MAN FRIDAY WHY YOU SHOULD BE SAMPLING A FINE VINTAGE
This autumn is all about modern takes on heritage classics, says Stephen Doig
If you happened to find yourself in south London, last weekend, you might have been treated to a curious sight: a host of Hell’s Angels-alikes roaring through town on motorbikes, but attired like flat-capped lords of the manor.
This fanfare was the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, a charity endeavour that – in association with Zenith Watches – saw 50,000 bikers take to their chariots in their finest attire: a rush of tweeds, herringbones and windowpane checks shooting past, renegade spirit and tradition combined.
Likewise, in even the most contemporary and youth-centric of stores this autumn there’s a whiff of grandfather’s Sunday best. A heritage influence is being felt in men’s style – nubbly tweed, tartans, checks, corduroy and jackets more appropriate for a shooting party than schlepping around the city.
There’s an undoubted appeal to the idea of heritage
dressing – by which I mean a certain countrified aesthetic and focus on classic materials. But it can occasionally veer into pastiche and costumery: you’re only one Donegal tweed jacket away from encroaching on Toad of Toad Hall territory, or looking like an extra from Downton Abbey.
Thankfully the idea of tweed as a fusty fabric has been nixed at new company Dashing Tweeds. Founded by photographer Guy Hills and textile specialist Kirsty McDougall, it marries a Savile Row sensibility with a sporty vim. Jackets and suits in sumptuous wools are engineered to fit into a city worker’s dynamic life. Be it cycling to work (certain weaves have fabrics used for reflective stripes incorporated into them) or braving the elements (they come with waterproof treatments), these clothes are aimed at the fellow whose daily life is more meetings and appointments than Monarch of the Glen. Similarly, astute designers are ensuring that the concept of “heritage” is carried forward into the 21st century, producing clothes that toy with traditional motifs and pattern. At Gieves & Hawkes, houndstooth check gets exploded into a supersized format on a nifty bomber jacket to modernise it. At Dior Homme check comes in micro-form (if we’re being picky, its technical name is “puppy tooth”), reimagined in punkish jackets and baggy trousers. And at Gucci – currently a bellwether of the fashion zeitgeist – plaids and checks are worn with trashed-up denim and dayglow.
I’m not suggesting you break out the neons with your classic Crombie, but rendering heritage signifiers in a sharp and slick way – as part of a sporty jacket or offset with minimalist clothes instead of layered against one another like a heavilyladen country house drawing room – will ensure that the musty vintage store whiff is kept firmly at bay.