Men’s underwear doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It never has.
What we wear closest to the body is shaped just as much by what we watch as what we buy. Film, television and fantasy don’t simply reflect masculinity — they rehearse it, exaggerate it, reframe it. And right now, those influences are filtering down into underwear in ways that feel sharper, more confident, and far less apologetic than before.
Across cinema, streaming and subculture, three distinct aesthetics are quietly rewriting how men think about underwear: military utility, competitive sport, and leather-coded power. Not as costume, but as mood. Not as parody, but as a lived-in identity.
This isn’t about cosplay. It’s about translation, taking visual language from the screen and distilling it into fabric, cut and attitude.
Utility, Authority and the Return of the Military Body
Boots — Army-Inspired Masculinity
Military aesthetics never really disappear, but they resurface in cycles. What’s different now is how they’re being interpreted.
Recent screen portrayals have moved away from glossy heroism and towards something more grounded: discipline, routine, hierarchy, physical presence. Think less parade ground, more barracks. Less spectacle, more control.
That shift is finding its way into men’s underwear through structured cuts, solid waistbands, matte fabrics and functional detailing. Army-inspired underwear isn’t about camouflage prints or novelty insignia; it’s about silhouettes that feel purposeful. Secure. Built.
On screen, these bodies are framed as capable rather than decorative. Underwear follows suit. The rise is confident, the pouch supportive without exaggeration, the colour palette restrained; khaki, black, steel, washed neutrals.
What makes this aesthetic resonate right now is its emotional register. Military-coded underwear taps into ideas of reliability and authority without needing to shout. It feels grown-up. Considered. Designed for men who want their underwear to hold them, not perform for an audience.
Rivalry, Tension and the Competitive Male Form
Heated Rivalry — Hockey-Inspired Energy
Sport has always shaped men’s underwear, but modern screen narratives are less about winning and more about pressure. Rivalry. Intensity. The charged space between bodies in competition.
Hockey, in particular, has become a visual shorthand for a certain kind of masculinity: physical, confrontational, emotionally contained but constantly on the edge. On screen, locker rooms are as important as the ice — places where hierarchy, desire, frustration and identity collide.
That environment feeds directly into underwear design. Low-rise cuts, elastic-forward waistbands, high-leg silhouettes and performance fabrics mirror what we see athletes wear under kit, but stripped of overt branding.
This isn’t gymwear masquerading as underwear. It’s underwear that borrows the language of sport: compression, movement, readiness. The appeal lies in tension — between control and release, stillness and motion.
What makes hockey-inspired underwear particularly current is how it sits between worlds. It works for the gym, but also for everyday wear. It carries energy without being loud. It suggests physicality without needing to prove it.
Leather, Fantasy and the Power of Suggestion
Pillion — Leather & Kink-Influenced Style
Leather has always been symbolic. On screen, it rarely appears without meaning: power, rebellion, intimacy, transgression. What’s changed is how subtly those cues are now being used.
Contemporary film and fantasy don’t present leather purely as fetish or costume. Instead, it’s folded into character — a texture that signals confidence, self-possession and a willingness to occupy space unapologetically.
In underwear, this influence shows up not as full leather pieces, but as leather-adjacent design: matte finishes, bonded seams, darker palettes, firmer waistbands, hardware-inspired detailing. It’s about suggestion rather than declaration.
This style sits in a liminal space. It’s not overtly sexual, but it’s undeniably charged. The appeal is psychological as much as visual — underwear that feels like armour, or at least intention.
What’s important here is restraint. The best leather-influenced underwear doesn’t shout kink; it hints at confidence. It trusts the wearer to complete the story.
Why This Moment Matters
What unites these three influences isn’t genre — it’s tone.
Across film, TV and fantasy, masculinity is being depicted as something embodied rather than performed. Strength without parody. Desire without apology. Identity without labels.
Men’s underwear is responding accordingly. Less novelty. Less irony. More seriousness of design. More attention to cut, texture and how garments make you feel, not just how they look on a model.
This is why editorial underwear matters now. It’s no longer enough to sell fabric and fit. Underwear has become a way for men to quietly align themselves with certain narratives — discipline, rivalry, power, control — without needing to explain themselves.
From Screen to Seam
The most interesting underwear right now doesn’t try to recreate what we see on screen. It translates it.
It takes atmosphere and reduces it to essentials. It understands that fantasy works best when it’s wearable. And it recognises that confidence doesn’t come from exaggeration, but from clarity.
Whether inspired by military order, sporting tension or leather-coded authority, today’s underwear reflects a broader cultural shift: men choosing pieces that feel intentional, grounded and emotionally legible — even if no one else ever sees them.
That’s where underwear is heading. And that’s why screen culture matters more than ever.