Earlier this spring, Sergio Hudson impressively created red carpet looks for 19 people, including himself and Stevie Wonder, for the 2025 Met Gala, which displayed his tailoring skills for not only the woman’s body, but also for men.
The designer said while designing his striking holiday-minded resort 2026 collection, he was still in met-gala mode, as seen through evolved takes on his signature “Dandy-mode,” he said. It also reflected his new approach to the season, which sees the designer debuting his first official menswear bespoke collection. While he’s shown men’s looks in previous runway shows, he’s now ready to offer customers the full lineup via his brand’s direct channels.
“Right now, we’re starting it on our own. We’re going to develop a separate look book just for men with resort ’25 and we’re going to make the pieces that we have in those options. We’re going to start like that, then it’ll develop into something bigger,” he explained, noting prices for his basic custom-made, made-to-measure men’s suits will start around $5,000.
“Right now, we have a two- to four-week turnaround. I’ve taken my time and really set up a great program. I’m really excited about it, actually, and I’m hoping it can be a new revenue-driver for the brand,” he said, noting requests from loyal customers’ husbands and from friends pushed him to launch the new category, which follows his signature elegant, finely tailored, classic American aesthetic.
Hudson whipped up many of his looks as coed ensembles, such as two slick houndstooth suits — slightly nipped at the waist and with flared trousers for women and lean yet classic for men — paired with great polka-dot or striped shirts.
His emphasis on tuxedo dressing, as seen throughout a majority of the collection, was also designed to be an expansion of last resort season’s holiday-minded, tuxedo-focused offering, which performed well at retail. Here, he upped the ante with more festive styles, like shimmering red or black sequined numbers (a gorgeous strapless gown seamed only at the sides or black mini); velvet tailoring, cut slightly more narrow in women’s blazers; a gilded shirt and full-length skirt crafted from metal sequins and Swarovski crystal beads, or a great men’s cashmere coat with Swarovski hand-embroidered embellishments.
