Here’s some news to all the suit manufacturers in the world who have been getting wrinkled foreheads ever since the pandemic introduced its comfort chic and even before when street wear made tailoring look stuffy. Alejandro Gómez Palomo aka Palomo Spain has joined their ranks and thinks about what men should wear when they go to work. You guessed it: Suits. But in the hands of Palomo who made a name for himself with unabashed queer chiffon boudoir looks for men since 2015, the suiting is PG-13 rated. The sex and drag aspects are still very much in full swing as Palomo turns shirting into men’s bathing suits or slashes open the back section down to the buttocks of jackets. Entitled “Tiburón” the fourteenth collection of Palomo Spain for S/S 2022 was held last Friday, April 1^st, at Espacio Loom in Madrid. It was a well-thought out effort of where runway menswear will go next. Mostly inspired by the great suiting out of American Psycho featuring Christian Bale, Palomo took his bow looking exactly like one of the characters in the movie.

What’s the Paseo de la Castellana?

It’s Madrid’s financial district lined with the city’s most prestigious business high rises. The set was an office at sunset with Venetian blinds which went entirely dark before the finale for dramatic effect underlined by a driving electro soundtrack with noises of fax machines and old school internet connection sounds mastered by Chico-Trópico, sound programmers of the Iberian musical underground.

The suiting?

Working with exaggerated 80ies shoulders as in the opening look, our favorite look was a baby blue, two button Vegas suit with Neapolitan shoulders, which tampered Palomo’s urge for grand gesture and looked sleek and desirable. Of course, worn with the tiniest attaché case in hand.

The zebra in the room?

Beautiful silk shirting in zebra print with scarves were in the line up and balanced with laser cut Levi’s 501 which also revealed a zebra among the rips and tears, made for good merch which is what edgy brands need.

What else?

Heavily color-blocked men’s bathing suits from the 1920ies worn with knee-high socks and the following striped one-piece suits looked new and fresh. Maybe the full on Liberace real fur looks at the end of the show were too predicable.

The cherry on the Alejandro cake?

We last saw the Spanish genius director Pedro Almodóvar at a Versace Atelier show at the Ritz pool back in the 90ies. But there he was beaming in the front row and enjoying the Tiburón show. Clearly, Palomo knows how to bring out the best of the Madrid crowd.