The Story of Mens Underwear (Temporis Collection) - Tapa dura

If there was a time when men’s fashion, and in particular that of underwear, was reserved exclusively for the elite, today it has been democratized, proving that our society has in fact evolved. The aesthetics of the body, valued so much by the Greeks, seem to have rediscovered a prominent place for men. Mirroring the evolution of morals, the history of underwear also highlights the constant flurry of borrowing that has taken place between women’s and men’s fashion. At different times underwear was hidden under clothes, allowed to peek out, or got longer, and got shorter, establishing a game between the taboo of the past and the fashion of the present, as well as repudiating the notion that one’s identity could be betrayed by a simple piece of clothing.

In this work, Shaun Cole attempts to restore men’s underwear to a place of importance in the socio-economic study of the history of clothing from antiquity to the present day. Looking back on the evolution of technology, this study has surprises in store and engages in a serious reflection on the relationship between men and their bodies.

Shaun Cole is an independent exhibition commissioner, a former curator for the Victoria and Albert Museum, and a writer and lecturer on the subjects of menswear and gay fashion at the University of London.