Whilst the four fashion weeks are what determine the trends us females will all be wearing the following season, it isn't so easy for men. Designers show their collections in Februrary and September, the high street imitates, and we start wearing. Whilst most of us cant afford designer prices, we still get a rough idea of what will be in trend for the coming seasons, and can begin to prepare. Men have no fashion week, and much fewer magazines, therefore are at a slight disadvantage.
The British Fashion Council have changed this, and the final day of LFW was devoted to a day of menswear shows. There were around 20 in all, and all finished before Milan kicked off. My favourite were:
Oliver Spencer
Having launched his own label in 2002, Oliver Spencer's designs have always had that feel of traditional British tailoring. His clothes are increasingly popular with male celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Jason Statham (he came to public attention after being hired by Guy Ritchie as costume designer for the film Snatch). This year he went that step further and introduced, arguably, one of his most fashion forward collections yet.
His collection was inspired by 'French Mods' according to his show notes and featured some beautiful pieces. He introduced a lot of colours, from crimson to electric blue, even some terracotta buttons to finish. He cut the ends off of trousers and the sleeves off of jackets and used a lot of layering to bring the right texture to his looks.
With his first footwear store having opened in London this year, a key focus was made of the shoes his models wore, which featured everything from desert boots to loafers.
Topman Design
You would think that with these looks being for Spring/Summer 2012 that the mens collections with significantly feature sportswear, you know with the Olympics coming, but that was not the case and the Topman Design show couldn't have been further apart from the Sportswear look if it tried.
No instead it was all about the 1970's with plaid shirts, pyjama looking trousers and shirts and shoes with largely exaggerated tassels and shorts that I'm sure even Kitty from The Xfactor would be embarrassed to look at, seriously, think Bruce Jenner on the track - actually that's the slight sportswear influence I guess...
Aquascutum
Finally my favourite of the menswear. Now I'm not one of those girls who dreams of her wedding day, I'm one of those people who just can't see herself settling down forever in the way that has been dictated to us by traditional values. If I was to change my mind and want to get married, it would be for a man who dressed like this.
Considering the brand formed with the vision to create a stylish protection from the rain, they've not half done well. This year focused on immaculate tailoring in neutral colours, with cool blues, beiges and blacks. My favourite piece had to be the trench - a piece not men could pull off, but those who do, do so fabulously, Chuck Bass anyone??
