Robbie CanaleLondon’s Men’s Fashion week (better known as LC:M) can often seem to pass by in a blur of colour, flashing cameras and an array of designs of all shapes and sizes.
From the exuberance of Sibling and KTZ, to the classicism of Gieves & Hawkes, through to brands such as E Tautz and Joseph who transcend the fashion / mainstream divide, deciphering the good from the bad and the damn right ugly is not always an easy task.
So, before the dust begins to settle on last week’s LC:M – which showcases the Spring / Summer collections for 2016 – we, here at MFM have tried to make life a little easier for you and picked out some of the key trends that will saunter off the catwalk and into the shops over the next year or so.
1. SHORT SLEEVES GO LONG
Take a look at most men wearing a short sleeve shirt these days and chances are there will be a distinct roll-up on the sleeve which comes to a sudden stop a couple of inches below the shoulder line. Next season, however, that is all set to change – the short sleeve has gone long.
From E Tautz to Margaret Howell, Matthew Miller to Joseph, the sleeve length of shirts for the forthcoming season sits just above the elbow line creating a completely new silhouette upon your frame, giving a far more formal approach to the shirt for the foreseeable future.
2. BAGGY TROUSERS
As with the short sleeve shirt, excess fabric would appear to be the new order in modern’s menswear, with the fit of your trousers far looser than has been seen in a long time. Although there are still smatterings of the slim line aesthetic in the London Collections – Burberry and McQueen in particular – extra long and baggy (in the tailored, not the Snoop Dogg sense) was very much the order of the day.
Agi & Sam, Christopher Raeburn, J.W Anderson and Casely-Hayford all sent models down the catwalk in trousers that sashayed rather than clung to the legs of the models and it would appear a looser, more relaxed look will be key to your summer attire next season.
3. BLAZERS RULE
As the saying goes, ‘fashion fades, style lasts forever’. Never has this saying rang louder than with regards to the blazer, an item of clothing that has stood the test of time and judging from LC:M’15 continues to play an essential role in modern menswear.
Nearly every show worth talking about featured slender, cheek-boned men (boys) wearing blazers – from the florals of Richard James to Christopher Kane, Sibling and McQueen, the catwalk was awash with this most classic of garments which can only be a good thing for us every day men.
4. PRINT AIN’T DEAD
If colour and print is your thing, then you’re in luck – next summer is going to be a smorgasbord of vibrant hues and prints aplenty. I could write an entire article on the amount of print in last weeks collections (I probably will at some point) but for now all you need to know is that bold and brave prints are very much ‘in’.
It did not matter if it was the avant-garde Kit Neale and Astrid Andersen or the usually more reserved Casely-Hayford, print played a key part in so many collections ensuring you’ll be able to have some fun with your wardrobe choices.
5. ALL WHITE
From deep greens to rich burgundy’s, there were a number of colours that stood out this season but the one that really caught the eye was white. All white outfits seemed to feature heavily in the minds of many a designer with the likes of McQueen, Margaret Howell, Tiger of Sweden and Matthew Miller all featuring head – to-toe outfits within their latest designs.
White may look good under the lights of a catwalk but it is not always easy to carry-off on your daily business or when you’re picking the kids up from school. If you’re going to do white, we suggest a t-shirt and loose fitting trousers on your summer holidays are your best bet to wearing an all white outfit.
Let’s be brutally honest and admit that while LC:M is integral to those in the fashion world, outside of this small sphere, most men do not care what the likes of J.W Anderson, Lou Dalton or Craig Green are doing. That said, fashion has a funny way of trickling into the mainstream and while these pioneers are often scoffed at for their designs, over the course of time, the clothes and shapes they create are often adopted by the highstreet stores and subsequently find themselves in your wardrobe.
No one is expecting you to wander down to your local boozer dressed head to toe in the latest Katie Eary but at the same juncture, take one of her wonderful t-shirts and pair it with your regular jeans and trainers and you have a look that is both high fashion and high street.
Designers are there to inspire and cajole us into thinking outside of the box and little by little, you can, and no doubt will, adopt various aspects of the catwalk shows we have seen in London this week.