we’ve postponed for too long.
And then there are those moments when our earlobes need a little extra attention: Nano Solitarie Earrings shine with the same regal light that illuminates the United Kingdom by day – and one we can take with us into nights lit only by the softest glow.
