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LCM Presentation: Mr Porter Collaboration
Mr Porter launched an extra special capsule collection to mark the 2nd ever London Collections Men, producing a series of collaborations with London based designers Matthew Miller, Katie Eary, Richard Nicholl and Sibling.
The presentation was held in the Alison Jacques art gallery, where scrumptious tea and crumpets were served. Inside umbrellas levitated from the ceiling, whilst models stood in classic British red telephone boxes each wearing a different look from the collection. Each designer had three tops each, varying from knitwear; t-shirts and sweaters inspired by their s/s 13 collections. Matthew Miller offered a sweater and t-shirts with playful sci-fi foil pockets, Katie Eary produced a selection of punchy baroque digital prints, Richard Nicoll chose graphic cotton jersey, while Sibling producing a series of knitwear staples in their signature leopard print.
Available online Mr Porter http://www.mrporter.com/Shop/Designers/London_Collections_Men
London Collections Men A/W 13 - Martine Rose
Martine Rose’s A/W 13 collection was anything but conventional, from the conceptual installation to the exploration and introduction of new masculine shapes. Martine Rose aimed to think outside the box, producing a highly orchestrated installation located in the BFC’s hospital club show space. A room set up with sporadic armchairs, tables, TV screens and a rotating wheel sets the scene, models come out slowly one by one styled in Britpop-esque bowl haircuts in tribute to the 90’s macho lad.
Inspired by the exploration of masculinity and what it is to be a man, the collection doesn’t just focus on the clothes. Looking at the iconography of the common man, particularly those on the edge of society from football goers, local pub folk to the urban streets. So in turn the collection felt like a journey through masculine archetypes first up was 90’s Britpop in various versions in baggy blue denim jeans teamed with incredibly intricate beer mat hoodies, blousons and trousers. Next was streetwise skater styling teaming cropped denim jackets and parkas placed over hoodies and finished with super baggy trousers in fluid leather. The last looks dealt with the seventies, reinterpreting seventies post hippy silhouettes from big collared printed shirting, thick knitwear, white long t-shirts to classic orange lined grungy parkas.
This is definitely another success in Martine Rose’s continued fascination with male subcultures.
London Collections Men A/W 13 - Astrid Andersen @ MAN
Astrid Andersen opened the MAN show during the London collection menswear schedule. Dishing up the newish editions to her signature interpretation of streetwise sportswear. Exploring the concept of vanity as an extreme sport, as continuation of her fascination with bodybuilders.
A/W 13 saw the Introduction of luxurious fabric choices, from a bomber jacket with cuddly teddy bear paneling, Japanese silk jersey tees, long-line denim shirting, crushed velvet tracksuits to luxe cashmere knits with fur trims. Whilst silhouettes continued in the same vain as Andersen’s previous seasons experimenting with sportswear shapes, which included dark denim all-in-one play-suits, boxy collegiate t-shirts, padded paneled hoodies to bomber jackets with fur contrast sleeves.
London Collections Men A/W 13 - Qasimi Homme
We were happily surprised to see London based menswear designer Qasimi Homme pop-up on the London collections: men schedule for the first time. Showcasing a special capsule collection presentation a head of Paris fashion week’s full A/W 13 catwalk show.
Creative lead behind Qasimi Homme, Khalid Al Qasimi originally from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates moved to London when he was nine year old. After graduating from a Fashion course at Central Saint Martins, Khalid founded his initially womenswear focused label in 2008 debuting the collection during London Fashion Week. After an offer to show on schedule at Paris Menswear Fashion Week, Qasimi made a decision to put the womenswear line on hold for the time being and thus Qasimi Homme was born with a debut catwalk show during the June 2009 season.
Located in the Elms Lester painting rooms, we climb a narrow old stairwell to enter a bustling narrow attic of models and fashion press nudging to get a better view. This is a what Qasimi Homme do best youthful edgy menswear with plenty of attitude, as we walk through the collection we are greeted with hollow cheeked models with faces covered in wet locks of hair, who aided with a stark colour palette of bottle green, blue teal and black create a perfect eerie atmosphere. Autumn/Winter 13 is a definite move away from Qasimi’s print and vibrant colour popping spring collection, with a collection that dissects the emotive, expressionist and controversial psychotic nature of man, taking particular inspiration from film noir’s such as ‘The Third Man’.
For the most part A/w 13 focuses on updated traditional menswear classics, which included using unconventional fabric choices throughout from shearling, sheepskin, silk jacquards and leather. Which included a fine leather and wool fused sweater, cropped bomber jackets, over-sized multi-fabric fused parka coat, tactile deep bottle green pony-skin winter tee to updated formal shirting with either pony-skin or leather detachable collars. While Trousers and shorts ranged from over-sized and wide legged with a slight flare to pleated slim-fit, to contemporary tailoring came in the form of a thick wool three-piece teal suit.
All images by The London Style Journal except the first courtesy of Qasimi Homme
London Collections Men A/W 13 - Topman Design
Topman Design continues to be ones of the most anticipated catwalk shows of the London collections men schedule, with it’s zeitgeist appeal.
Topman took us all on a nomadic journey to far off lands for their a/w 2013 collection, channeling great explorers fused with classic gentlemen aesthetics. So with the looming snow predictions and chilling climate approaching this was a collection which many would have worn straight off the catwalk, and for some it felt like a collection heavily indebted to the street-wear.
The colour palette was incredibly fresh and modern beginning with purist head-to-toe snow whites and desert creams followed by shades of punchy Buddhist tangerine and finished with shades of burnt red, bayberry and waxed blacks. Silhouettes were mostly over-sized and loose from dramatic parkas updates, shrunken cut off cagoules, loose fitting cotton trousers, giant thick turtle neck knitwear, stiff structured double-breasted blazers to fur lapel long-line trenches over architectural interwoven thick knits. While the last half of the collection saw tailoring introduced bringing a youthful cool edge to formal wear from a short double-breasted suits in bayberry, loose fitting pleated trousers to waxed black shinny suiting.
Mood boards courtesy of GQ
Photographs by The London Style Journal
LCM Street Style A/W 13 - Equestrian Dandy Espionage
Equestrian style is the key foundation to this street style look, conjuring up visions of great Lords of the past. Teaming an equestrian peaked wool cap, a long line double-breasted short suit with a purist roll neck and waistcoat combo and finished off with school boy knee length socks, floral brogues and a patent leather sandwich bag from Jil Sander.
London Collections Men A/W 13 - Craig Green @ MAN
Fresh out of Central Saint Martins Craig Green earned himself a debut spot on MAN at London Collections Men this season. For A/W 13 Craig Green successfully managed to combine wearable fashion with fine art in his conceptual catwalk show inspired by “shadows and reflections”. In particular shadow, light and reflection is key, in a continuation of S/S 13’s fascination with shadows. This time around Craig Green creates a literal representation with each piece from the collection being replicated from purist pale colours to black. The collection showcased tonal ruddy deconstructed patchwork knitwear over long-line tunics, crinkled pleated polyester sweaters to wet look casual two-pieces.
London Collections Men A/W 13 - Agi & Sam @ MAN
After 16 seasons MAN has become one of the most interesting and important showcases of London’s menswear week (London Collections: Men). For those who aren’t aware MAN is organised by Fashion East and Topman who created the imitative in order to help both nurture and champion young and innovative menswear designers located in the UK.
This season saw Agi & Sam’s third foray within the MAN line up. Entitled ‘To the Peak, and Past it - Memoirs of a Duke’ a name taken from Seven Marquess of Bath’s autobiography, their A/W 2013 collection is a celebration of England. In particular the colourful eccentricities of the Marquess of Bath, who encompasses the changing fashion of the British upper-class with his unique and exuberant fashion sense, which both references and incorporates rural work-wear and English tailoring sensibilities.
This is a collection that combines two aesthetics farmer work wear and distinctive English gentry tailoring to create a unique twist. From a sportswear hybrid casual blazer in a striking yves Klein blue paired with a padded gilet, boxy long sleeve t-shirts in performance fabrics to tailored layering which saw a padded tartan waistline gilet teamed over a contrasting long line tartan overcoat. Whilst the remainder of the collection focused on a series of tailored updates from scuba-inspired statement zip-up back dark navy and green print blazers to the playful navy and yellow double-breasted blazer with statement padded arms.
This is a collection that definitely boasts and highlights Agi & Sam’s talent for innovative menswear shapes, with print and pattern taking second base. Though prints still made an appearance with their use fun fox conversational prints across suiting to pheasants transformed into paisley.
From cheeky sideburns to models walking dogs this was a collection that celebrates the best of British eccentricity, while keeping true to their design aesthetic a true highlight of the season.
LCM Street Style A/W 13 - Modernist Swagger
Whilst the backward baseball cap and bomber jacket say streetwise subculture swagger the other half is full of modernist sportswear aesthetics. Teaming a two-tone striped modernist bodysuit and a sheer navy performance t-shirt with a pair of hybrid prada levitate trainer/loafers.
LCM Street Style A/W 13 - Cocoon Femme Suiting
Bucking the recent trend for black & white, we spotted this stylish chap teaming a masc-femme pink casual suit by J.W. Anderson with a yellow-pop tactile clutch, silver studded dandy slippers and palette cleansing white shirt on the streets during London Collections men.
LCM A/W 13 Editor’s Pick: Topman Design Over-sized Rucksack
Nomad and exploration aesthetics were key to Topman Design’s A/W 13 collection. In particularly we chose an over-sized rucksack as our editor’s pick, combing a structured shape with a fresh neutral palette of creams, statement silver foil pockets and brown strapping.
London Collections Men A/W 13 - Hentsch Man
Amongst a room encompassed with 360 degrees of incredible illustrations, we find the A/W 13-14 Hentsch Man presentation. A ultra edgy California dude themed collection fusing youthful California’s free spirited attitude with dapper English tailoring heritage. Hentsch Man designer Alexia Hentsch teams wool hounds-tooth and herringbone double-breast tailoring, modernist graphic intarsia knits, nautical breton long t-shirts and boyhood coated cotton parks in a playful rainbow palette. Highlights included a man doodle t-shirt, retro print shirt and tie twin-set and herringbone blouson.
LCM A/W 13 Editor’s Pick: Mr. Hare
One of the many highlights at the London Collections: Men exhibition included the very talented shoe designer Mr. Hare, we were instantly drawn to these futuristic holographic foil trainers.
London Collections Men A/W 13 - Lou Dalton
For A/W 13-14 Lou Dalton looked towards the Northern Isles of Scotland and the North Sea oil boom of the seventies. Creating a themed wardrobe for Dalton’s imagined journey of a rich American oil barons visit to a remote Scottish village, where he plans to build an oil port.
The resulting collection combines chic work-wear silhouettes with traditional Scottish fabrics from wool to punchy tartan, whilst ultra gloss oilskin plastic provides a contemporary stance. With a collection of formal modern silhouettes from a tapered bottle green tuxedo, tonal panelled sportswear hybrid single-breasted suits to a winter chic smoky blue speckled wool double-breasted blazer. While sportswear modernist themes continued to pop up through Dalton’s use of sport stripes placements on casual blazers and skinny tartan trousers to boxy button-up shirting and loose fitting slick gloss trousers.
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