Young men are closing the style gap with women by demanding as much variety in fashion as they do in food and drink, the chairman of London Fashion Week Men’s said today.
Dylan Jones, 58, said men’s tastes were becoming “more sophisticated” and they expected greater choice and creativity on the rails in fashion hubs such as London.
He told the Standard: “Men are more sophisticated than they used to be. They’re nearly as sophisticated as women in terms of consuming. They expect the same variety of clothes that women have expected for years.
“It’s a generational shift. Guys in their late teens or early twenties have no qualms about fashion and they expect the same variety as we do with food.”
The GQ editor described the capital as a key global hub for men’s fashion and praised the event — which is in its 13th season after being launched seven years ago — as it drew to a close today.
He said: “If you look at the schedule this season, it’s as strong and powerful as the equivalent designers in the Eighties/Nineties. It’s an extraordinary generation of young talent. In terms of global hubs, London is more important than any of them … in terms of creativity there’s nowhere that beats London in terms of menswear.”
He added that he was concerned about the decline of high street chains — but warned the responsibility lay with big brands to offer more variety. He said: “The problem is the buying cycle. It’s worse in America than it is here but I think [big brands] have become too formulaic, they buy the same old things.”
He added that online shopping and the high street can co-exist, saying: “The most important thing in terms of trade at the moment is that it’s shifting towards digital space, but that’s exciting in itself because it’s presenting so many opportunities.”
