LONDON FASHION WEEK: MENSWEAR. THE ROUND UP

By Owen Moss-Proctor


Another innovative year for menswear at London Fashion Week.

The beauty of menswear day at London fashion week is the freedom to express without the competition from the more “classic” brands just as Rag and Bone, DKNY MEN & Tommy Hilfiger which we seen the week before in New York and as we’re not in direct contest with Parisian menswear; London continues to seize a great opportunity to release a creativity & style that’s become their greatest strength.

This year we saw London represent the Man in many different ways from weird & wonderful to civilised & classic.

Starting with the most interesting of the collections was the ‘MAN’ collection a collaboration between Topman & Fashion East.
The whole collection is deigned by Agi & Son, Shaun Samson & Astrid Anderson and it's the best place for emerging menswear talent. The collection was largely made up of bold print & patterns.
Agi & Son started the range which was made up of prints, lots of prints, from sweet-esque patterns to large orange check, all placed over formal menswear in a variety of blazers & trousers. The collection boldly ploughed on into Astrid Anderson’s variety of oversized boiler suits, a series of cropped t-shirts & puffa jackets. The final third came from Shaun Samson, an interesting range within itself; Shaun’s compilation has a New Yorker feel about it. An American style of heavy layering, cropped trousers & timberland-style boots it also included a variety of meshed t-shirts equipped with hair extensions.

From the connection to Topman it moves us on nicely to the collections of J.W.Anderson, Christopher Shannon & James Long, three designers who all showed in the MAN show in previous years, and now three well-established designers in their own right. With three very different collections.
Firstly, J.W.Anderson with his ‘blast from the past’ style collection. With heavy vibes of early eras such as the 70’s, Anderson’s models wore clean swept haircuts, bell-bottom trousers & materials of leather & quilt.

Christopher Shannon’s collection to me had an image that reflected a runway of French fashion house, Givenchy. The collection narrowly ventured away from black, white & navy with a lot of checkered shirts & and a few pairs of self titled “Christopher Shannon” joggers. It had a sportswear vibe surrounding it.

Lastly, James Long. James sent out the most ‘commercial’ of the three collections and for me, it was the range that I could most see adapted to the man who’s currently shopping today’s high street market. The 21 look collection was full of life & texture with a variation of jackets, some faux fur, some sheepskin and others sporting denim. I really liked the overall styling to the range and it is probably the one that I’ll be rocking come September!

The most anticipated collection of menswear day at LFW was Topman Design and they weren’t to disappoint. Whilst watching the collection I couldn’t help but feel that this wasn’t the most exciting collection Topman have produced BUT Topman have stuck to what they do best. The classic twist tailored chic. Models sported well-gelled yet unstructured hairstyles, their outfits were modern and chic, all with subtle vibes to rock & roll. I was pleased to see key details to the looks such as double breasted coats/blazers, wet looked trousers, single studded belts and thin dog collar necklaces. The thing I enjoyed most though was the printed shirts & jumpers, a great move on for the guys who have been wearing printed shirts throughout spring/summer.

Matthew Miller proved that good things come in small packages, with his short and concise collection, which featured 14 looks. It was a runway for the man who isn’t afraid of print! And each pattern was so different to the previous look. From antique coloured suits through to rocket man chic and then a graffiti suit that Banksy would be proud of, Miller created one of the most exciting and innovative collections shown. He left me very intrigued and I’m looking forward to seeing more of his work!

Oliver Spencer produced the most ‘everyday’ of the designers collections, with his ready-to-wear style. Autumnal colours featured throughout the looks. Khaki, grey, brown and dark coral were featured on Pea coats, waistcoats, blazers and baggy-legged trousers.

And lastly, Lou Dalton. When you look at the collection, straight away it gives you a military vibe which is mainly triggered by the military style caps. Caps and hats will be a key feature going forward into autumn/winter and have featured in runways for Louis Vuitton, Christian Lacroix & Vivienne Westwood. Along with the cadet hats, Lou Dalton featured tailored jackets in military associated colours of khaki and beige. But what I loved the most was the injections of colour with glass blue and burnt orange sitting easily with the rest Lou’s colour palette.

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GLOBAL TRAVELLER

The look, which I am calling 'Global Traveller' has been building for some time. I first mentioned Aztec prints in the beginning of January and since then they have been all over the high st. Not that I'm claiming to be responsible for it's success, more pleasantly surprised. I was initially cautious to post about Aztec prints as some of the styles have been quite wild, which for menswear, never usually translates into mainstream success. Although, I think that the growing popularity of fairisle every A/W and the introduction to Navajo prints earlier on in the season have paved the way for this Global Traveller look.

The look is made up of lots of elements and is slighty complex, more so than the nautical look for instance. The key pieces for this look are Aztec prints, moccasins, backpacks, woven (belts, shoes, accessories) and Ikat shirts. Ikat is a dyeing technique (similar to tie-dye) which uses a resist dyeing process. This technique results in creating amazing prints with an ethnic feel.

I will be approaching this look with the word 'balance' in mind. Whilst I would love to be able to throw together an Ikat shirt with some Aztec shorts, woven moccasins and a backpack and look instantly amazing, sadly I know that this won't be the case. Instead, I will try and create balance by wearing my Aztec/Ikat prints with a basic and use accessories and colour to give the look a global feel.

ASOS are launching their new trend 'Laurel Canyon' soon and this image is a great example of how to wear the look.

‘ASOS have been heavily influenced by 70s west coast America for SS12, resulting in a range of psychedelic ikat shirts. The shirts are washed to give an authentic look and feel, a key element of our Laurel Canyon Trend’ Marty Thorne MW designer.



Here are some Global Traveller pieces available on the high st now.

PICKS OF THE WEEK

I don't know about you but I have found the weather this week a challenge. In fact, I've seen elements of all four seasons on my travels around the country. I'm definetly ready for spring.

My three picks of this week reflect my clothing battle against the elements over the past seven days.

This double breasted beauty from Zara is a great jacket for spring. We're often lured into a false sense of a heat wave when the sun comes out but this bright yellow jacket will protect you against the reality of spring.

I'm always looking for different types of shorts to wear in the summer, from printed to coloured and everything in between. I love the detail at the bottom of these shorts. It gives them a worker edge beyond your average chino short.

This blazer from Republic is a real bargain. Navy is great for the current nautical look but can also work with varsity prints. It's a great day to night jacket.

MARNI AT H&M LOOKBOOK

The 8th of March can't come quick enough!
H&M continue to build the anticipation for the release of the Marni at H&M collection with these look book images.

The collection looks stunning, classic, contemporary and extremely wearable!

PACKING FOR A HAND LUGGAGE HOLIDAY

It's fair to say that low cost air travel isn't always as low cost as it may seem. Whilst the cost for your seat might be reasonable, some of the additional charges and taxes aren't.

I love to travel abroad and I'm always lured in by the adverts of return flights to exciting European cities for under £20. Yet by the time I get to the payment screen the price has doubled, if not tripled. And the one charge I always begrudgingly pay is for check-in baggage. Not that I don't want the extra kilos (believe me I do), its just that the cost attached for the privilege is extortionate.

A friend of mine tweeted at me a couple of weeks ago with the only solution to to avoiding check-in baggage costs, hand luggage.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, I started thinking about what I would pack for a seven night stay in Spain using hand luggage. I excluded toiletries and sun lotion as I'd buy them at the destination to allow maximum room for clothes!

My top tips for packing for a hand luggage holiday are:
1. Plan your outfits. I always lay out my tops and match my trousers or shorts to ensure I have outfit options. There's no point packing your favourite shirt, if you have nothing to wear with it. Also, try and wear the bulkiest items on the journey.
2. Pack versatile pieces. It's important to have a good mix of basics and patterns to ensure you can mix and match the things that you pack.
3. Contingencies. Although your space is tight, try and make sure you have packed more tops than you have the number of days you are staying. This is to cover any unplanned activities or accidents.

Whenever I go on a summer holiday I always pack too many footwear options! I always kid myself that I will be able to comfortably wear gladiator sandals around the city but the truth is, I usually wear them on the first day, burn my feet and can't wear them again because the straps rub against the sunburn. So what I have now learnt is that I spend the majority of my summer holidays wearing flip flops. Comfortable, great for the beach and the city and you can wear them with anything. I also always take a pair of shoes for the flight and for going out at night. There's nothing worse than getting off the plane on your journey home to wet weather when you're wearing flip flops. Trust me, those aircraft steps are a hazard in the rain.

For a seven night, hand luggage holiday I would take three pairs of shorts. I love mixing prints through tops and shorts so I would pack one plain pair that I could wear with print tops and one patterned pair I could wear with plain tops. When I'm on holiday I prefer to explore the place I'm visiting rather than stay by the beach everyday so one pair of swim shorts would be enough for me. I love these bright orange ones inspired by the S/S collection from DSquared2.

If you're going somewhere like Spain then you are almost guaranteed sunshine and warm weather so unless you are incredibly unlucky, you should be spending most of your time in shorts. Personally, I never like to fly in shorts as I always get cold. So these chinos are a great travel and evening wear option.

I can not go on holiday to a hot climate country without a selection of vests. I think that slub vests are the most comfortable thing to wear during the day and look cool on the beach or when you're off exploring. The loose fit means that they keep you cool and if you haven't had time to hit the gym, they won't show you up. I always try and pack a selection of different prints from a selection of trends to try and create a different look each day.

With t-shirts I always try to include a few basics to wear with the patterned shorts and also as layering pieces for your shirts.

I never usually pack many shirts as I find them too restrictive to wear when the weather is hot. It's good to have a little selection though for daytime and evening wear.

This hoodie is perfect for travelling. It's lightweight and it will keep you warm during the flight. Plus it's always good to have jacket incase the weather takes a turn for the worse or the nights get cold.

Sunglasses and a straw trilby are a must have for a summer holiday, they're both essential for sun protection. I always carry or wear my hat on board as packing it usually ruins it and I hang my sunglasses from my t-shirt.

Here's a few snapshots from my travels.