How Rishi Sunak lost the menswear election

In their final face-to-face debate last Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer clashed over taxes, immigration and gender. Both men were dressed similarly, wearing dark suits with spread-collar dress shirts and silk ties in the colors of their political parties. It was said that, ideologically speaking, you could barely place a cigarette paper between the two candidates, but in terms of fashion, there was a clear difference in proportion. While the cut of Starmer's suit was conventional, Sunak wore his usual shrunken figure as he fought to turn the tables in what is expected to be an apocalyptic defeat on July 4.

How politicians dress shouldn’t matter. But their sartorial choices can shape narratives and public perceptions in ways that gain momentum. One accusation levelled at Sunak throughout the campaign has been that he is out of touch with the average voter, something that has been reinforced by the cut of his suit that invariably makes him look like a fintech tycoon going through a midlife crisis.

When he was chancellor, keen observers noticed that Sunak liked to wear Everlane hoodies and 95 designer slides from Italian streetwear brand Palm Angels. I am not an ordinary chancellor; I'm a cool chancellor, joked Olivia Petter. The Independent. After Sunak became Prime Minister, more stories about his high-end taste emerged. The Devil Wears Prada, and so did Rishi Sunak, The telegraph wrote about Sunak's misjudged 490 Prada driving shoes. Rishi tries another A-lister look! The Daily Mail He said of his trendy 335 Common Projects sneakers. He’s also been spotted wearing a Reiss 795 shearling trucker jacket, a $1,250 Canada Goose parka and carrying $1,460 worth of luxury bags. A tough look when inflation is soaring and a pair of Adidas Sambas can’t easily erase.

During last week's final leaders' debate

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But while a taste for luxury may at least signal a Conversative-endorsed trend toward upward mobility, her couture choices tell a different story. In the early 2000s, designers such as Hedi Slimane, Raf Simons and Thom Browne shrunk men's silhouettes in response to the drapey, oversized clothing of the 1990s. Jackets and pants shrank, hems were raised and details such as jacket lapels and collar tips have been shriveled. It was during this time that Sunak made millions as an investment banker and hedge fund manager. We imagine that he must have started building a better wardrobe during this period, because his dress sense solidified around the Mad Men era. Although he buys bespoke suits from London tailor Henry Herbert and dress shirts from Italian label The Travelling Artisan, he sticks to the latter. little proportions. This is the danger of dressing fashionable What is once considered fashionable ends up looking hideous, ridiculous, and then funny. As men’s silhouettes have become fuller in recent years, Sunak’s shrunken suits seem increasingly comical. When a Sun The journalist recently asked about his ankle scratchers, as they are called, Sunak defended himself. I tend not to like baggy things!

Rishi Sunak, then chancellor in March 2021, in ankle-length shorts

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What was once the target of gentle mockery or indirect embarrassment has, over the past six weeks, become fuel for a PR firestorm with electoral consequences. Sunak is being portrayed as a dead man in an election in which Labour is expected to beat the Conservatives after 14 years in opposition. At a time when the Conservatives need to demonstrate confident leadership, Sunak has endured a series of PR embarrassments. There was his sodden speech in May, when his general election announcement was washed away by a wave of jokes about him in a wetsuit. The image of a waterlogged prime minister only served to underline his incompetence, ironically vying for power in a country that literally invented the trench coat. Sunak returned with a fiery first debate, wearing a royal blue tie to signal his Conservative credentials, only to fumble again when he decided to leave the D-Day celebrations early, missing a critical photo opportunity that turned elderly voters, traditionally Tory stalwarts, against him. Neither moment is good for a man who has struggled to look like a competent leader in his tiny, expensive outfits.

The image of a waterlogged prime minister only served to underline his incompetence, ironically vying for power in a country that literally invented the trench coat.