There’s no denying the powerful components of a practical summer wardrobe, but we at GQ view it as our responsibility to also stay aware of all the swerves and style moves newly happening at street level. That’s because, love them or hate them, many of today’s trends will surely grow up to be tomorrow’s timeless classics.
To keep track, at the start of every new season we dust off our clout-minded crystal balls, convene our team’s keenest eyes, and gather to discuss the trends we believe will dominate the next few months.
To inform our predictions for this summer of 2026, we scoured runway stills, street style shots, and our very own personal mood boards to make sense of where the state of our highly specific union might be headed next. We also challenged ourselves not to predict anything too obvious: Yes, we expect prep’s return to march on, and primary color blocking to remain relevant, but really this story is a place to take some bigger, more impulsive swings.
Below, you’ll find a not-quite-comprehensive list of all the weirdest, wildest menswear moves we’re expecting to clock as the year goes on—along with a handful of brands doing them best—hand-picked by the GQ Recommends squad.
