Just as makeup can hide skin’s flaws, so can well-tailored clothes address problems such as giving the appearance of perfect posture. Such is the assurance of Justin Chang, deputy managing director of international clothing company Ascot Chang. 

In an exclusive interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, Chang shared his observations on some workwear trends dominating offices these days.

Standing collar instead of necktie

Adding a removable collar is the easiest way to make any shirt, including T-shirts, instantly look professional. 

According to Chang, their brand developed “a fairly new product” they call the Ascot collar as “a response to customers asking for collars that could stand up nicely without wearing a tie.” 

“It really stands up nicely under a blazer jacket and kind of frame the face really well, with a placket line that looks smooth and straight, and this kind of V shape framing of the face,” he explained. 

According to him, this clamor for the Ascot collar came “in response to customers during the Covid pandemic.”

“A lot of offices said no need to wear a tie in the office. So because people still need to wear shirts to the office, the placket would kind of collapse a little bit and they’d have to buckle; and they didn’t really like that look. We didn’t like that look either.”

After a lot of trials and errors, the brand finally arrived at the Ascot collar, which has been very popular ever since.

“The trend is toward something a bit more casual. Even in the most traditional offices, you know, guys lose the tie.”

Shoulder padding revival

Shoulder pads, as exemplified by YSL and Armani in the ‘90s, are coming back in corporate wear, said Chang. 

“In terms of the suits, then you really want to try to take away a lot of the shoulder padding, make it much more comfortable to wear, make it a little bit softer in the construction, to make it much more appealing, especially to a younger customer base. And it may be a bit disconnected, but I am seeing like renewed interest in tailoring, but from a different perspective in terms of the style,” he said. 

“Back to that kind of extended shoulder, I think, YSL, you saw it in their recent campaign. It is almost like a callback to like a ‘90s Armani type of look, which I think is very interesting. And then because of that, then you suddenly get some younger Gen Zs that are interested.”

Safari jacket is the new suit 

Since many people now are into work-life balance, many have been incorporating bits and pieces of their off-duty look even into their everyday lifestyles. This includes preference for athleisure clothes like jogging pants instead of slacks for work, and now, even the safari jacket usually reserved for travel is being used as an alternative to blazer, said Chang.

Their brand’s deconstructed, stripped down safari jacket, for example, has four pockets made in generally linen fabrics or more casual fabrics that “some customers are using to replace the blazer even for office wear, and it’s something that’s easy to throw on, with almost no structure in it, so it feels like just almost like an over shirt,” he elaborated. 

“It’s a great way to layer and to have like an elevated casual look,” he affirmed.