MEN'S FALL/WINTER 2016 REVIEW: ELEGANCE AND PUNK

Vivienne Westwood: Brilliant and inspired

Burberry Prorsum has, like clockwork, been turning up efficiently brilliant collections for so long that it nettles when its latest showed unispired looks that looked terribly mehanical - just the usual outerwear cut a little roomier. Compare this with the amazingly inspired Vivienne Westwood collection and you will see what I mean instantly. "Androgynous" doesn't even begin to describe the teagown and cardi aesthetics - this collection had balls (literally in the phallic pendants) and ballgowns and yet looked juicily, boldy, swaggeringly sexy, and very very British, with the kind of haphazard, modern sexuality that is embodied by an episode of Cucumber. Every piece is irresistible. More unlikey beauty came from Calvin Klein Collection - not just from the gilded denim or the silken tailoring but from the exaggerated puffa blousons and coats with the hood/halo - whoever would have thought? But that's what we look at in fashion isn't it? This discovery of beauty in some new way - in this case hoodies with a Renaissance effect. 

Prada made me slow and stop for a good look at the collars, key danglies, straps and patched on plackets, pockets, cuffs and collars. Very beautiful motley stuff, poetic and practical - how does she do it year after year? There's some recall of the printed tunic silk shirts from Dolce&Gabbana but taken in a much less literal way and given subtle magic. Beautiful/dowdy (always done so well by Mrs Prada) plaid things.

The fabrics were singing at Ermenegildo Zegna Couture, some very elegant songs. Very elegant stuff that would seem revolutionary if you haven't seen a Dries Van Noten collection. And we do want a revolution from Stefano Pilati, not more subdued, extreme elegance. For these difficult times, a bolder, punkier attitude is called for, don't you think? Just look at Alexander Mcqueen if you can't decide - very beautiful everything, but only the punkish, slightly violent looks register - everything else looks coldly immaculate and harmless. Because we have Pilati/Zegna-ish elegance at E Tautz too, with that interesting 80s inflection. And then at Bottega Veneta, a rumpled version of this elegance, where the plaidy-tweedy ones stole the show - dowdy made so desirable and new it makes one giddy for a weekend in Balmoral with a thermos of good tea.

Checks and Plaids at Bottega Veneta

       

Flashback: Look Back At Men's Fashion In 2015 (Part 4)

WORLD WORE ‘15
Look back in wonder at the year in men’s fashion trends and themes in this flashback. By Daniel Goh

Givenchy look embodies the new untraditonal suit

Dandy No More

Tailoring has finally gone over the pedantic Mad Men phase when everyone who wore a qiuff wanted a suit with all its period trimming (pocket square anyone?); entire streets crawled with what looked like heavily-sweating, badly-dressed extras in some poorly-researched period drama. We are glad to see the “sartorial” period RIP. Men’s tailoring has gone more innovative with surprising new twists to the suitings genre, with classics kicked up, mould broken, taken-apart, reconsidered, re-decorated into an entirely new beast.

Riches are piled on riches in a wealth of technique (intarsia, slashes), a riot of prints (lace, glitter) and ideas.

(FALL/WINTER: Burberry FW 17 18 19 24; Dolce FW 21 27; Comme FW 30 31 32 33; Dries FW 16; McQueen FW 7 8 9; Dior FW 37)

Raf Simons mashup of office and kindergarten

Everyone Needs a Hobo

The defining style of this era is the miss-match and contrast of genres, a post-modern mashup we had a first inkling of when street went luxe (the embellished sweatshirt is a key example, or the hybrid brogue/trainer, or pin-striped jogging pants). The more extreme the mashup the better: Think academic tweedy mashed up with slouchy denims, or grandpa mashed-up with jock, to become the new royalty of the coolly rumpled.

(FALL/WINTER: BV FW 35 15 2; Comme FW 3 4 8 16; Dunhill 4 24)

Dries Van Noten's East/West mix

The New Silk Road

The New Silk Road isn’t just China’s infrastructure investment (USD 200 billion) in trade and diplomacy projects across the globe through Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Asia – and neither is it a new hotpot restaurant. Fashion has simply opened up its notions of beauty to embrace Asian forms and decorations – and not in a simplistic or shallow way. Traditional East Asian shapes, colours that pack heat, ethnic minority embellishments and a certain unbuttoned, wrapped over volume is proposed in modern, surprisingly elegant new ways of dress, a (literally) seamless hybrid of East and West.

(FALL/WINTER: Burberry FW 10 11 12 13 15; Comme FW 6; Dries FW 14 8 18 27 28 40 30 35; Etro FW 2 6 9 40; Givenchy FW 25 26 27 36 41 48 55)

Punk Grunge Love

Gucci grunge

And just when you thought everything was going swimmingly rich and fatly irrelevant in this world of constant chaos and natural disasters, a spike of aggression and anger is both expression of and antidote against the tough new world in which we live. Think seedy and rough leathers, vests and a violent attitude.

(FALL/WINTER: Gucci FW 2 6 13 31; Etro FW 14; Givenchy FW 5 35 37) 

Part 4 of 4 - End

Spring 2016 Review: Burberry Prorsum

Tough and Tender 2

In almost a textbook illustration of this trend, the talented Christopher Bailey sent out yet another commercially-viable yet always interesting collection which seems to ask “how do you make lace, crochet and old lady florals not matronly and twee?” The answer is to contrast with everything opposite, of course. Lace babydolls are matched to quite utilitarian trenchcoats, clompy sandals decorated with chain, a backpack to go with almost every look, night or day. Gold military braid and embroidery – which is masculine, not pretty, is always paired with the delicate and sheer – fragile cut-work, beading, and lace. The florals look geometric rather than romantic or painterly. While the dresses are seriously delicate, outer wear is usually bold, adorned with buttons. All looks are styled with unlikely stompy sandals, rendering the bare legs unseductive. Always with the presence of metallic elements, a chain or buckles from a bag, a bold belt, studs on sandals, the looks have an aggressive gladiatorial vibe, and recall the bold work of Gianni Versace in the 1990s.

Spring 2013: My Sacred Cows

CHANEL
One of the few collections this season that probably deserves to be studied up close, and seen worn on a moving model because the bounce and energy isn't evident in the still images. This aristocratic collection by Karl Lagerfeld actually throws up a vast array of ideas and propositions for all hours of the day - something that can't be said for many of the collections. There were brisk day dresses, easy suits, cute knits, elegant tea dresses, regal cocktail numbers and dignified formal gowns.
The tweeds were truly standouts, and beautifully coloured.

You just need to look pass the hula hoop bag, the Elizabethan pearl studs, and those plastic sombreros (which  even I don't understand!).

Bottega Veneta

A lovely, reduced collection from Tomas Maier. The burnt palette of batik colours is sensual and sultry and coupled with the romantic styling, brings to mind a story set in the tropics in the 1940s. Although these dresses glanced back at the past, they don't look dusty or cliched, just rich and intelligent.Of course the workmanship and fabrics are special, but every look bears Mr Maier's imprint and that is a true auteur's work.

DRIES VAN NOTEN
Pure romance and so perfectly balanced: This is the textbook case for the combination of soft and hard, tailored with flou, masculine with feminine, rich and poor, western and eastern. And easy to wear too!

BURBERRY PRORSUM
Christopher Bailey is tirelessly genius and this collection is wonderfully accomplished as usual, and on top of that deliciously, energetically coloured and very shapely!

Comme des Garçons
Rei Kawakubo is a true original and this collection could be a comment on the no-meaning place that fashion is at now, just a jumble of everything thrown together. A very romantic vision and what would you rather wear?

LANVIN
In a season when all you year is YSL (or any one of the handful of names we must now refer to the label), Alber Elbaz put out the definitive modern YSL collection. This reminds me that I've always thought that he was the best man for YSL. Beautiful. 

Just Say No

It would have been a fashion collab made in heaven (greasy hair/ trench coat), but Twilight ­sensation Robert ­Pattinson, 24, has turned down a £1million deal to be the face of ­Burberry, declaring: “I’m an actor, not a model.” It was an immediate “No” when Burberry designer ­Christopher Bailey, came calling. Quite a shame.

(Source: The Mirror)

The Latest From London

Streamlined shapes given a coat of fresh paint, seemed to be the theme of the London Collections. Very dull I know, but I'm guessing it reflects the tentative recovery of the economy. British designers are no longer the wild experimental ones, and did not make big statements. It's the flattening effect of a fashion business gone global (how I hate the concept). Readily understandable clothes were presented, fusing minimalist designs (the 1990s Minimalism really seems to be a theme this season) with bold prints, vivid colour and embellishment.
Paul Smith: It’s frankly a relief to see a collection that is based on solid menswear tailoring after reviewing so many collections where slip dresses and lingerie lace gowns prevailed. Sir Paul Smith focused on what he does best, the refined tailoring that is the heart of his men’s collections. The pantsuits, and shirts (ties included), seemed entirely borrowed from a man’s wardrobe, and the strictness of this was a welcome respite. The designer punctuated the show with a refreshing salad palette, and florals, dots, and stripes. Colour and print is his usual method of adding whimsy and a certain lightness to his mens collections and it works just as well here.
Burberry Prorsum: The classic motorcycle jacket was the main motif of this simplistic collection by Christopher Bailey. It seemed mechanical, devoid of emotion. And at 50 looks, this was the motorcycle jacket on steroids. This modern runway staple was but a framework on which to hang all the clunky snaps, zips, padding, studs, straps, buckles and all their various combinations, in jackets ranging from the requisite buttery soft black leather to neon python, house khaki, high-shine metallics, wild cat spots, etc. All this decorative excess was kept brisk and contemporary with a shrunken-to-the-body silhouette so strict that it would squeeze anyone breathless. Sleeves were noticeably narrow and legs were clad in leather tights. Every darkly dangerous look was leavened with bolts of bright neon colour – this looks sporty. Metallic python strips, gold leather, silver finishes all added to a Versace moment.
The clothes felt energetic and confident, if heartless, and not actually breaking new ground: Mr Bailey has shown those familiar ruffled dresses worn under sturdy outerwear many times over.The complete, unabridged review appears in today's Business Times.