Men’s earrings, the Vivienne Westwood way

There’s something absolutely unique about a man wearing a Vivienne Westwood earring. It’s the epitome of the British style of this cult designer: perfectly at ease in any setting – from the liveliest pubs to the most formal gala evenings – and it always has that “blazer worn over an asymmetric shirt” feel, a look you weren’t quite expecting.

Vivienne Westwood has just unveiled her collection of men’s designer earrings: pieces with true artisanal quality that have already caught the eye of fashion insiders and – let’s not beat around the bush – of other brands that thought they’d already taken this accessory as far as it could go.

The shapes draw on the House’s iconic visual language – the orb, the crosses (inspired by the royal crown ball, worn during coronations), the slightly baroque lines with constant nods to London street culture – and fuse them into a vision of masculine style that fully embraces what are, in every respect, pieces of jewellery.

Small pendants that skim the neck, studs that sit close to the lobe, elements that almost look as if they’ve been borrowed from a woman’s jewellery box – yet slot perfectly into the masculine language spoken by Vivienne Westwood’s stylists.

There is – and this is another of the pros of this collection, which you can already find on the website – nothing didactic about it. The Vivienne Westwood earring is not the usual slightly clunky men’s piece, hyper-virile because it lacks any hint of delicacy, nor is it an exercise in invisible minimalism, discreet not out of refinement but out of fear of being noticed.

Materials that dream

The materials follow the same track: high-shine finishes alongside slightly oxidised surfaces, warm gold tones, touches of “dirty” silver, crystals that catch the light with a certain boldness. There’s very little that’s ordinary here, and a great deal that’s extraordinary – not only in the choice of each individual material, but in the way they’re coordinated.

Worn during the day, they help you stand out at the office, at university, or at your local bar. As overused as the word statement may be, that’s exactly what we’re talking about.

When night falls, they become the detail that turns an all-black suit or a simple white shirt into a considered look that never feels like overreaching.

They’re perfect with a tailored blazer and black roll-neck, with an open shirt over a printed T-shirt, with a classic trench or a battered, more streetwear-leaning bomber.

This isn’t about “being brave”, nor about “staining” a rigid masculinity with one eccentric element – as if you’d done your homework and could now finally stop worrying.

On the contrary, what we have here is pure coherence: you dress according to who you are and how you want to be perceived, with the earring as a tool rather than the centre of attention. No need to call it a manifesto.

What will you find on the Vivienne Westwood website? A collection of men’s earrings which, very much like Vivienne herself, certainly doesn’t try to please everyone, but speaks very clearly to those who move to the same rhythm.

Free, impertinent, British. A synthesis of everything Vivienne Westwood has been – and of what she will be. Because this story is only just beginning.