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London Collections:Men Richard James

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

The Pompadour Suite of the refurbished Café Royal Hotel was a suitably lavish venue for the Richard James collection for AW 13, which was heavy on luxurious fabrics and great bursts of colour (especially my favourite colour, green). It was a very desirable, bankable range of strong pieces.

Alas, my camera could not get on with the bright lights in the room, so you’ll have to manage with these official hand-out shots.

An alpaca overcoat is alway acceptable.

One of the many DB jackets that will be seen next autumn.

Heavy cables are a great winter staple.

A tasty reworking of a black tie outfit.

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London Collections:Men Aitor Thorup

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

I don’t usually get on with conceptual fashion designers, but during my brief wait outside Aitor Thorup’s presentation in Kings Cross, Topman’s creative supremo Gordon Richardson assured me that I’d like what I was about to see. And so it proved.

Looking at the clothes, it was easy to see why the London-based designer has done work for CP Company. These are highly complicated performance garments in technical fabrics.

One story was based on the theme of some British footie hooligans being turned into Hindu deities after they kill a British Hindu boy. I can’t wait to see Primark’s take on that direction for next autumn.

The skull backpack attracted a lot of attention.

One story was based on New Orleans funeral marching bands, which gave the display team another chance to show off their impressive talents.

Aitor Thorup himself is seen here in the cap talking to style.com’s Tim Blanks.

DJ Reggie Yates seemed as at ease with all this conceptual stuff as I am.

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London Collections:Men Margaret Howell

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

No one goes to Margaret Howell expecting to be surprised. As for the past 35 years or so, we were presented with a restrained, tasteful, sober and totally commercial collection of wearable menswear which will make buckets of money for its stockists. What an old-fashioned idea!

And, even better, lots of this always desirable label’s clothing is made in the UK. I am not sure about the berets, however.

Despite my enthusiasm for a new menswear season, I couldn’t help thinking that young Ariel, who bumped me off my seat so his mum Ellen could sit down, has the right attitude to all this catwalk malarkey. His green cardy is very on-trend for next autumn, by the way.

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London Collections:Men Nicole Farhi

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

Nicole Farhi had the neat idea of setting up some mini-stages on which a rolling list of models showed off AW 13’s collection for the snappers.  

Once a nice little earner for premium indies, Nicole Farhi lost its appeal some time back and was sold by French Connection to US private equity outfit OpenGate Capital in March 2010.

This was the first men’s collection for Joanna Sykes, formerly of Giorgio Armani, Alberta Ferretti and Freda at Matches. She joined Farhi in July last year having escaped from the wreckage of Aquascutum. Let’s hope she has a happier time with her new berth.

Although the Farhi event kicked off at 9.30am on Tuesday, I was impressed to see Mr T Tempah up and about, giving a good impression of a professional buyer as he wielded his camera.

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London Collections:Men CP Company

Monday, January 7th, 2013

Some people try just too hard. The Italian technical fashion brand CP Company gathered us into a darkened room where the excellent clothes were poorly lit and treated us – with no explanation or introduction – to a 10-minute narration of prose and verse from British actor Joseph Mawle. He certainly speaks very well, but what the point of it was escaped me. If it was supposed to stimulate thought, my main thought was that I wished I hadn’t have bothered to turn up.

 

 

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London Collections:Men Topman

Monday, January 7th, 2013

My wish for an older role model was granted at the Topman show, where 65-year-old Ronnie Wood was in the front row wearing one of the chain’s suits. It was nice to see he’d coordinated his red socks with the dress of his new bride, Sally Humphreys. Celebs get the best seats these days. Ronnie was next to Tinie Tempah, who is part of the London Collections:Men steering committee, and model turned man-about-town David Gandy, who is going to be fashion ambassador for Red Nose Day’s 2013 campaign. At least these guys dress like adults. Further along the front row of Block A was Tim Blansk of style.com (in white jeans), Marigay McKee, fashion supremo at Harrods (in ankle boots) and Harrods’ head of menswear Jason Broderick.

Looking beyond the styling for the catwalk, the collection was a strong commercial collection of good winter pieces, with an emphasis on down-jackets and long parkas. I am not convinced thousands of Topman punters will be buying into white and bright orange for next winter, but is was a punchy presentation in the Old Sorting Office near Holborn, one of the key venues of the three-day programme.

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London Collections:Men John Smedley

Monday, January 7th, 2013

John Smedley has been a favourite brand of mine for the best part of 30 years, but I found its use of only young male models in this tableau rather annoying. I cannot recall the company using anyone “mature” in its ads recently either. Can its ad agency not find anyone interesting looking over 40 or 50 once in a while? It produces brilliant products of quality in England – which consumer group appreciates these attributes most? It’s surprising how many brands pursue younger customers while threatening to alienate its older fans. I know all the arguments about older models not appealing to younger shoppers, but I am not convinced. It depends on the older models. But I digress. Anti-ageist quibbles aside, for next autumn the John Smedley patterned sweaters in particular looked extremely tempting and the long johns made me wish I still rode a motorbike and so had an excuse to wear them. Maybe I’ll get some anyway and just turn off the central heating.

PS Well done to John Smedley and its 390 employees for having just been awarded the first Royal Warrant in its 229-year history. This has been bestowed on the pride of Derbyshire for supplying fine knitwear to Her Majesty The Queen (who is 86).

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London Collections:Men Paul Costelloe

Monday, January 7th, 2013

It was a checked tweed fest when I stopped by the static presentation of Paul Costelloe. The charming Irish designer was his usual ebullient self and couldn’t help pointing that he still fits – just – his own sample-size jackets. It’s an impressive small collection from Paul with his usual excellent selection of cloths. I was in my Kathryn Sargent jacket and waistcoat, with shirt and tie by Drakes, pocket square from Duchamp and scarf from Begg Scotland.

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London Collections:Men Orlebar Brown

Monday, January 7th, 2013

British swimwear brand Orlebar Brown has looked to Miami for inspiration for its autumn-winter 13-14 collection. It’s a typically tasteful, neat and commercial range (and I mean all those adjectives as compliments). Orlebar Brown is extending its offer to include casual clothing. I particularly liked the presentation, which used large photos or paintings of the Art Deco hotels of South Beach, Miami as backdrops.    

The projection of a film showing swimmers underwater in a pool was evocative and surprisingly hypnotic too.

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London Collections:Men Belstaff

Monday, January 7th, 2013

Despite what you might have read, London Collections: Men is not the first men’s fashion week for London, but it is possibly the most high-profile one. Press coverage, rather than increased sales of menswear collections, seems to be the aim of the whole endeavour, but even a cynic like myself is happy to admit the three days have been organised very well by the British Fashion Council. On my next few blogs, I will share some thoughts about the shows and presentations I have attended.

Goodwood Sports & Racing Collection by Belstaff

First stop on the first day was a private club in Shepherd’s Market to view the Goodwood Sports & Racing Collection by Belstaff. The British brand, which was formed in 1924, was acquired by American businessman Harry Slatkin and the Labelux Group in the summer of 2011 and shortly afterwards Martin Cooper, who had been with Burberry for 16 years, was appointed chief creative officer.

This new sub-collection is a collaboration with this agreeable chap, Charles Henry Gordon Lennox, Earl of March & Kinrara, who is the man behind the Festival of Speed and much more at his ancestral home, Goodwood. The range is at its strongest when it most closely sticks to the motorcycling classics Belstaff was known for. It makes good use of the earl’s tartan in a number of garments.

  

An impressive line-up of vintage British motorbikes greeted guests, although some of the young models in the waxed cotton trial coats didn’t look old enough to have a bike licence. (Older models were in short supply throughout the week, by the way…)

A more convincing biker in attendance was the 79-year-old Sammy Miller. Among his many achievements on two wheels, he was British Trials Champion 11 times during the 50s, 60s and 70s. Today he is as bright as a button and shows a fine penchant for mixing his jacket and shirt checks. He is seen here with Harry Slatkin, who is in Belstaff, of course.

On my way out I snapped the genial and enthusiastic Harry with Tommy Hilfiger. I was able to remind dapper Mr H that I remember him opening his very small first UK shop in South Molton Street way back in the early 1980s. He reckoned it was 1985. It didn’t last long, but it all turned out OK for him in the end. Let’s hope he has plenty of advice for Harry as Belstaff deserves to be a success too.

 

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