Men’s – Back to Black. Bottega Veneta AW16

January 18, 2016January 18, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Tomas Maier, the creative director of Bottega Veneta, takes his man (and woman) to the darker side this season. But the colour of black had its function – Maier made it the leading colour of the show in order to present a contrast. “It’s about the silhouette. I felt it needed change. All the sportswear-inspired elements that we have been putting in: It’s time to move on. It’s becoming a trend, lots of people are doing that, I don’t need to do it forever.” Rather than reintepreting de luxe sweatpants, the collection was focused on the way the athletic, yet elegant clothes look on the body of both men and women. For guys, Bottega Veneta channeled a loose-fit chic, while girls looked soigné in their calfskin coats and relaxed skirts. Even though this collection is not a ground-breaking one, it feels like one of the best menswear outings by the designer up to date.

Men’s – Future Vamps. JW Anderson AW16

January 11, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Jonathan Anderson takes his brand, and his creative vision, to a totally undiscovered and widely misunderstood field. You can love it, hate it, ignore it or praise it – but still, J.W. Anderson is the most absorbing brand coming from London. The city buzzed about the menswear show for autumn-winter 2016 season a long time before the show-day – it was reported that the brand will live-stream the fashion show on a dating-app, Grindr, presenting the show within a few seconds to about seven million people. Just like that. Without much effort.

Maybe the PR of Anderson are genius – but surely, the brand knows how to excite in the media sphere. However, streaming the collection on a dating app is not such a strange idea. The codes of the brand are focused on “future”, and “perversity” – somehow, a dating app is all about sex and modern way of life, right? And the collection for men definitely didn’t lack any of those. The looks, which fused the everyday basics, like a chunky cardigan or a simple, British mackintosh coat, had something modernistic about them – new, over-sized silhouettes, high-tech fabrics (take a look at this transparent, organza-like piece, printed with a dog called Bonzo from the 20s) and the seriously ugly planet-Zenon trainers with pastel-pink toe. But still, these techno vamps had something to do with a perverse, clubbing manner – the models’ hair, which was held back, looked dirty from a hard night out. Some wore perspex chokers, modestly ornamented with silver studs – and some had those cheesy hoop ball earrings on. To make even more extraordinary, one look was focused on a camel coat, worn over a naked body, and a pair of, again, Zenon shoes.

But looking back at the animals in the collection – everybody noticed the turquoise snails, which were lazily stuck to a rabbit-fur jacket and a white pea-coat. Was Jonathan trying to convey a message? SLOW DOWN? The frustration of fashion’s speed, which made Alber and Raf say “bye” to Lanvin and Dior, is a struggle for most of young designers, as they need to be creative for 24/7, do their best to afford pre-collections and have a perfect, on-time stock for the retailers. Or maybe, Anderson ironically said “catch me if you can” to all the others in the industry? This guy is a real propeller of ideas, so why not show it off in the most bright and bold aspect of the collection?

Men’s – Contemporary Uniform. Casely Hayford AW16

January 10, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

If talking of London’s menswear brands, Casely Hayford is the closest to my heart, style and wardrobe. I just love how this fashion-family duo, Charlie and Joe, reconstruct daily basics into something exciting and beautiful. The best example is the MA1 inspired parka above. Definitely, this piece totally changes the meaning of a jacket / coat – it’s both functional and mind-blowing with its elongated silhouette and the “unfinished” manner. Masterfully styled with these sleek, burgundy pants and a simple black top, this look might be called the contemporary uniform. Just like most of the collection – see the patched-work denim, psychedelic prints on casual suits and uber-cool sweat-shirts. To give a military swing to the collection, Casely Hayford nailed two looks with an ornamented, officer collar – a bold detail which makes this collection blur the everyday clothes with something much more bold and unexpected.

Men’s – Kurt. Saint Laurent SS16

July 2, 2015January 6, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Kurt Cobain. Courtney Love. These two names were audible during the recent Saint Laurent collection by Hedi Slimane. Hedi is famous for making crap looking clothes super expensive, but this time he went too far – the wardrobe for his SS16 men and Resort 2016 women is having a lot in common with today’s teenagers which fancy skating, alcohol and wild parties. And, Kurt Cobain eternal messy style, which might be cool only if its natural. Ripped denim (which looked so tattered that I nearly thought they were taken from a “too cool for school” person); every 14 year old’s must have chokers; chunky, slouchy cardigans. The worst? The styling, or rather lack of any styling. This what Hedi does now at Saint Laurent is purely about giving people back their clothes from adolescence , but in extreme prices. Is it fashion? Is it style? I suppose not.

Men’s – Louis XVI Today. Comme Des Garcons SS16

July 2, 2015January 6, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Rei Kawakubo and Julien d’Ys are a perfect creative couple. She is designing clothes full of intelligent innovation which is in perfect symbiosis with history of fashion. He is the “hair artist” who does mind-blowing head creations. Comme des Garcons for men’s SS16 is an explosive fusion of Louis XVI nostalgia and extravagant modernism. This season, d’Ys created towering neon yellow bouffants, a striking contrast to Kawakubo’s collection of revisited suits – which saw trousers slit down the legs, jackets with their collars removed or silhouette unexpectedly severed, and shirts that hung in tatters. For the hair d’Ys was given free hand by Kawakubo to take the direction he wanted. “I have to have freedom,” he says, speaking after the show. “If somebody said to me ‘OK, I want that’, then I can’t do anything, I can’t! I’m completely frozen because I have to be very free and I have to love the person that I work with.”