Exploring the Rise of Soft Boy Style

“I feel like it’s an attitude,” my now-ex texted. Indeed, the Soft Boy phenomenon has been fairly well documented online. The opposite of bros, they’re the floppy-haired protagonist of your favorite indie movie. Sensitive and sweet, they are in touch with their Feelings and wear their hearts on their sleeves—not to mention the color pink.

Soft Boys have alternative interests and hobbies like acquiring analog music equipment, bird watching or making 35mm short films. Often bespectacled, they’re self-taught intellectuals who could wax poetic about Camus’ existentialism and the benefits of microdosing in the same breath. Perpetually #woke, they’re to the left of you (and more knowledgeable) on just about every social justice issue, and could debate the finer points of feminism with a Barnard grad student. Maybe they just started collecting plants, or a new skincare routine. They wear signet rings on their pinkies unironically. Like snowflakes, each Soft Boy is unique, but mine certainly checked a lot of boxes. 

Style is equally important to their identity, and the #softboyaesthetic has blossomed on social media. Today the hashtag could represent anything from a dewy-faced beauty selfie on Instagram to a TikTok video of a cutie tucking a bouquet of roses into his vintage dad jeans while twirling in a field along to Tame Impala. It’s become a whole new expression of identity for many. 

Looking back on my relationship with the Soft Boy—deep conversations and vinyl sessions aside— one of the things I missed most was his wardrobe, which could’ve been pulled from the costume archives of a 1980s John Hughes movie. It was full of the kind of cozy layers you’d find in a Soft Boy starter pack: broken-in neon windbreakers, graphic camp shirts, candy stripe tees, marshmallow-y pastel pullovers. Everything paired with authentically distressed denim, heavily cuffed to reveal white logo socks and crisp, classic kicks like Vans or Nike Air Force 1s. A single statement earring and pocket chain finishes the look.

The aesthetic has blossomed on social media. It’s a whole new mode of expression—even an art form—on TikTok, which has blessed Gen Z with an emerging crop of superstars. Noen Eubanks has a mesmerizingly beautiful face and 10 million followers on the video app. The popular 18 year-old lip syncs and dances while constantly experimenting with his look. His rotation of fluorescent dye jobs, goth-inspired jewelry, outré makeup and androgynous streetwear place Eubanks on the “eBoy” end of the soft spectrum. Forever fascinated with youth culture, Hedi Slimane tapped into the moment by casting Eubanks in a recent ad campaign for Céline. The teen idol pouts in a midriff-baring tee and leather jacket, capturing the rock ‘n’ roll verve of the French house—and proving that Soft Boys have officially made the high-fashion crossover. 

Of course, the patron saint of Soft Boys is Timothée Chalamet. With his foppish hair and downright delicate features, he’s given tender new meaning to the term “thirst trap,” representing an altogether different kind of Hollywood heartthrob. Chalamet takes on challenging roles with emotional depth, is equally vulnerable in interviews and has changed the red carpet fashion game forever with directional fits that often subvert gender norms—like the softly androgynous Haider Ackermann tailoring he opted for on the red carpet at the 2019 Venice Film Festival.

Harry Styles is the other reigning kingpin of Soft Boy style. On the cover of his recent album Fine Line, the British pop phenom evokes a modern Bowie in a bright fuchsia blouse, suspenders, wide-legged sailor pants and heeled booties. That’s a subdued look for Styles, who boldly plugged a performance on Saturday Night Live wearing a full ballerina tutu and tights (with a cigarette dangling in one hand and a champagne flute in the other). Dressing this way doesn’t threaten his sexuality. “I didn’t grow up in a man’s-man world,” Styles told Chamalet in an i-D interview. “I think there’s so much masculinity in being vulnerable and allowing yourself to be feminine, and I’m very comfortable with that.” 

Styles is a close collaborator with Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele, who is one of the top designers leading today’s gender-liquid revolution on the runways. Michele’s uniquely romantic vision is a unisex explosion of brocades, ruffles, gauzy fabrics, and twinkly adornments befitting the most confident dandies. Meanwhile, Hedi Slimane continues to make a persuasive case for the androgynous rockstar at Céline. Anthony Vaccarello proposes sparkly tops with billowing velvet or lace trousers for the Saint Laurent garçon. This season, Jonathan Anderson upped the nonbinary ante by sending out full-on lamé gowns for dudes at Loewe.

To be sure, these are more extreme examples of the Soft Boy movement in high fashion, but we continue to see its impact trickle down to the streets. Outside the latest Fall 2020 menswear shows, style influencers had upgraded from carrying crossbody bags to proper status purses, quilted chain links and all. No one bats an eye at the sight of a waifish male model off-duty clutching a skateboard in one hand and a strand of pearls in the other. The future is fluid, and Soft Boys are here to stay.