In department stores, Menswear hits reset: casualwear takes the stage, along with accessories and sportswear, while luxury loses pace and experiences go beyond pop-ups.

A shift is underway, as workwear and formal wear have lost ground to a now-ubiquitous casual wardrobe, a segment that not only dominates but continues to grow. In parallel, luxury faces a structural slowdown, and experiences, accessories, and sports are the new growth engine for department stores.

While store formats, tourism exposure and price architectures varied from one IADS member to another last year, the menswear category remained either stable or grew, accounting for 17% of the total turnover on average, up from 16%. Online business also rose on average from 17% to 19% of the total menswear turnover during the same period.

Regarding the price structure, the share of luxury brands decreased from 32% to 25%, while the high-street segment decreased from 35% to 30%. In contrast, the premium & entry segments increased from 33% to 45%, suggesting an increased appetite for accessible newness.

Wardrobes are polarising: casualwear at the core, bespoke on the rise

Following last year’s trend, the most striking structural shift is the overwhelming rise of casual wear, which now accounts for an average of 70% of menswear sales. On a like-for-like basis, the casual segment increased from 58% in 2023 to 74% in 2024, while occasion wear halved to 10% and workwear fell to just 4% of total sales, down from 9%.

Looking at specific segments in detail:

• Athleisure gained ground from 5% to 7% of sales. Initially seen as a post-pandemic blip, this growth is seen now as a durable repositioning of men’s wardrobes.
• Formalwear is not disappearing but being redefined. Some IADS members are reframing it as “smart business” attire or targeting specific occasions. Bloomingdale’s reported a clear rebound in tailored clothing in recent months, linked to increased office presence in the United States, while Manor is planning to reinforce smart business and occasion wear in its roadmap.
• Made-to-measure is poised to regain traction, notably at El Palacio de Hierro and Breuninger. 

Navigating the trend and brand divide: winners, laggards and gaps

While luxury faces a slowdown, brands such as Dior, Prada, Loro Piana, and Moncler, with the addition of Burberry, which is making a comeback, continue to show strength in department stores, including Galeries Lafayette in France and El Palacio de Hierro in Mexico. Contemporary and affordable luxury labels, such as Sandro, Ralph Lauren, and Ami Paris, are also safe bets in many markets. Niche brands and once-dominant streetwear names, however, are losing momentum, as is the case with Daily Paper, Off-White, Dsquared and Palm Angels. In Denmark, Magasin du Nord reports strong traction for local brands such as Woodbird.

In addition to current business trends, IADS partner NellyRodi offered perspectives for the future, offering a glimpse into the months ahead. Spring-Summer 2026 and beyond will be marked by:

• Formalwear reimagined as seen in Saint Laurent, Junya Watanabe Man, Willy Chavarria and Valentino collections.
• A historical turn drawing symbolic power from literature, classical arts and heritage garments as seen on McQueen, Egonlab, Balmain and Brioni looks.
• A broader cultural openness to fluidity and ambiguity with gendered expression dissolving, as exemplified by Frère and Fursac campaigns, as well as Dries Van Noten and Sean Suen.
• A chromatic affirmation as colour is reclaiming its cultural power as shown by Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe × Zara Men, Marc Jacobs × Mowalola collaborations, Kidsuper, Craig Green, White Mountaineering and Doublet.
• The increased visibility of the Indian culture, be it through fabric choices and embellishments or the industry turning to India, from production to retail strategy, with Galeries Lafayette to open two stores in the country. Signals also include Louis Vuitton collaborating with Studio Mumbai, Golden Goose in Delhi, Hermès in Mumbai, Prada, Junya Watanabe and Kartik Research, for example.

Culture, leisure and retail: experiences reshape department stores

Across markets, department stores are investing in experiences to differentiate and increase dwell time. Galeries Lafayette Haussmann transformed its rooftop into a Roland-Garros fan zone in collaboration with Lacoste, while Bloomingdale’s staged seasonal immersive campaigns featuring memorable initiatives, including live mural painting and embroidery stations. Also, the department store institutionalises entertainment with “Saturdays at Bloomingdale’s”, offering customers tailored events from DJ sets to brand activations.

On its side, Breuninger experimented with hospitality through a highly successful Ami Paris café in Munich, while Magasin du Nord took entertainment outside the Copenhagen store with a Les Deux basketball court. Such initiatives signal a move beyond traditional pop-ups toward formats that integrate culture, leisure, and retail.

Accessories and sports: menswear’s next frontiers

Accessories have emerged as a strategic lever, broadening the business beyond ready-to-wear. The Chalhoub Group saw demand for Sprayground backpacks explode, while Galeries Lafayette is expanding its luxury accessories offering, and Magasin du Nord is creating a dedicated space for bags and caps in Copenhagen. Sogo has expanded in categories such as leather goods, sunglasses and grooming products. Breuninger reported that beauty, home and living can be significant growth levers with male shoppers, citing exceptionally strong sell-through of Stanley cups and productive niche fragrance displays on men’s floors.

Sports and athleisure are also becoming recruitment engines. El Palacio de Hierro is testing dual-gender athleisure areas that mix The North Face, Lululemon, Hoka and more, with positive results. Breuninger is developing community-led activities, ranging from yoga classes to running clubs with Nike, On, Saucony, Ciele, Norda, New Balance and Asics. Bloomingdale’s is reintroducing Nike and adding Vuori, while Sogo is engaging with local pickleball clubs and reinforcing its golf strategy. Chalhoub Group, meanwhile, sees resort wear as a promising segment alongside athleisure.

Menswear is being reshaped on multiple fronts: casualwear is now dominant, formalwear is reinvented into “smart business” and made-to-measure, luxury is contracting, while premium and entry-level segments are growing. To remain competitive, department stores are deploying three growth levers: immersive experiences that increase dwell time, sports and athleisure as customer recruitment platforms, and accessories and grooming as cross-selling drivers. 

About NellyRodi

NellyRodi is a consulting agency in Business and Creative Intelligence. Based in Paris, Tokyo and New York, it is a global reference for foresight applied to industries and services. NellyRodi’s business, based on understanding new consumer standards and new uses, is to support brands, investment funds and institutions on their desirability and performance levers.

Backed by their international future-forward expertise, NellyRodi provides strategic support at the highest levels, i.e. to senior management and investors, as well as at the field and operational levels.

Press contact: NellyRodi, business@nellyrodi.com

About IADS

The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) is the only expert body specialising globally in the department store retail format. Consisting of leading department store members worldwide, the Association serves as an international network, facilitating exchange and communication among its members. It also conducts research to address the current challenges of department stores and provide actionable insights for its members.

Today, IADS permanent members include Beijing Hualian Group (PRC), Bloomingdale’s (USA), Boyner (Turkey), Breuninger (Germany), Chalhoub Group (UAE), Centro Beco (Venezuela), El Corte Inglés (Spain), El Palacio de Hierro (Mexico), Falabella (Chile, Colombia and Peru), Galeries Lafayette (France), John Lewis & Partners (UK), Lifestyle International Holding (Hong Kong), Magasin du Nord (Denmark), Manor (Switzerland), The Mall Group (Thailand), TSUM Kyiv (Ukraine). These retail leaders are joined by a network of other department stores and retail companies as corresponding members.

Together, the IADS members, all key players in their respective markets, create a landscape of diverse business models and cultures, representing more than €40.5 billion in cumulated annual turnover, achieved through over 549 stores with 251,000 associates in 28 countries.

Through its activities and partnerships with NellyRodi, Retail Hub, RH-ISAC and Newstores, the Association constantly stays up to date on its members’ questions and challenges. It generates solution-driven problem-solving processes for its members, preparing them to face the future of the retail industry.

Press Contact: IADS, press@iads.org 

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