Style round up: London Fashion Week Men's
Wearability and everyday style were the orders of the day on the catwalk this year
In times when, it's been said, we have too many experts, perhaps the age of the fashion designer is over. Hail, instead, the self-appointed stylist who, presumably, knows a fashion designer to help with the difficult cutting and making bit. Certainly, for the 11th bi annual London Fashion Week Men's collections (for autumn/winter 2018), The Independent had rapper Tinie Tempah's What We Wear line down as giving "a whole new form" to, of all things, the tracksuit. It's further indication perhaps of our general descent into, above all clothing qualities, comfort.
But there is a gulf between comfortable – easy, relaxed – and not making an effort, and while The Telegraph was in favour of menswear likely to be worn by many men, rather than the exuberant few, it hailed the likes of designers Edward Crutchley, Daniel Fletcher and Bobby Abley as still creating "bold, left-of-centre clothes that stand out in a sea of greige". Here were designers with a distinct aesthetic, yet recognising a practical focus on "everyday style – solid, proper clothes that men want to wear".
It's a theme that is growing in menswear from season to season, but among the best purveyors of this were counted Christopher Raeburn, Lou Dalton – noted especially for her "fantastic knitwear in zinging colours," said the paper – and Oliver Spencer. Culture site theupcoming.co.uk described Spencer's urban vibe as offering "the perfect winter aesthetic", especially for its seductive use of rich velvets.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Demand for the same ethos of wearability was noted by The Business of Fashion too, which championed the designers who managed to walk the tightrope of being "both creative and sellable – without selling out". Hussein Chalayan, for example, offered "brilliantly made clothes with a strong story behind them", while Xander Zhou "shined with his artful and witty cross-pollination of western and eastern tropes". Of course, in the end a lack of adventurousness in menswear design leads you to hardy staples such as those presented by Kent & Curwen, now majority-owned by David Beckham. He's upped its ante. But he also describes it as "multi generational – I can go into the store and find something great and my 15-year-old kid can [too]," he has said.
Where, one might ask, is the spirit of rebellion – the one that wouldn't have a 15 year old seen dead in a shop that also catered to a 42 year old, let alone his dad? The answer, The Guardian suggested, was in the Man showcase, this time focused on young designers Art School, Rottingdean Bazaar and Stefan Cooke. Against the former two, Cooke, the paper noted, "felt positively conventional, despite male models dressed in skintight python-printed jeans, carrying handbags". The revolution, it seems, will not be sanitised. Not yet, anyway.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Abortion rights measures go 7 for 10
Speed Read Constitutional amendments to protect abortion passed in seven states but failed in three others: Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'The first order of business is to redouble every effort to preserve American democracy'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Netanyahu fires defense minister, sparking protests
Speed Read Yoav Gallant and Netanyahu have clashed for years. The Israeli prime minister first tried to fire the defense minister in 2023, but backed off following a public outcry.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listings
Speed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
By Mike Starling Published
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequel
Speed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binary
Speed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?
Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday television
Speed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
By The Week Staff Published
-
Coco vision: up close to Chanel opticals
Speed Read Parisian luxury house adds opticals to digital offering
By The Week Staff Published
-
Abba returns: how the Swedish supergroup and their ‘Abba-tars’ are taking a chance on a reunion
Speed Read From next May, digital avatars of the foursome will be performing concerts in east London
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Turning down her smut setting’: how Nigella Lawson is cleaning up her recipes
Speed Read Last week, the TV cook announced she was axing the word ‘slut’ from her recipe for Slut Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly
By The Week Staff Published