London – Day 3 of London Collections: Men began with the British Fashion Council
revealing next season would see a for the growing men’s fashion
week. With some of the world’s leading menswear brands deciding to show in
London, the four day show week is proving to be one of the most important
on the industry calendar. Leading the pack on day three was J.W. Anderson and
veteran Margaret Howell:
Muse or man, J.W. Anderson continues to refer to his creative stimulus as a
“little prince,” as he did for Autumn winter 2016. Anderson described next
season’s collection as “opulent in a childlike way. I was looking at
different naïve childhood references and tried, using the vocabulary we
have, to make it more sugary.”
This resulted in models wearing aviator goggles and crowns that could have
been made out of Lego, elongated tunics with bibs or puzzle prints, bags
adorned with medallions, jumpsuits and sweaters with sleeves so long they
trailed on the floor.
Not all brands on the London catwalks are about dissecting the meaning of
masculinity and challenging the fashion status quo. Joseph is one of those
brands who seem to always have been around, but that is worthy of
revisiting. With menswear under new creative direction from designers Mark
Thomas Howard and Louise Trotter, it proved Joseph’s pared-down sportswear,
this season emphasized with utility influences and workwear, will be a
commercial hit.
FashionUnited will focus on the menswear catwalk season during the month of June, by featuring exclusive and in-depth coverage on Men’s Fashion Weeks, including (), Milan (Milano Moda Uomo), Paris (Mode Masculine Paris) and New York (New York Men’s Fashion Week) and more. For more articles on menswear, click .
Knitwear and outerwear were the strongest, and a deconstructed trench coat,
seen in multiple fabrics and colours, felt light yet masculine. For
fashionistas it came in bleached denim cotton and for the more conspicuous
customer in the perfect military green. Elsewhere a shirt jacket cum
harrington in deep indigo featuring tab detailing had subtle sailor
references. There was enough ammo here to defeat the fashion frontier;
there will be plenty of retailers fighting for the same consumer to shop
next season.
At Margaret Howell there is rarely a fashion revolution or overhaul of
styling required. She is a seasoned designer who’s aesthetic has won her
plenty of loyal customers, particularly in the UK and Japan. Why change a
good thing when a label is working just fine?
So for SS17 there was no sudden tack or change of direction, instead Howell
oped for lighter fabric choices such as linen-cotton tank tops, paper-thin
Gore-Tex trenches and slouchy yarn fisherman’s knits. Particular hero
pieces include a deconstructed grey trench from look 10 and mustard yellow
sweater from look 20.
Christopher Shannon eschewed the tricky tech fabrics he has a penchant for
using instead opting for the universal of all fabrics, otherwise known
as denim. But make no mistake, the most basic fabric was anything but
common in his re-interpretations. The way Shannon re-worked the jean was
striking, from his dark paneled deconstructed overalls to the denim
sweatshirts and layered jackets, one which came stitched as a jean jacket
trifle. Trousers that were part shredded and part fused to a second tone of
denim were beautifully contrasted. Denim track suits anyone?
Sibling on Sunday showed both its men’s and women’s spring summer 2017
collections, the first brand to fully merge both lines on one runway.
Logistically speaking, the idea seems genius, to streamline deliveries
if the majority of your business is wholesale. It allows for manageable
production and ordering fabrics, rather than having a three month break
between collections. The women’s market is in September, however, and it
will be interesting to see how the buyer’s will respond if there isn’t a
show to go to. Three months is half a season, and in a current industry
where the ‘see now, buy now’ model is becoming more and more widespread,
that is practically aeons. Still, the clothes stood their own, a triumphant
showing of knitwear that struck a good balance between entertaining and
wearability.
Images: Catwalkpictures.com and The British Fashion Council