London Fashion Week S/S 2018 menswear editor’s picks
Belstaff: Creative director Delphine Ninous saddled up for S/S 2018, with a men’s and women’s collection inspired by the motorcycle bound adventures of seventies and eighties riders in the Paris Dakar rally. The intrepid collection, imagined in North-African inspired scorched hues and sage green and rose, nods to retro inspired sportswear, and features leather jackets in graphic patchwork, and with a fiery Phoenix logo. Should you ever find yourself on the track, Belstaff’s pieces won’t just look good, they’ll perform well too. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Kent & Curwen: S/S 2018 at Kent & Curwen was all about teamwork. Creative director Daniel Kearns looked to the nonchalance of the fragmented, self-styled uniforms worn by British Olympians during the Austerity Games in London in 1948. A patchwork of college stripes from the house archive was used throughout. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
John Smedley: The mascot of John Smedley’s first ‘See Now, Buy Now’ collection dates back to the 1930s. Japanese Koi – printed on silk shirts and patch pockets on t-shirts – are taken from an original watercolour brought back by John Smedley ll after his first trip to Japan. Standout for the season are the tailored knitted suits in extra fine merino wool with sea wave jacquard
Lou Dalton: In her fourth season working with John Smedley, Dalton took her eponymous line back to its core. ‘I wanted to show people that it’s about great, easy product,’ she said at her presentation staged in the windows of an empty shop on London’s Jermyn Street. Her hand-drawn Breton stripe jumpers will be sure to brighten up the coming season. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Matthew Miller: a medieval church in east London was the serene setting for Matthew Miller’s S/S 2018 collection. A uniform of all black was the order of the day, and prints of the naked body, derived from the work of photographer Jonathan Baron added an erotic edge. Trench coats and bomber jackets came with straps attached to their back so they could be worn across the body like a bag, elsewhere tops came with Velcro fastenings reminiscent of a bulletproof vest. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Maison Mihara Yasuhiro: Designer Mihara Yasuhiro has – like Hussein Chalayan – spent the S/S 2018 season wondering about all of the people in the world constantly typing away busily into their phones. All of us interacting with strangers in an echo chamber of our own making. Yasuhiro presented his unique brand of wry indifference in the basement of a car park. Wearing trainers with the backs hacked off, half-wrap jeans, vintage punk motifs and spliced jumpers, the message ‘do not tag me’ was read loud and clear
Pronounce: Designers Yushan Li and Jun Zhou looked to the mysterious shadows captured by in the work of photographer Junichiro Tanizaki, alongside artist James Turrell’s ‘Deep Sky’ print series for inspiration this season. Classic tailoring techniques were fused with Chinese workwear references, in a collection of block colour looks. Subtle layers of fabric were applied to garments hinting at the shadows cast from collars, lapels and pockets.Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Christopher Raeburn: The designer continued his seasonal fashion travels for S/S 2018, this time looking to author Slawomir Rawicz’s novel The Long Walk, an account of his 1941 escape from a Siberian gulag and 6,500-kilometre traverse to British-held India. This journey took in an array of outerwear options – parkas and bomber jackets were constructed from angular sections of mesh, and jersey reminiscent of kites. Raeburn’s sustainable ethos continued with vintage desert camo pieces being reworked into shorts and shirts. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Kiko Kostadinov: Models with nylon stockings pulled over their faces stalked the Kiko Kiostadinov catwalk in a collection of subverted workwear pieces. A new sleeker silhouette was evident in leanly cut trousers and jackets that fastened with exposed silver zips and poppers. The sinister mood was heightened in a bright white boilersuit and a 3/4 length jacket cut close to the body, both resembling clinical attire. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Band of Outsiders: The rebooted Band of Outsiders made its LFWM debut this season. Under new ownership and a creative team headed up by brand director Daniel Hettmann and designer Angelo Van Mol, the collection set sail with seafaring references with a workwear twist. A playful cartoon-like killer shark motif covered shorts and was emblazoned across the front of a sweater, while classic nautical stripes were updated with a subtle wave. A waterproof PVC utility jacket in bright green was a standout
Phoebe English MAN: For her menswear line, designer Phoebe English pays close attention to the functionality of her deigns, inviting men she knows into her studio to discuss details like the placement of a pocket or the tie of a jacket. For S/S 2018, English presented her collection in an impromptu pottery studio, her model’s moulding clay in relaxed silhouettes in sky blue and grass green, including parkas, belted coats and graphic patchwork t-shirts. With close attention paid to fabrication, English’s collections are made entirely in the UK, and materials in her S/S 2018 men’s offering including natural canvas linen, denim and sheeny cottons. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
QASIMI: In response to the bombardment of 24-hour fake news, designer Khalid Al’Qasimi cited the same digital fatigue felt by Mihara Yasuhiro and Hussein Chalayan for S/S 2018. His elegant collection riffed the languorous mood of nomadic Bedouin tribes against modern military details in nylon parachuting, coated linen and fluid canvas crepe