Plus 6 new style lessons for men
From an unlikely style muse to the return of sharp suiting, these are the trends worth knowing, says Stephen Doig
The boom in sales of menswear is set to eclipse that of the women’s industry by next year and, proof that there’s a global fervour for all things men’s style, last week saw a host of events around the world debuting the spring/summer 2020 collections; Prada took to the skyline of Shanghai, Saint Laurent to the lapping waves of Paradise Cove in Malibu and London hosted its biannual showcase of men’s talent.
So what will the well-dressed man be wearing come next summer, when the clothes from this year’s collections roll into stores? For one, galoshes, alongside plastic macs and waders – the weather was a washout, with the hardiest of chaps gingerly trying to navigate puddles lest they ruin that patina on their monkstraps. Luckily the offerings on the catwalks weren’t, with an optimistic gung-ho attitude in these dark and uncertain times. There was a hint of disfranchised fury from the younger designers at London Fashion Week Men’s – hard, slashed leathers, glowering models, military attire – but some of the most striking designs paid homage to cheerier times (and climes) and the might of British artistry – which makes for wearable wardrobe updates that may affect this summer’s style, too.
The unlikely style icon
Patrick Grant at
E. Tautz alluded to photographer Tish Murtha’s images of gritty Northern realism – but luckily it was the faded floral sofa patterns that the designer cherry-picked, applying them to shirts, then a happy homage to the campery of an unlikely style icon: Barry Manilow.
Cheering tangerines and corals, cherry reds, turquoise and rose pinks in blousy shirts and summery shorts were “the kind of thing that Barry would wear to sing about the things he loves”, alongside Grant’s backbone of relaxed tailoring. Fanilows also got a thrill at Michael Kors’s last show in NY, when the mahoganied one took to the stage; maybe his permatanned, twinkly-eyed view of the world is just what we need right now. When the going gets tough, it’s time to get nostalgic.
The prodigal son returns
Alexander Mcqueen, now headed by the late designer’s right-hand woman, Sarah Burton, made a return to LFWM in very British style – at Charterhouse, the medieval seat of power in the City that’s coincidentally a stone’s throw from the Mcqueen artisanal HQ.
And it was that incredible craftsmanship that Burton decided to showcase in a collection inspired by a trip to Japan that the pair took in the Nineties. That came through in obi-like sashes tapering from lapels, delicate floral embroidery and electric-hued paintwork on suits, but aside from the theatrics – see a frock-coat made of a ticker-tape collage of silk panels – the execution of serious tailoring was a welcome antidote to the streetwear and youth culture that dominates much of London’s fashion scene. A suit so razor sharp it could cut glass vs another pair of camo cargo pants? No contest.
The coffee order
Soya? Almond? Flat white or artisanal civet dung brew? Among some hipster circles, your complex coffee order says as much about you as the eco-footprint of your tandem. They’d be shrieking, then, at the scenes at Qasimi, the Middle East-born, London-based designer, who created a catwalk out of coffee with a colour palette to match, translating cappuccino and latte tones into shirts and outerwear. Designer Lou Dalton also realised the versatility of fawn shades in a collection of solid British summer staples; alongside the ideal-for-a-bracing-cornish-break windbreaker jackets and bombers, a dappled floral print added a vibrant touch. There’s a lot of stigma attached to brown tones, but done right, they can look sophisticated rather than drab.
The return of the shirt?
Reports of the death of formality have been greatly exaggerated. It’s true that, in the era of sportswear and millennial logomania, men are wearing less proper tailoring
– ties are in decline as men opt for open-collar shirts – but there’s a quiet fightback in adapting the norms of upright attire for the 21st century. Edward Crutchley applied a sensual hand to this, with Seventies silk shirts and ties that longed for a night out at Studio
54, as well as seasoned stalwart Oliver Spencer’s relaxed Nehru collar variants. The suit has been subject to a hammering of late – dropping sales, serious tailoring on the decline – but Spencer’s cool, artsy guy offers an alternative; relaxed in shape,
with quirky details such as mandarin collars and breezy, cropped trousers. He also applied splashy checks and lightweight seersucker – breathable and less formal – to riff on an old familiar.
The wunderkinds
Craig Green, crown prince of creative London verve, has carved a place for himself as an arch-experimentalist, but beyond the catwalk high jinks that have seen tent structures swamp models (smart for town), Green is a solid designer of considered, elegant alterna-attire; his boxy jackets could happily be paired with a pair of jeans. For spring/summer, the catwalk was just as brilliantly fantastic: cut-out paper doll effect ensembles in neons that came from Mexican sailing masts, rippling silk jackets and trousers and fragmented Navajo print. But look close and the artistry on the embroidery and appliqué is astonishing.
Young talent Samuel Ross is swiftly on his tail; the designer behind streetwear label A Cold Wall has garnered a cult following thanks to his darkly brooding, urban athleisurewear, championed by Louis Vuitton’s Virgil Abloh and creating a hype around his carefully timed “drops” of product.
And that shrewd knowledge of the industry, after a show that balanced sleek leathers with swamping, rather dystopian puffers, won him the BFC/GQ Fashion Fund on Monday, walking away with a £150,000 cash prize. All eyes are on the new boy in class.
The guy we all want to be
Belstaff has adventure running in its seams – tales of outfitting expeditions and its roll call of swashbuckling champions is exhausting enough – and for summer it enlisted former army captain and parajumper extraordinaire David Blakeley to front the range of sun-bleached, love worn, Army fatigue-inspired jackets. He’s a contender for the 2020 skydiving world record, looks like a matinee idol in nutmeg suede and could probably kill you with his little finger; if he wasn’t so utterly charming, we’d hate him.