The 9th – 12th January saw the 6th London Collections: Men descend on the capital – it’s the chance for the doyennes of men’s fashion to reveal to London what the likes of Nick Grimshaw, Douglas Booth and Dermot O’Leary will all be wearing come the Autumn. For the sartorially challenged, this can be somewhat daunting, but we’ve rounded up some of the strongest looks to help make that transition from runway to your commute less imposing.
Given that this collection was all about parading A/W 15 it’s not surprising that the majority of the looks revolved around outerwear; whilst the likes of Richard James’ capes might be harder to translate into every day – it’s going to take a confident man to wear that on the tube – many of the looks are easily transferable from runway to high street.
Seventies-inspired shearling jackets featured heavily on the runway appearing in Coach, Huntergather, Burberry and Tom Ford’s collections. A staple of menswear in the autumn, it’s effortless and one of the easiest looks to pull off, even for those not well versed in style. Likewise we expect to see variations of Nigel Cabourn’s classic parkas which were said to be inspired by Edmund Hilary’s 1953 ascent of Mount Everest and Maharishi’s utilitarian bomber jackets.
Fur also made an appearance, but whilst we have our doubts that full length fur coats such as those seen at Dunhill will be taking off anywhere other than East London, the fur trim which appeared at KTZ’s show and lining Moschino’s super- luxe ski -themed coats and boots will be big this winter.
The other noticeable trend were the tailored suits and in particular those using heritage materials; think checks and houndstooth with Topshop, Joshua Kane and Hackett all displaying such jackets. Rather than just confining your suit to the office, do as Tom Ford did and mix it up with a pair of tennis shoes, for a casual debonair look.
Margaret Howell and Pringle (who coincidentally are celebrating their 200th anniversary this year) both created looks that could easily be worn straight off the runway, with Howell going for simple white and sharply cut shirts whist Pringle’s collection included crew necks, which along with roll necks have had rather a revival recently.
You have approximately 6 months to sort your look for autumn and winter – get to it.