PUT A SPRING IN YOUR SUITING
Is your tailoring ready for a touch of colour? Stephen Doig on how to do hues
I’m the first to hold up the red card to any shade of suit, in matching scarlet or otherwise, that veers off the familiar path of greige, navy or black. Tan suits can look great for informal days in summer, but black and navy are the fallbacks of most British men, perhaps painfully “safe” but chic with it. Coloured suits are the preserve of children’s TV presenters, sickly pastel horrors in Miami Vice and Austin Powers-themed Freshers Week parties. They are not, prescribed wisdom would tell you, the attire of a sophisticated, grown up man.
Except fashion comes along to toy with our notions of taste every now and then. Young actor Tom Holland recently donned a sage green suit by new London menswear designer Joshua Kane, a sharp double-breasted affair with complementing mauve T-shirt; the effect was fresh, sleek and modern. Ryan Gosling has also championed the quiet impact of a delicately-hued suit, eschewing the standard black tie of his Hollywood peers in favour of suits in velvet sea foam, olive and rust shades, all of which denote a mood that’s a million miles away from “corporate”.
And while he has already departed Paris menswear house Berluti after only three collections, Haider Ackermann’s time there – which resulted in some of the most exciting and rarefied clothes on the men’s style catwalks in recent years – was marked by his abilities as an incredible colourist, creating tailoring in nuanced, subtle shades that made the uniformity of grey or black seem dated. Which, as we approach summer and the officious occasions that the season demands, makes the idea of a coloured suit all the more relevant. The whole point of a richly shaded suit is that it’s very deliberate in its stance of not being a corporate entity. The crucial point is the tone; primary brights look like crash novelty affairs. Instead take a tip from Holland’s suit in the subtle tones, the dark green against the jewel tone purple, or cinnamon with cream tones. It’s also worth underlining the fact that this is a suit for pleasure, not business; pair it with a T-shirt and a pair of low top trainers instead of formal attire. Keep in mind the occasion too; relaxed weddings might just allow a coloured suit if the dress code dictates a looser stance, ditto the more breezy summer events – the security at Ascot might have a thing or two to say about it. That said, it’s a damn sight more refreshing than a trussed up grey number as temperatures soar. The future’s bright.