How gardening is the latest trend in men’s fashion

The more I garden, the less I know.

A pearl of wisdom not from Socrates but from Monty Don, who will soon eclipse his poster status for the over 75s (my great aunt collects his wall calendars) to become this masculine muse of summer for hipsters and London hypebeasts. Roll up your sleeves and fill your watering can: the hortibro look is there.

Don’t worry, you don’t really need a watering can. On the catwalk in men’s fashion Fendi SS20, there was a bag for men in the shape of a bag, as well as organza gardening gloves, overalls with reinforced knees and utility vests in sheepskin. At Louis Vuitton, Virgil Abloh hired a florist to decorate bags and harnesses with wildflowers, while he sent straw garden hats and white rubber boots to his catwalk. Even more unlikely, pruner-maker Fiskars proved the resounding success of luxury men’s lounge Pitti Uomo, through a streetwear-meets-gardening collaboration with textile designer Maria Korkeila, which included jackets and belts for functional tools and resistant to rain, and put green fingers among the contractions of the male press. Horti-couture indeed.

On the main street, the gardening memo spread like knotweed, Carhartt WIP multi-pocket shorts and utility jackets to Arkets’ popular cotton work jackets. The latest collection from Lazy Oafs is inspired by vegetarian patches, family gardens and flower beds. No, not blue office shirts and V-necks from the Alan Titchmarsh variety, but T-shirts with seed bags and pants embroidered with tomatoes.

Held in the lush gardens of the Villa Reale in Milan, Fendi heightened the bucolic setting with field men wearing designer overalls who showed the guests to their seats. I wanted to rediscover the sense of harmony that was given to me by nature, explains the male fashion designer Silvia Venturini Fendi, who keeps a vegetable garden in the HQ labels in Rome and in partnership with the director Luca Guadagnino on the collection . Indeed, the hortibro is at the center of the Venn diagram between the windy and slow style of Guadagninos Call Me By Your Name and the functional uniforms of Gardeners World. Think Armie Hammer in half-unbuttoned pastel shirts with rolled up sleeves meets Monty Don in rubber boots lovingly planting a young tree and you’re on the right track.

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The suppliers of the look include Jaden Smith and Frank Ocean, both supporters of a cotton utility vest. Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo are passionate about vegetable gardens, while Russell Brand said, I used to have sex 20 times a week. But now I’m a good bloody gardener. Why garden, why now? There’s a constant urge to dress for physical activity, even if you’re freelance on your MacBook on a flat white, says Vogue Runway fashion critic Luke Leitch, who shot his Belsize Park garden last summer and will soon plant beets and carrots. Add concerns about where our food comes from, as well as awareness of the environmental crisis, and gardening feels like a virtuous, selfless and ambitious pastime. Plus, the tools are cool.

Ian Paley, founder of pacey Couverture & The Garbstore, agrees. We are all more aware of our personal consumption and of our imprint in general what we wear, do, eat, buy. The gardening man is someone who takes a more thoughtful approach and adopts a slow lifestyle. For SS20, its house label, Garbstore, is wrapped in durable, outdoor-style Japanese Cordura fabric as well as clothing such as storage shorts that have wrap-around utility pockets.

If her pornographic tool will overtake you (even the Fendis women’s clothing parade had tool belts on her podium), let me tell you the direction of the hipster household goods store Labor & Wait (check out her Japanese trowel Hori Hori tranchante) and Arket, who launched gardening equipment for the first time. Expect carbon steel teeth and finished potting spoons with (whisper) ash wood handles from British pillars Kent & Stowe. Anna Teurnell, design manager at Arket, says: Working with the ground and spending time outside was on all our mood boards this season. We found a lot of beauty, freshness and intelligence in gardening, which we translated into hats to protect from the sun (or rain), combinations with functional pockets.

Indeed, you need practical pieces of natural fabrics, the kind of thick cotton fabric on which you could wipe your hands (this will only add to the effect). The gardening look has all the functional elements you could see in streetwear combat pockets, hammer loops, drawstrings, but the vibe is more organic than synthetic, says Leitch. And if you still want that watering can, Monty Dons is the HawsProfessional Long-Reach (69.99; on suttons.co.uk). You are welcome.