This summer’s best menswear, backdropped by a jewel of Californian modernist architecture

Photographer Niall O’Brien and stylist Ben Schofield travel to California to capture S/S 2023’s best menswear by the pool

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Man stood by pool in Dries van Noten menswear bustier top with Californian landscape behind
Cummerbund, £525; trousers, £550, both by Dries Van Noten
(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Irish photographer Niall O’Brien and stylist Ben Schofield unite to capture the best menswear of S/S 2023, as featured in the Wallpaper* March Style Issue – from Stefan Cooke’s irreverent ‘Foam Party’ sequinned T-shirt to the innate elegance and ease of Dries Van Noten, Saint Laurent and Valentino.

Captured in the sun-soaked hills of Encino – a neighbourhood in the San Fernando Valley, close to Los Angeles – the collections are backdropped by Clear Oak, a jewel of midcentury Californian modernist architecture that has been recently renovated by local architecture studio Woods + Dangaran (its Desert Palisades project was named Best Private House in our 2023 Design Awards).

S/S 2023’s best menswear, photographed at Clear Oak, California

Man stood by pool in Californian wearing 'Foam Party' T-shirt

Top, price on request, by Stefan Cooke. Trousers, £790, by Dion Lee. Shoes, £830, by Valentino Garavani

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

‘Californian modernist architecture is emblematic of its way of life, embracing the state’s year-round sunshine and love of the outdoors with its glass-boxed horizontality,’ says Wallpaper* architecture editor Ellie Stathaki of the home, which once belonged to Bing Crosby’s manager. ‘It’s clear that this elegant redesign ensures it will continue to offer both a warm domestic haven and a covetable space for socialising for years to come.’

Together, it is a blueprint for dressing for upcoming summertime escapes, and a fresh take on the laidback tropes of Californian style.

Man outside Californian modernist home wearing t-shirt with hinge and rubber gloves

Top, price on request, by JW Anderson. Trousers, £920, by Fendi

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Man sat outside of Californian modernist home

Jacket, £1,350; shorts, £1,350, both by Prada

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Man stood in field of corn in white shirt and trousers

Shirt, £550; shorts, price on request, both by Loewe

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Man in menswear suit by window in modernist Californian home

Jacket, £2,270; shorts, £320; trousers, £1,140, all by Gucci

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Portrait of model with long hair

Top, £1,300, by Dior

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Man wearing Valentino monogram top with trees in background

Top, £1,950; shorts, £1,450, both by Valentino

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Man in white outfit stood outside Californian modernist home

Shirt, £1,105; trousers, £1,105, both by Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. Shoes, £830, by Valentino Garavani

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Shirtless man with long hair in jeans in Californian modernist home

Trousers, £950; underwear, £20, both by Dolce & Gabbana

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Man crouched on wall with Californian landscape behind him

Top, £680; shirt, £820; trousers, £980, all by Miu Miu. Shoes, £830, by Valentino Garavani. Socks, £35, by Pantherella

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Man in suit jacket with no top photographed against evening sky

Jacket, £1,750, by Celine Homme

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Man in Californian modernist home wearing black strap top

Top; trousers, both price on request, by Courrèges

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Man outside window of Californian modernist home

Top, £1,085; trousers, £1,140, both by Ferragamo

(Image credit: Photography by Niall O’Brien, fashion by Ben Schofield)

Model: Karim Turk at IMG Models. Casting: Svea Casting. Grooming: Michelle Harvey. at Opus Beauty using Phyto and Skinceuticals. Fashion assistant: Kit Swann. Thanks to Downtown LA Proper Hotel. Shot on location at Clear Oak, Encino, by Woods + Dangaran.

A version of this story appears in the March 2023 Style Issue of Wallpaper*, available now in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

Jack Moss
Fashion & Beauty Features Director

Jack Moss is the Fashion & Beauty Features Director at Wallpaper*, having joined the team in 2022 as Fashion Features Editor. Previously the digital features editor at AnOther and digital editor at 10 Magazine, he has also contributed to numerous international publications and featured in ‘Dazed: 32 Years Confused: The Covers’, published by Rizzoli. He is particularly interested in the moments when fashion intersects with other creative disciplines – notably art and design – as well as championing a new generation of international talent and reporting from international fashion weeks. Across his career, he has interviewed the fashion industry’s leading figures, including Rick Owens, Pieter Mulier, Jonathan Anderson, Grace Wales Bonner, Christian Lacroix, Kate Moss and Manolo Blahnik.

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