DESERT STORM: CASUAL C L OTHES TOUGHEN UP
Sandy tones and rustic touches give a more masculine, outdoorsy feel, says Stephen Doig
You’d be forgiven for thinking men’s clothing of late had become a tad emasculated (and emasculating); those fey little slips of things at Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Burberry in silken blouses, spangly tops and lace trims, and the highstreet, trickle-down effect it’s caused (not to mention the vogue towards jutting clavicles and skeletal knock knees, but that is another column).
I’m hardly one to bark like a sergeant major that menswear should man up a bit (partial as I am on occasion to a velvet evening slipper), but – as gorgeous as these clothes are – one has to question the wearability of a fur-trimmed, poison-green silk dressing gown on a chap.
Which is why his opposite number, a rugged guy’s guy in rustic suedes and solid leathers, is a welcome counterbalance. This new interpretation of manhood has hitchhiked through Santa Fe, dusted himself down from desert sands and is ready to make his presence felt.
Designers must have got the memo that Indiana Jones is set for a return (and making headlines because Harrison Ford will be 77 when the movie debuts).
At Bally and Salvatore Ferragamo, travel stickers and cacti came embroidered on love-worn clothes in rusty, sandy hues.
Meanwhile, at Hermes, Veronique Nichanian dabbled with snake effects and rust shades, like a wrangler gone high fashion. Away from stylistic touches, there’s a lot to be said for the focus on tactile fabrics that are luscious, as well as low key – buttery soft suede jackets, chunky boots; pieces with substance.
It also helps that a roster of brands have also made wellexecuted casual pieces their stock-in-trade, including Oliver Spencer, Officine Generale and Private White VC.
When so much of men’s style this spring is effete and precious, thankfully this rugged desert warrior is all about wearing items which have a practical, outdoorsy feel to them – a case in point being the utilitarian safari jacket.
Steer clear of costume-style suede fringing (harder than you’d think given its prominence on the high street at the moment). You are aiming for Clark Gable embarking on adventures in Mogambo (a 1950s classic, and most emphatically a Good Thing) rather than chief greeter at the Alamo Themed Dinner & Show.