For menswear, there's no place quite like London town. We take risks. We enjoy taking them, too. It may be an after effect of the swinging sixties, or indeed our inheritance from the age of punk, but there's something 'I don't give a f*ck' about style in London - and it's a sentiment that lingers.
What's more, it's one that makes our fashion week so unique and this season was no different. And now the madness has died down (for now, anyway), we asked our style team to talk shop on SS19 below.
"Celebrity endorsement is alive and kicking"
To all the naysayers who said that London Fashion Week Men’s was too small, too insignificant to continue without the financial clout of Burberry, Tom Ford and JW Anderson, well, London rallied.
Alongside exciting and noteworthy shows by ex-Kanye collaborator Samuel Ross for A Cold Wall, and fellow Kim Jones collaborator Edward Crutchley, celebrities turned up, pressed the flesh, smiled for photos and sprinkled their special brand of starlight on a week of fashion frivolity and future business deals. Menswear ambassador David Furnish kicked off proceedings with an opening fashion week dinner – catered by Michelin star chef Jason Atherton, no less – and invited husband Sir Elton John and BAFTA-winning actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas to shine the spotlight on the menswear fashion pack.
Next up, Victoria and David Beckham hosted lunch with John Squire and Mani from The Stone Roses – to celebrate their ‘early 90s baggy’ collaboration with classic British label Kent & Curwen. And hip hop musician Loyle Carner co-hosted dinner and invited fashion enthusiasts Tinie Tempah, artist Marc Quinn and DJ Diplo to Bloomsbury’s newest restaurant, Neptune. And why would this calibre of celebrity want to endorse men’s fashion week? Because, London, we’re worth it.
- Catherine Hayward, Fashion Director
"The future of British fashion looks healthy"
As we’ve seen with the recent rapid rise of Craig Green and Grace Wales Bonner, when a designer has something, the ascent and embrace into fashion’s cognoscenti can be rapid. Devoid of the big design houses that show their collections in Paris, Milan, New York or now Florence, too – LFWM is perhaps better known as a platform for fresh-out-of-art-school enfant terribles, rather than the place to see sexy, luxury fashion. But this season, a couple of those less established names demonstrated that they have the restraint and the vision to kick their brand into the next gear.
For me, Edward Crutchley’s show was a small revelation. Renowned for his love of fine fabrics and print, he sent a series of super elegant kimono-style suits, vividly printed shirts and high-waist belted trousers down the runway, with some textiles woven by Bower Roebuck in Yorkshire, and others printed with the help of Chiso, a centuries-old kimono cloth maker. The result was the kind of thing Bryan Ferry would have worn in his prime, were he a Cuban ninja. And Kim Jones, recently of Louis Vuitton (to which Crutchley contributed work) but now of Dior Hommes, was in the front row. Praise indeed.
Elsewhere, in MAN, the three-designer show, Stefan Cooke explored ‘the initial excitement but inevitable ennui of bygone summers’. The lads wore Harrington jackets and plaid drainpipes straight from the set of a seventies buddy cop drama (plus odd frills and tangles of fluff), and for only his second show, it was impressive: a clear vision delivered with restraint. And then there was Alex Mullins. I was really looking forward to his show after last season, which was all square-shouldered tailoring, tie-dye and teddy coats. SS19 saw more big suits, but this time they were softer, with big splodges of pastel colour, and some mega printed shirts. And there was good denim, for those on the hunt for new jeans.
- Charlie Teasdale, Style Director
"Utilitarian sportswear isn't going anywhere"
Menswear proper is no longer confined to the strict rules of tailoring. It still provides a backbone, sure, but there seems to be another template on the horizon - that of utilitarian sportswear.
Not sportswear of the terrifying teenager of the nineties sort. We mean sportswear of the considered variety, the stuff that boasts clean lines, plenty of pockets, the occasional belt. Both Christopher Raeburn and Staff Only shied away from the bright lights, cig city of Gosha Rubchinskiy, choosing instead to settle for clinical, cold palettes that are far safer alongside wardrobe staples. Sportswear for the lab technician, if you will.
It's proof that sportswear isn't to be sniffed at anymore, nor reserved for Supreme-wearing 14-year-olds. This season, it was cleaner, sharper, and more a complement to wider leg trousers and shirts than a contrast. If you're to emulate, make sure you settle for the same level of sharpness: a white windbreaker is cleaner - and more on-trend - than any logo-heavy cagoule.
- Murray Clark, Digital Style Editor
"Yellow fever is terminal"
A lesser-spotted colour, particularly in the world of menswear, it felt like the London catwalks, pavements and show spaces were awash in yellows of every shade of the spectrum, with designers unafraid to apply a canary, butter, dandelion, Laguna or lemon brush to everything from subtle details to full looks… shoes included.
At Cottweiler we saw canary nylon jumpsuits in pale lemon with Reebok trainers to match, while Alex Mullins opted for slouchy double-breasted tailoring in a patchwork of Tuscan and banana. At QASIMI, the avant-garde London-based brand, light mac coats and blazers were finished in subtle mustard hues and a stand-out patchwork bomber featured olive, brown and bright yellow panels.
New-gen designers Liam Hodges and Charles Jeffrey Loverboy added a punk edge to their pieces with skinny wool plaid trousers in deeper, darker shades, and Samuel Ross, the unorthodox head of Cool Kid streetwear brand A-COLD-WALL* decked his models out in oversized puffas, distressed blouson jackets and zip-up tracksuit bottoms that were - you guessed it - all different kinds of yellow.
Spring/Summer ’19: it’s going to be banana season.
- Finlay Renwick, Deputy Style Editor
