The sun might well be cracking the paving stones at the moment, but the thought of Autumnal trends and coats, knitwear and boots sure aren’t far from the minds or images of our favourite High Street Clothing brands. In fact it is currently pretty much easier to purchase the jumper of your choice than, let’s say a pair of shorts of the Hight Street. Well with this in mind we thought we’d bring you a little taster of what you can look forward to as the nights draw in and we start to feel a chill in the air.

Looking super smart this coming seasoning in an urban setting,  Next is showing us how it should be done.

Your not gonna believe this one, this brand just seems to be going from strength to strength with their directional and yet wearable menswear. Well done Marks & Spencer

Our Spanish cousins show us how to wrap up over the colder months and how to look manly and stylish, thanks to Mango

Striking that perfect balance of Smart/Casual is Burton for next season

Deception is the name of the game with H&M designer Trends with high Street price tags !!!

Its not not just the Designers at Debenhams looking sharp next season. Their in house collection is looking smoking!

Smart, Sharp and totally Directional, New Look have completely upped their game when it comes to their Menswear

Even though we’re in the midst of the height of summer, it’s never too early to look forward at the upcoming season, Autumn, everyone will be back from their holidays getting ready for darker and gloomier days, but luckily we have some products to preview that might just make everything a little less gloomy. Here are a few of our top picks.

Duchamp has an extensive Autumn collection that can fill up any man’s wardrobe, ranging from shirts, ties to blazers.

Look smart in one Cad & The Dandy’s suits this Autumn.
Jigsaw Menswear providing the must have footwear for the harsh seasons ahead.

Look like a badass straight from the 80’s with one of these Matthew Miller leather jackets

This jumper from Paul & Shark will keep you warm this winter.
Casely Hayford‘s bomber jackets will definitely keep you warm on those dark, windy, winter nights.

This Paul Smith playsuit and sneaker combo are a must for a man who is always on his feet and ready for action!
Nothing wrong with  jet black Docs by DrMartens, matches the weather too.

Levi’s allowing modern men to look rough and rugged but still look good at the same time, how thoughtful.

There are literally fourty shades of denim available from the Stone Islands collection that can occupy your wardrobe.

But you said Smart -Casual ?!?!

Dress down Friday is simply not a good idea, someone always takes it too far and too literal. The workplace is no place for a cut off Motörhead t-shirt teamed with a pair of 3/4 length combat shorts and some knackered Reebok classics, worn with not a hint of irony, it just ruins it for us all.

New luxury clothing brand, A’legions, is on a mission to inject a new sense of style and individuality to the menswear market. Recognising that the formal menswear market can be at times formulaic and offer out-dated concepts of smart dressing, the launch of this interesting new brand is set to subvert the standard ‘shirt and tie’ dress code and introduce a whole new perspective on what it takes for a man to look his best.

Catering to the male consumer who want to look both smart and sophisticated but hasn’t got the time or inclination to accessorise with the traditional tie and cuff-links. By breaking away from straight-laced standards and allowing men to have fun whilst remaining formal. A’legions menswear offers luxury, ready-to-wear shirts that enable customers to look good with minimum effort. The shirts are designed to be worn without a tie, allowing the wearer to express themselves as an individual without feeling constricted by the buttoned-up barrier of the traditional shirt and tie.

Ease and comfort are at the forefront of the brand’s ethos, the shirts are hand-made from the highest quality Italian fabrics. The sizing of A’legions shirts also offering a unique perspective on the market as there is a three quarter inch collar difference between the S-XXL sizes as well as a choice between a custom and slim cut for all designs. This creates the perfect fit for all men no mater what your body shape or size is.

The Brains behind this concept are husband and wife team Mike and Cristina Woodall. Mike says of the idea, “I was frustrated by the lack of ready to wear shirts that are currently on the market. In our eyes, the gap was clear for busy, highflyers who want to order a shirt on Wednesday and know that they are going to look and feel their best at that special weekend event.”

Haider Ackermann

And so to Paris, after the delights of London and Milan we have the city of Lights and what do they have instore for us with regard to Spring/Summer 2016 ???

Well straight off we have a couple of trends that were bubbling under, that have been confirmed via the French Fashion capital. Those being the old reliable Rock Star, no not Johnny Hallyday,  was very present and visible in the capital of LOVE. We saw Haider Ackermann and Ann Demeulemeester channel a more androgynous look whereas Maison Margiela,went for a more contemporary take on this perennial fave. The other trend that we saw peeking through in London through Christopher Raeburn and in Milan with Jil Sander and Alessandro Dell’Acqua’s No 21 was military, yes I know, what that again, but it was very different for past incarnations, much more contemporary, almost Explorer meets Military, an urban safari, one could say, done best by Balmain and Kenzo.

Balmain

However, the overwhelming story from the Parisien shows was DENIM, and as we said last week fellas the Skinny jean is well and truly dead, RIP. The fit is far more wider, in the words of Shaun Ryder, “It’s gotta be a loose fit. Don’t need no skin tights in my wardrobe today. Fold them all up and put them all away.” Yep, from the AMAZING Louis Vuitton and Valentino to Maison Kitsuné and Paul & Joe. Denim in most definitely in for Spring 16 and in a big way. In fact the overriding look seemed to be rather reminiscent of 90’s band Stereo MC’s, yes them of the One hit Wonder “Connected”.

Louis Vuitton

So from one extreme to the another, this time in the heavenly muse of the Priest, or to be more accurate, the trendy priest, think a little Fr Noel Furlong (Graham Norton) in Father Ted, he’s with it, he knows what’s down with the kids. No but the look of the ecclesiastical trooper was one in favour, reaffirming black is the new black. Riccardo Tisci’s new collection for Givenchy took great inspiration from his Catholic heritage, with Alexander Wang for Balenciaga and Christophe Lamaire for his signature label all following suit.

Givenchy

But black was far from the only colour to strike inspiration into the legion of designers showing in the French Capital, Berluti, the AMAZING Louis Vuitton, sorry have I memtioned how amazing the Vuitton show was ? Dior Homme, Paul Smith all opted for either splashes or full on in your face COLOUR.

Berluti

Now this trend was an interesting one which we saw all over the catwalk shows from city to city to city, in London Coach probably pulled it off best in Milan Dolce & Gabbana offered us a menagerie of prints, but in Paris WOW ! Balenciaga, Dries Van Noten were in print overdrive, Lobsters (not sure why) Marilyn Monroe and Scary Spice’s fave animal print. But over at the house of Vuitton Kim Jones killed it, not only prints in many differing birds and wild cats. This is the way the 70’s should be done, SEXY,  forget the ugly 70′,s all Slade, lace and bad hair. Jones topped his show off with the help of a soundtrack supplied by Mr Chic himself Niles Rodgers !!!!!

So get yourself off now and invest in a Bomber jacket, a tasteful Hawaiian shirt, if that exists yet and some, at least, straight leg jeans in preparation for next Summer.

Dries Van Noten

Iceberg

As sure as night follows day, or is that day follows night, I never know, Milan follows London on the Men’s Style Calendar. Yes, all those poor fashion journalists, buyers, opinion formers and of course the all important fashion PR’s have to pack up their designer luggage, and head off to the Italian capital of cool, Milano.

Here like London we saw a whole host of trends presented to us by the likes of Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Versace and Pringle of Scotland, why does that last house not seem to quite fit in there ???

Missoni

The first Spring/Summer 2016 trend we picked up was the use of Autumal hues being introduced in a Summer like way. We saw traditional tones like Burgundy, Mustard, Navy blue, Moss and Brown all being used to great effect to portray the opposing season they are known for by the likes of Fendi, Missoni, Pringle of Scotland and Marni.

Bally

This trend may have been aptly assisted by the following trend, which seems at the moment to be steam rolling its way through the entire Fashion industry from Mens and Womenswear and from the High End Luxury market right the way to the fast Fashion elements of the High Street retailers. That of course being the 1970’s as a great source of inspiration. However, it has to be said some brands achieved this, notoriously marmite decade, a lot better than others. These being the ones who were a little less literal in their interpretation of this era, houses from Bally, Missoni and Salvatore Ferragamo were more covert in their appreciation. Whereas others, who shall remain nameless seemed to use Shaggy from Scooby Doo as their muse for this season.

Versace

Anyway, moving on, travel never seems to bore as a source of inspiration for designers and this season was no exception we had Donnatella Versace and her team sourcing the cuts, shapes and silhouettes of India. Dolce & Gabbana, as always, used their Italian heritage as the basis for their designs but this time China and its iconology served as its twist on their take for SS16. But it was the ever traveller, Giorgio Armani who offered us an East meets West, using his own back catalogue as reference for his Emporio Armani collection.

Dolce & Gabbana

While we are talking about cultures feeding off one and others tailoring heritage, it was the Americans who showed us how it should be done on a formal front both iconic houses of Ralph Lauren, who offered an impeccable range of suiting for his Purple label and Italo Zucchelli for Calvin Klein Collection on a more contemporary tip. Not wanting to be outdone some of Italy’s oldest and traditional houses offered a Masterclass in tailoring excellence from Brioni to Brunello Cucinelli and Boglioli.

Ralph Lauren

Lastly, we have, sorry I have to say it, probably my least favourite of the Milanese trends, ROCK STAR !!! This is something the Italians seem to love and always manage to offer up in some way shape or form. This season, as in every season, Costume National drew on their inner Rocker and they were joined by Diesel Black Gold, Neil Barrett and Phillipp Plein, who managed to come down for his finale on the back of a bike, very Evel Kenevel, yeah I know he’s not a Rock Star!

Diesel Black Gold