The TamesisIs this the season for male over-optimization? Bryan Johnson, the 48-year-old longevity obsessed who spends $2 million a year trying to reverse his biological age, made his debut at the Matières Fécales show in Paris this week, the latest in a long line of over-the-top anchors, muscular models and biohacking tech bros heading into Fall/Winter 2026 fashion week.
As protein fashion continues to reach its peak, menswear silhouettes are starting to become bulky. At the Matières Fécales show, Johnson appeared in a second-skin gray knit designed to show off his chiseled muscles. Meanwhile, Demna’s first Gucci show featured T-shirts so tight that her pecs and abs looked like vacuum-packed chicken breasts (“Demna wants you to start Guccimaxxing,” wrote Q). But behind the displays of wealth and biceps is a shift in the meaning of masculinity in the algorithmic age.
It all starts at New York Fashion Week. In a harbinger of the season, designer Elena Velez chose controversial lookmaxxing poster boy Braden Peters, better known as “Clavicle”, to close her show. Peters, 20, claimed he used “bone chipping” – a.k.a. hitting his face with a hammer – to improve his facial structure and took methamphetamine to stay slim. He wore a silicone-soaked white shirt that, Velez explains, “references the action of Botox, which synthesizes frozen wrinkles in time.”
“I think his project [of looksmaxxing] “His work encompasses many unique and contradictory interests, making him worthy of consideration across industries as diverse as the performing arts, technology, fashion and beauty,” said the designer. When asked about the controversy that de-platformed the narcissistic figure, Velez wasn’t bothered. “I’m not morally committed to the trends I consider in my work. To me, it’s a more complex story about the nihilism of young people in the age of algorithms. Today, men seem to feel disenfranchised and are looking for non-traditional ways to gain a competitive advantage in an increasingly deteriorating socioeconomic environment.”
Why is there now this aesthetic peak adjacent to the Mano Circle? As increasingly exaggerated expressions of fitness, health and status hit the catwalk, will it change men’s lifestyles? think have a look?
revenge of the nerds
Men’s Podcast Moves Throwing fit Mark Zuckerberg, known as the “Revenge of the Nerds,” attended the Prada FW26 fashion show in Milan, amid reports that Meta is working with the Italian brand to develop a luxury version of artificial intelligence smart glasses. Dark-skinned billionaire Jeff Bezos is another rising figure in the fashion world, attending Jonathan Anderson’s first show for Dior this year.
“Their presence reflects the evolution of luxury and the intersection of fashion, technology and entertainment,” said Dr. Antonia Ward, chief futurist at trend intelligence agency Stylus. “It’s not a consumer trend per se, but an industry trend in the luxury industry moving towards the moneyed.” Amid the ongoing slowdown in the luxury sector, where aspirational shoppers have scaled back their spending, high-fashion brands are increasingly courting the super-rich – and the tech bros are among the most high-profile groups. Throwing fitJames Harris put it more bluntly: “Powerful [men] Spending money to get a seat at the cool kids’ table? scandal. “
