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Pork Pie Hats and Plastic Bags Leading the Way at London Collections: Men
Other | Sunday 11th January 2015 | Izaradz
London Collections: Men
Whereas for most of us, January is a month that dissolves faster than a Berocca tablet the morning after a heavy night out, in the fashion world it is business as usual. This month sees the exhibition of the most notable A/W 15 menswear collections across three locations in London, tallying up to 37 presentations and 32 catwalks.
As we know, the fickle world of fashion waits for no-one. The prestigious menswear designers are already predicting the trends for years to come, but this month are giving us an insight to their theories for next winter.
Christopher Shannon’s (the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund winner) collection had a clear emphasis on the male silhouette, at times using perhaps more feminine items such as corset belts, to accentuate the shoulders and hips. More peculiar and unconventional however (and expected), was his use of plastic bags and comical slogans that decorated his apparel. Each model sported a plastic bag on their head or clothing, in an ode, according to Christopher, to photographer Nigel Shafran. The use of colour blocks was also certainly not lacking.
Kit Neale was also not afraid to splash out on colour for his collection. His preppy sweatshirts and shirts were decorated by clashing patterns and glowing prints, with models wearing pork pie hats to add to the quirkiness. Topman came full circle by adding boastful o.t.t. fur coats to their eccentric suits on the opening day of London Collections.
Aside from the explosion of rainbows and innovation with these designers, we have also seen some more classic looks. Coach, a newbie to the club, exhibited a series of gorgeous sheepskin coats and jackets, and Nigel Cabourn shows a carefully composed, practical collection of outerwear for those looking to model as they mountain-climb.
This year, the exhibitions sees some new faces including Todd Lynn, Marharishi and Barbour. The bar has already been set very high from past years’ collections, but so far it seems that designers have been working hard to spark our inspiration and hypnotise our interest. For live reports coming from the catwalks, see Twitter.
