DEVS: Please consider differentiating Bard and Machinist gear in the future.

[Belhi]

In most cases NIN and MNK armor looks the same except for colours. I think Void Ark is the first different one and in that case its NIN and BRD/MCH which share an armour model which makes even less sense astheticly.

Generally you only get unique class gear designs with Artifact gear. That said, making some Aiming sets that better suit the MCH aesthetic wouldn't go amiss.

[Alahra]

In most cases NIN and MNK armor looks the same except for colours. I think Void Ark is the first different one

It's not the first, though it's one of the only. NIN shared its Ironworks model with BRD, while MNK shared its model with DRG. There's also one set that most folks probably haven't noticed: Toxotes (from WP/AK Normal) has NIN on it, while the MNK set (the name of which I can't remember) does not.

As for the topic at hand, honestly, there have been a decent mix of "BRD" sets and "MCH" sets in HW, so far at least. Fusillier's from Fractal/Neverreap has a steampunk vibe, which is more fitting for MCH, and the Sky Pirate's Aiming set is also more of a "MCH" style, too. The Alexander gear also looks better on MCH naturally, because of the steampunk stuff. The leveling gear largely favors BRD's aesthetics, and I would say the Lost Thief (i185) is more fitting for BRD than MCH.

In terms of differentiating the two classes, I'd much rather they bring more differentiation to their gameplay than anything. I think style-wise there are enough ways to glamour them so they're thematically distinct.