For decades before, ties, or neckties for their more formal name, have been fashion's most certain accessory. Paired with a suit, following strict rules, tidy knot, point of the tie falling just above the waistline.
And whilst this still holds true, more recent times have craved an injection of personality into the world of ties, ties are back, but not entirely how you remember.
An artistic conception of new imaginative ways to add a tie into your everyday outfit is here, driven by the world’s top fashion houses, creatively displayed on the runway through to the streets. Most importantly, ties are back in the way that matters, which is that people are actually wearing them again.
If you've noticed more ties appearing in your social feed, on colleagues who haven't worn one in years, or in menswear editorials that would have dismissed the tie entirely twelve months ago, you're not imagining it. The shift is here, and we’re here to explain what, why, and what it means for anyone thinking about adding a tie (or several) into their wardrobe.
What the Runways Are Saying
The clearest signal came from the menswear weeks. At the FW26 collections, neckties appeared on almost every runway, worn loose and layered at Junya Watanabe, sharp and tucked at Saint Laurent, and paired with button-up knitwear at Louis Vuitton. Dior, Hermès, and Saint Laurent all featured neckties in their Spring 2026 collections. When three of the most influential houses in fashion prioritise the same accessory in the same season, it's not a coincidence.
This isn't the first time ties have appeared on runways, of course. What's different now is the styling. These aren't ties worn as corporate uniforms. They're being treated as a finishing detail, deliberate, considered, and frequently worn against unexpected pieces. A tie over a knit. A tie with an open collar. A tie loosened under a coat. The message from designers is that the tie is no longer about hierarchy or formality. It's about intention.
Why It's Happening Now
Menswear tends to move in cycles. Periods of looseness, where comfort becomes the dominant language of getting dressed, are followed by a pull back toward structure. The last decade leaned hard into casual, and this was heavily inspired by the pandemic, and WFH culture. Suits softened, collars stayed open, and the tie came to feel like a relic of a world people were glad to have left behind.
That feeling has shifted. There's a growing appetite for tailoring, trainers and sneakers are being swapped for loafers, more men are turning towards shirts over t-shirts, clothes that require a decision, pieces chosen because they communicate something rather than pieces chosen to avoid communication altogether. The tie, when worn now, carries that weight. It says the wearer thought about it. That's exactly what makes it interesting again.
The rise of the old money aesthetic through social media has played its part too. Vintage menswear, classic suiting, and accessories with genuine heritage have been climbing in cultural currency for several years. The tie is the natural extension of that sensibility, the one piece that completes the picture of considered, intentional dressing.
This isn't purely an aesthetic shift. The resale data confirms it. Popular marketplace Depop reported a 31% increase in necktie sales in late 2025. The global tie market reached $2.11 billion in 2025, with forecasts for continued growth through the decade. Trends data shows "mens silk ties" at peak search interest, outperforming every other tie-related search term by a significant margin.
What This Means for Vintage
The timing of this revival is, for vintage buyers, almost perfectly calibrated.
The houses leading the runway trend, Hermès, Saint Laurent, Dior, are the same houses whose vintage ties have been sitting in archives and collections for decades, made during their creative peaks in the 1970s and 1980s, in silk of a weight and quality that their modern equivalents don't always match. A 1978 Hermès tie wasn't made to anticipate a 2026 trend. It was made to last, using materials and methods that reflected the house's standards at a time when those standards were exceptional.
New ties from these houses now retail at £170–£220. Authentic vintage pieces from the same decades, in comparable or better silk, are available for considerably less. The quality argument for vintage has always been strong. The cultural argument has now caught up with it.
What's Actually Being Worn
The 2026 tie revival isn't uniform in what it looks like. A few distinct styles are driving most of the interest.
Mid-width silk ties in classic patterns. Repp stripes, foulard prints, and clean geometric patterns, the kind of tie that works with a suit but doesn't demand one. The 1980s produced these in abundance, in silk that handles and drapes beautifully.
Bold paisleys and graphic prints. The appetite for pattern is real. Oversized paisleys and large-scale florals are appearing in contemporary styling alongside vintage finds that have been sitting in drawers since the 1970s. Older vintage originals from decades before often have a depth of colour and a distinctiveness of pattern that new production can't easily replicate.
Wide ties worn casually. The kipper tie, Bugsy Malone style exuberant, wide-bladed piece associated with the early 1970s, is being worn loosely, without a suit jacket, as a deliberate statement. It's a confident look and a genuinely vintage one.
The Practical Point
Whether you’re considering adding a tie to how you dress, or looking to elevate your suit for a special occasion, the revival of the necktie makes it easier. The cultural permission is there. The styling references are everywhere. You don't need to wear it in a way that reads as formal if formal isn't what you're after.
A vintage silk tie, worn loosely with an Oxford shirt and well-fitted jeans, is a fully contemporary outfit. The same tie under a navy blazer, with no further effort, is elegant. The versatility is part of the appeal.
At The Vintage Tie Shop, our archive covers every decade from the 1940s to the 1990s — designer labels, silk pieces, bold patterns, and classic stripes, each one unique.