It's very easy for me to sit on the other side of this computer and reel off my favourite bits of LC:M (I'll probably do a tiny bit of this soon though), but I thought this season it would be nice to have a guest contributor who knows his stuff. Here, Mr David Watts - former Designer Business Support Adviser for the British Fashion Council - fills us in on what he loved from the three days...
As the dust quickly settles on LC:M - London's Menswear Fashion Week, the fashion circus of press and buyers moves on to Pitti in Florence and to the 'mega-brand' catwalk shows in Milan this weekend.However, ask any Fashion Editor what they want to see during fashion week and they will reply: "lots of new exciting editorial designs on the catwalk", that usually get the front page of the daily newspapers and fill the pages of fashion magazines in the coming months.That said, now ask the buyers what they want to see and the reply will be rather different.
One buyer from a very high profile London retailer told me recently that they: "...want to see five commercial looks for every one editorial on the catwalk and not the other way around". This presents a big challenge for newer and emerging designers who are told that they must get their looks onto the printed page or online, when in fact it seems that Buyers want commercial collections that sell. Such is the fine balance designers must carefully consider when developing their collections today.
Now it's time to take stock of those British designers and London based menswear brands and consider what they have delighted us with...
Lou Dalton
This season the designer bypasses her usual narrative to focus on a broader offering of her signature tailoring and a more relaxed casual dressing for Spring. From shorts suits in dark chambray checks, to inky navy silk gabardine Blousons with asymmetric zips and mesh striped tuxedo trousers. Cut-out applique shoulder details on tech fabric sweatshirt.Tissue fine white knits with swirls of red worn with white wide legged trousers all given a modern 'London' twist were a delight. This collection now proves beyond a doubt that this brand has the potential to go all the way and become a global player in menswear.
Matthew Miller
Moving from a more structured tailoring collection last season, Miller focused on a softening of that form with a more hybrid tailored look consisting of almost all navy chalk-stripe and solid navy.His signature typography was there as usual. There were some finely executed back folded panels to his tailored jackets, and a modern take on the Biker jacket too that were stand out pieces. I would have liked to have seen more colour and texture and a somewhat lighter approach for Spring though.
Astrid Andersen
A recent trip to Japan influenced Astrid's collection which mixed Sumo and traditional Kimono inspired shapes in addition to Japanese warrior armour all in colourful brocade styled prints of dark fuchsia, orange and navy blue. Urban warriors meet street style indeed!
A. SAUVAGE
Once again the stylist-cum-designer returns to his Ghanian roots for print and graphics, but drawing on inspiration from London sub-cultures, like Mods and Rude Boys. Woven jacquards, printed leathers and sateen jersey come together in his signature tailoring with a twist. Olive green, bronze and cream are mixed to great effect for his printed suits. One of the strongest collections to date that takes the brand in a new and exciting direction.
COMMON
For their second season in NEWGEN Men this design duo presented an almost entirely 'white' palette, with the exception of some splashes of silver (T-shirts) and chambray denim. Known for their art collaborations, for SS15 they used embroidery based on London tattooist Roxx, surface decoration and technical cuts to get the message home.
Pristine sweatshirts, tech detailed blousons and crisp chambray used in reverse for collars and trims also brought a fresh take on denim dressing.
Richard James
The collection infused military detailing with softer tailoring and was based on the Sahara as reflected in the colour palette of sand, khaki and olive. Accents of orange and cerise pink gave the collection a more modern twist. Cotton canvas and crisp linen mixes brought an ease to the tailored suits, further softened by small touches of single thread floral embroidery on a sleeve or shoulder.
Ede & Ravenscroft
Designer Michael McGrath's second collection for this historic British brand elevated his debut collection with a light touch for Spring. It was like stepping onto the lawn of a country house.
Drawing on influences from English attire in the early 20th century, the collection brings together classic tailoring silhouettes in crisp linen and silk linen blends in mint green and grey. Wider legged Oxford Bag trousers in fine linen transported us back to an era of Evelyn Waugh novels. Collar and cuff details for shirts are drawn from Royal Livery uniforms, as well as double breasted waistcoats in a delicate botanical shade of dusky pink. (image source: itsblackcurrent.com)
KIT NEALE
This design duo are already establishing a following for their over-the-top print techniques. Spring '15 is no exception, with airplanes featuring as well as all-over cactus prints and a Coca-Cola and giraffe design capsule of blousons, trousers and embroidered sweats. Another knock-out collection and totally printastic!
Craig Green
Making his debut catwalk showcase under the NEWGEN men banner, all eyes were firmly fixed on this declared new wunderkind of menswear. The collection had influences of Japanese warriors and traditional robes, presented in four colour stories from white, sky blue, mid blue and black. It all coalesced beautifully with music, styling, garments and atmosphere, and looked starkly beautiful, but the real question will be how well it translates into commercially salable garments after all the fashion furor dies down?
Christopher Raeburn
For spring, the designer delivers one of his strongest collections to date. Moving from a predominantly outerwear base for Autumn/Winter, he brings sharp tailoring mixed with more relaxed sweats and jersey-wear, along with tailored trousers and shorts.
Bold colour-blocked graphics and jet-fighter silhouette prints onto soft grey suiting could have looked gimmicky but were resolved perfectly. Jet Fighter Parkas and blousons added excitement as part of his 'Remade in England' capsule. Clean, crisp white shirts with a 'flower-camo' print pocket detail in moss green added great staples to the range.
Alex Mullins:
His debut collection under the NEWGEN banner was an homage to Native American Motorcycle gangs. Alex's trademark is hand-painted and hand-cut artwork, layered denim sanding techniques, and embroidery that gave us sun bleached coral coloured Biker jackets and waistcoats and shawls of indigo blues, coral reds and bright yellow prints. Being a fashion designer in the fiercely competitive market today is not dissimilar to performing a high-wire act. Like walking a very fine line between success and failure, not daring to look down for fear of falling!Until next season!Note: David M Watts is the former Designer Business Support Adviser to The British Fashion Council and now consults for the fashion industry - www.davidmwatts.com