Dad's Back, Infrared's Back: The Week Menswear Sold Out

The seventh generation of the 990 arrived on Friday morning and was gone before most people had finished their coffee. New Balance's Made in USA 990v7, in the debut Kool Grey colorway, sold out online on launch day at $199.99, with most sizes going within hours and the brand's own site listing the style as sold out.

The launch is built to travel further than the shoe itself. The global "Dad's Back" campaign puts the grey runner on four very different ambassadors — Rosalía, shot at a ballet barre in wide-leg denim; IU; NFL quarterback Josh Allen; and NBA rookie Cooper Flagg — a deliberate spread across music, sport and fashion that mirrors how the 990 actually gets worn.

Under the hood it is a genuine revision rather than a recolor: a sleeker silhouette, reworked suede and mesh panelling and a revised FuelCell cushioning setup. Around it, the New Balance universe kept expanding this week, with the Whitaker Group's deconstructed 2010 landing November 5 and Kith's Monuments 2011 collection following the same day.

Thirty-five years after Michael Jordan wore the original on the way to his first championship, the Air Jordan 6 "White Infrared" returned on November 7 in its closest-to-1991 form yet. The white leather upper, perforated panels and icy outsole are all faithful, but the detail collectors have waited for sits on the back: embroidered Nike Air branding replaces the Jumpman used on the 2010 and 2014 retros.

The timing is deliberate. Jordan Brand has spent 2026 working through the AJ6's anniversary line-up, and this is the grail of the run: an original launch colorway, last seen in 2014, back in full family sizing at $215 for adults. The SNKRS queue was the morning's main event, with boutiques running their own raffles alongside.

The only open argument is the shade itself. Early pairs have split collectors over whether the accent reads as true Infrared or closer to Varsity Red. That debate gets settled on feet, not in leaked photos, which is exactly why this pair will dominate timelines all weekend. Around it, Nike's week kept moving: the Gore-Tex Vibram Air Force 1 Mid is feeding the boots moment, and the Air Bakin High SP "Varsity Royal" lands November 12 at $170.

If AW26 has one menswear thesis, it is this: the coat is no longer the finishing layer, it is the outfit. Across the four fashion capitals, outerwear came long, broad-shouldered and deliberate, with Saint Laurent's sweeping wool overcoats, Prada's structured layering and Burberry's sharpened heritage trenches all making the same point.

Texture does the talking where print used to. Shearling and faux fur are the season's defining surfaces — Louis Vuitton built a runway on them, Hermès showed a coat in cream shearling, and Willy Chavarria and Dsquared2 carried the idea into menswear — while distressed leather and dense knits add the depth. The rule for wearing it is simple: let one tactile piece carry the look and keep the rest quiet.

The high street and the archive are moving the same way. Barbour and Paraboot reunite seven years after their first capsule with a reworked Bedale and a Chambord derby that trade materials between the two houses, Columbia and BEAMS flip the 1986 Bugaboo into a reversible jacket for November 21, and AVIREX, bal and BEAMS T mark BEAMS' 50th anniversary with a suede-and-leather varsity that went on sale November 7.

Party season is here, and the menswear answer this year is texture over novelty. Velvet is the fabric of the moment: Moss has built a 144-piece partywear range around it, and the guidance from formalwear houses is consistent — one velvet piece per outfit, in a jewel tone like burgundy or emerald, with the rest kept dark and simple.

The smartest swap of the season is also the smallest. Replace the dress shirt with a fine turtleneck under a tailored suit or blazer: it adds warmth and texture, and it solves the problem of looking overdressed at a casual office party. Matt Damon made the case on the CFDA Awards carpet on November 2, presenting in a Ralph Lauren Purple Label double-breasted tuxedo worn over a cashmere turtleneck — the same night Ralph Lauren took American Menswear Designer of the Year.

Elsewhere on that carpet, the range of modern evening dressing was on full display: Shaboozey's western polish in Ralph Lauren, Law Roach's feather-boa drama in Luar, and Future in Louis Vuitton by Pharrell. The through-line is permission — formal codes are back, but nobody is wearing them straight.