From see-through Saint Laurent at the Oscars afterparty to glitter mesh that owns every strobelit room — here are the four looks defining queer style right now, with the pieces to make it yours.
Something shifted this year, and it wasn’t subtle. The boys of Heated Rivalry — Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, François Arnaud, Robbie GK — rolled up to red carpets and fashion weeks and essentially rewrote the brief for what queer masculine fashion looks like in 2026. Sheer as a statement. Glitter as armour. Steel as attitude. The aesthetic has arrived, and honestly? It’s been building for a minute. Here are the four trends worth paying attention to.
Sheer Is the New Power Move
The moment everyone lost their minds was the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in March. Connor Storrie showed up in a Saint Laurent see-through mesh turtleneck and trousers, fur muff in hand, while Hudson Williams went with a sleeveless Balenciaga mockneck with a dramatic veil that trailed behind him. The kicker? According to Williams’ stylist, they matched accidentally. Two people independently deciding that sheer was the only correct answer for that room. That’s not a coincidence — that’s a trend.
“Sheer isn’t about revealing skin anymore. It’s about revealing intention.”
The sheer moment in 2026 is deliberate and fashion-literate. It’s not sheer-for-shock. It’s sheer as the finishing layer — the thing that turns an outfit into a look. Our Rivalry Sheer Top was built exactly for this: Cathedral Black and Veil White colourways that understand the assignment.
Glitter Mesh: Light as a Weapon
Tyriq Withers’ Met Gala debut said everything. The rising actor walked fashion’s biggest carpet in a full Louis Vuitton by Pharrell Williams look — sheer black top with crystal embellishments throughout, a crystal-studded trench, black cummerbund — and told Teen Vogue on the carpet: “I’ve never really shown my body on the red carpet… so I think it’s a little more vulnerable.” That’s the glitter mesh brief in one sentence. Not dressing up. Showing up.
Fine mesh plus silver lamé details equals something that catches every light in the room — strobe, spotlight, the eyes of someone across the bar. It’s not trying to be subtle and that’s entirely the point. The Lamé Glitter Mesh Top comes in Twilight Green and a limited-run Glacier Blue that has no business being this good.
“Wearing glitter mesh isn’t dressing up. It’s showing up.”
Leather at the Met Gala Was Gay as Hell
The 2026 Met Gala had a leather moment so pronounced that Tom + Lorenzo ran a dedicated roundup titled “Leather Boys.” Luke Evans — openly gay, playing Frank-N-Furter on Broadway — arrived in custom Palomo Spain oxblood leather explicitly inspired by Tom of Finland. Structured burgundy jacket, studded flared trousers, leather cap, leather gloves, sheer silk chiffon underneath for contrast. Nicholas Hoult showed up in Prada leather with a freshly shaved head. Rauw Alejandro went patent Saint Laurent. Bill Skarsgård wore a long Thom Browne leather coat.
“Tom + Lorenzo called it ‘gay as hell’ and meant it as the highest possible compliment.”
Leather in 2026 is the main event. The queer history of leather has moved from subtext into explicit, celebrated citation. This is exactly the energy the Thor Collection was built for — body-forward, unapologetic, no explanation required.
Stainless Steel Is the New Queer Shine
You’ve seen it on every queer style account you follow. A clean stainless steel chain, worn close to the neck or layered over a mesh top, sometimes stacked with a second piece, always looking like it was meant to be there. No occasion required. No styling effort visible. Just the right amount of cool, industrial edge that says something without spelling it out.
This is the jewellery moment that’s happening at street level — not on red carpets, not in campaign shoots, but in the real world, on real people, all over your feed. Silver over gold. Steel over precious metals. Permanence over flash. It makes sense for 2026: queer fashion right now is about things that last, things that don’t ask for permission, things that work with a harness or a sheer top or a plain white tee with equal conviction.
“Gold is romance. Steel is conviction. Queer fashion in 2026 is choosing conviction.”
