As we near the end of day 2 of the London Collections: Men, here are ten details we spotted on the catwalk:
Hat tricks
Savvy updates came in the form of some OTT headwear. Balaclavas at Maharishi, giant striped beanies at Coach, revolutionary berets at Astrid Andersen and a sort of ersatz welding mask made of felt at Rory Parnell Mooney for MAN, ideal for keeping your head (and face) warm.
Grown-up camo
A menswear staple, camouflage was a key look on the catwalks at Barbour and Maharishi who both deployed sharp tailoring to turn a utlity print into something a little more refined.
Statement knits
Fashion’s turbulent relationship with logos (revived by Henry Holland, mocked by Brian Lichtenberg) found new footing on Christopher Shannon’s catwalk. Scrawled across striped plastic bags, Shannon offered some ambiguous messaging: Thanks for Nothing, Broke and Save Me Apologies. Subversive take on Capitalism or a plea to recycle, who knows.
Kids cartoons
Lou Dalton popped a subtle Thunderbird print onto their swears, while Agi & Sam popped lego all over the beards of their boys. Meanwhile the FROW, Wiz Khalifa was seen wearing a sparkly Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles medallion the size of a saucer. Why the hell not.
Adidas
On and off the catwalk, everyone and anyone was wearing a pair of Stan Smith trainers. Adidas’ takeover continues apace.
Kitchen sink drama
In an oddly gender-bending twist, mittons the size of oven gloves covered the hands of models at Agi & Sam, while newcomer Shaun Samson took slogan tees to the level by scrawling messages onto aprons.
Printspiration
Next season’s print was inspired by the unlikely combination of the Bay City Rollers and Nicola Sturgeon as bright yellow tartan covered the catwalk at Topman and Shaun Samson. Fluro-prints not your thing? Then look to Astrid Anderson and Lou Dalton, who rolled out a muted monochrome version
Fun Faux Fur
One of the runaway trends of womenswear AW14 thanks to Shrimp’s and Whistles, next season expect to see a slew of teddy bear jackets, neon fluff and textured fuzz thanks to Topman Design, Lou Dalton and Shaun Samson.
Ankle talk
Evidently the trend that won’t die, sock length and texture provided plenty of chatter at the shows. Way Perry revived the much derided ‘hover’ trouser which floated about five inches off the ground and exposed a dark socked ankle. Shaun Samson, meanwhile, put his boys in shorts and Timberland boots with thick trekking socks. At Maharishi, combats puddled heavily onto Camper-style boots and Topman, a tiny bit of sock was expoosed through ankle-zips.
The male fringe
Hair was styled every which way on the catwalk – flat tops at Liam Hodges, 60s bowl cuts at Topshop. But it was the models at Christopher Shannon (think spiky and elongated) and Rory Parnell Mooney for MAN’s (face-framing and oiled) that proved the most divisive cut. Bonus points if you can coin an inoffensive portmanteau to describe this look
Crown Jewels
From Hackett’s H pendants, and the plastic bag key chains Judy Blame at Christopher Shannon to Andrew Logan’s brooch and earrings archive at Kit Neal, Coach’s dinosaur pendants and some extraordinary costume jewellery at Grace Wales Bonner’s showcase at Fashion East, boys’ blingwear was a triumph.
