CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

WORDS BY MIA RILEY

London is classed as one of the Fashion Capitals of the world. One of the best things for me about living in this capital city is the stores (although I would argue my bank account begs to differ). Having such an esteemed title means that London has some of the best stores in the world, so whether you live in London or planning a visit here are the stores you should checking out, maybe warn your bank manager, to reinforce your overdraft beforehand.

Dover Street Market

Created by Rei Kawakubo founder of fashion brand Comme Des Garcons. DSM has an air of effortlessness too it, it’s understated, urban and trendy. From giant perfume pillars to old shacks the visual displays are incredible. It’s the best department store if you are into design, they have countless installations and a lot impeccable designers and collaborations. From designers like Craig Green to Phoebe English, the store is a borderline exhibition.

Blitz London

Located in the heart of Brick Lane in an old furniture factor. Blitz opened up in 2011 and since the birth of this vintage shop it has gone from strength to strength. I can assure you if you visit Blitz you’ll never want to go to any other vintage store. Friendly staff and almost anything you could want and imagine, you could easily argue that this is more of a vintage department store.

Machine – A

Machine – A prides itself on selling “ interesting and current collections from a blend of standout emerging and established brands.” With a central London space in Soho, it is visited by the people in the fashion know and you can find brands like Christopher Raeburn situated in the store. If you like the quirky urban brands and designers than this concept boutique is for you.

LN-CC

Visually this store is one of the coolest on the list. The design and layout looks other worldly and if that wasn’t cool enough, the brands and designers that are stocked will possibly blow your mind. However, being this cool does have it’s drawbacks as sadly LN-CC is an exclusive boutique in which you must book an appointment for. It’s definitely worth your while and if you get an invite to one of their exclusive events you are one of the very lucky few.

Summer days are faded into dark grey clouds and light mornings are beginning to be replaced by dark gloomy ones. Yes Autumn 2016 is on its way. But, it’s not all doom and gloom as this gives us the opportunity to ditch those flip flops and short and start wearing knitwear and jackets. Rather than dreading the new season, let us celebrate it. So we have sort the advice and guidance of some of the best qualified and most respected figures in the industry, unfortunately, they weren’t available, ONLY JOKING! Lets face it these guys are so qualified at buying the right product they are employed to do it for a living ! So these figures are going to tell us what brands they are most excited about for the forthcoming season and why you should part with your hard earned cash to invest in them.

“Celebrating 20 years in the game I think Fraser and Jimmy through everything at this collection and the show. Titled “ Parallelogram “ the show erupted with piercing sounds of a guitar tuning and it was pulsating psych-rock all the way down from there. The palette was like a knackered old log cabin at dusk; charcoals, deep greens, tans, blacks and navy blocks with strings of purple and dusky pinks shining through. Denim was ripped, shredded and distressed and the trousers wide. The fringed donkey jackets and wedged clogs a nod to better times of yesteryear whilst the timeless Biker Jackets and Chelsea Boots dragged you back to present day. Stand out piece for me was the tan shearling jacket with contrast leather pockets and trim. Fedoras and Bucket Hats featured throughout with playful scarves wrapped around the models necks and the textured knits gave life to tonal looks. With so many stores seeking brands from the far east at the moment YMC gave them no reason to look further than Hanbury Street. I cant wait to get this collection in the shop and to write about the many intricacies of the collection. You Must Create… Yes you must.”

Thom Schdel, the Idel Man

“This bomber by Helmut Lang has to be the piece of the season – subtle camouflage print in a jacquard fabric– luxe cool at its best.”

Claire Miles, Head of Bluebird.

“OAMC is a great addition to our stable of new and emerging contemporary brands. There is a real fusion of form and function; the clean silhouette references performance sportswear and the detailing has a purpose rather than as purely decoration. Whilst the silhouette is clean and functional founders Luke Meier and Arnaud Faeh have really elevated this refreshing take on modern menswear.”
Damien Paul, Head of Menswear, MATCHESFASHION.COM

“Howlin’ by Morrison are based in Belgium, but are in fact experts of British and Irish knitwear, sourcing the finest fabrics from small, independent weavers and distributing it to selected retailers from their Antwerp base. We are lucky enough to be part of that chosen few, and have managed to get a hold of some quality knitwear and accessories, just in time for the start of Autumn 2016.”
Pete Parry, Steranko

“Following on from the brand relaunch of Perry Ellis last season, I am really excited to see the Americana brand develop into this new season for AW16. I particularly love the styling of this outfit. Layering a leather jacket under a long camel coat is quite unusual, but it just works; particuarly with the Perry Ellis logo tee underneath. Highlights for the season include their easy to wear logo sweatshirts and contrast cuff knitwear, a staple taken from orignal Perry Ellis archives, to all over clashing print t-shirts.”
Paul Hayes– Senior Buyer Menswear, House of Fraser

WORDS BY JAKE WATKINS

From the dictionary: Groom; Verb – to tend carefully as to person and dress; make neat or tidy.

Until recent decades grooming for men was kind of an in-joke. We snickered and sneered at guys who seemed to spend inordinate amounts of time clipping and cleaning their nails, checking for blackheads in the mirror or comparing deodorants at the store. Guys got dirty and ladies appreciated our gritty surfaces and musky odors (at least that’s what we told ourselves). Grooming was the exclusive domain of women and the wealthy who had nothing better to do. Oh how times have changed.

Of Deodorants and Isaac Newton

Today, men’s grooming products fly off the shelf to the tune of tens of billions of dollars in annual sales and with markets like China just beginning to open up to the concept the future seems bright for this once neglected sector of the cosmetics industry. However, as Isaac Newton noted waaay back in the 17th century, every action creates an equal and opposite reaction and it could just be that in 2016 we’re seeing the reaction to good grooming in the form of the anti-grooming trend for men.

2016 An Anti-Grooming Odyssey

It began as the faintest murmur, nothing more than a curiosity really, that crept through the backstage areas at a few fashion houses. Some next-gen male models were tired of spending hours primping and preening before big shows. They wanted an easier way and they found it by just showing up, tossing on the clothes and heading for the runway. A few designers took note of this new “look” and decided all their models should adopt the approach, even ordering them not to shower before big shows.

One thing led to another and style conscious guys on the street began emulating the look. Before long not-so-style-conscious guys began to take notice and ask themselves “Why should I invest time and energy in grooming if nobody else is?” and next thing you know dirty fingernails were popping up all over the place and we had a full-fledged (anti) trend on our hands.

The fashion industry tried to put a responsible spin on the whole thing, stating that it’s very calculated and that their models must still have a healthy glow to their skin etc, but most guys who’ve gone lumberjack aren’t listening. They’re embracing their inner slob and just letting themselves go, much to the consternation of women everywhere.

The Way Forward

While reasonable people can debate whether in fact male grooming may have stepped off the ledge in recent years with the boom in laser hair removal, Botox, eyebrow tats, pectoral implants and waxed butts, abandoning the neat and tidy altogether doesn’t seem like an entirely rational response. Surely there must be a middle ground where men can be well-groomed without having to lipo their spare tire or Botox every one of their crow’s feet. Here are a few suggestions that may help restore balance to the grooming force:

● Beards: Beards are cool as long as they’re not allowed to run wild. Many women actually prefer a neatly trimmed beard to the smooth look, so go ahead and scruff it up, just spend a few minutes every couple of days tending to those loose ends.

● Waxing: If you’re a guy with a normal amount of body hair what’s the point of waxing those glutes unless your partner asks you to? On the other hand, if you’re in possession of a serious gorilla back, waxing can do wonders for your love life.

● Plucking: Plucking can seem like a vain pursuit but the older you get the more aggressively your eyebrows begin to stake a claim to facial dominance. Plucking eyebrows then is one grooming exercise that should probably be retrieved from the waste bin.

● Botox: This is a tough one. Let’s just say that Botox should never be considered a ‘must’ but there are definitely instances when smoothing out a few valleys in the face can provide a welcome boost to the self-esteem. Approach it on a wrinkle-by-wrinkle basis.

I mean, there’s a scene in “Pulp Fiction” where Samuel L. Jackson announces to John Travolta that he’s going to spend his remaining days “walking the earth.” Travolta responds “So you decided to be a bum.” While abandoning good grooming practices may not put you squarely in the “bum” category, if left unchecked it will surely give you a nudge in that direction. So don’t be a bum. Find the middle path with grooming and put a smile back on your lady’s face.

Yes that’s right, everyone’s heading off on their Summer holiday, the weather for once is pretty much seasonally timely and yes I want to discuss Autumn ! It’s the season to wrap up, layer up and spend some of your hard earned cash on some top quality premium apparel. We’ve consulted some of the finest creative minds, of the most well respected retailers to tell us, What is your must have piece of the season ?”

“My favourite piece from AW16 is the khaki wool coach jacket. This is part of our Military Luxe trend and to me, is the perfect fusion of a key trend and the jacket shape of the season. It’s understated and both modern and timeless!”
James Lawrence, ASOS Head of Menswear Design

“Its hard to choose a favourite piece from the collection because this season I have so many, but if I was pushed id have to say it’s the Denim Utility Jacket. Every wardrobe needs a denim jacket but this one is a particular favourite because it transcends from day to night and features utility details which are very on-trend for menswear AW16.”
Jane Shepherdon, CEO WHISTLES.

‘J.Crew has a distinct perspective on tradition and style. What excites me each season is how we explore new proportions, textures, fabrications, washes and details to provide a new view of old-shool ideas… It reframes the classics as modern and fresh again.’
Frank Muytjens, Creative Director, J.Crew

“By working with the best mills in the industry, we have created a collection of the finest coats constructed with the utmost care. Woven from Australian Merino wool, this fabric has been dyed, carded and spun by prestigious British mill Fox Brothers, renowned for their cloth since 1772. Made in Portugal, the coat features a Glen Check pattern and comes half lined, requiring a technical process to achieve a flawless finish inside and out. A slightly oversized silhouette, further details include horn buttons and a natural drape”.

Claire Smith, Head of Design, Jigsaw Menswear.

“The menswear wool navy melange coat is a great piece for autumn winter. The cocooning silhouette is a favourite of mine for outerwear with an updated length and rich texture.”
Martin Anderson,Head of Menswear Design, COS

Need a pairs of swim shorts, a T-shirt, some flip flops ? Forget it ! It’s August, the height of Summer, so that can mean only one thing, yes as certain as you will pay tax, the clothing retailers up and down the country will have started to get their Autumnal stock in. Yes that means, knitwear, Jackets(even coats) and of course boots.

Yeah we might not be quite ready to purchase our Winter coats just yet, that doesn’t stop the apparel stores from tempting us with their fine wares and if that wasn’t rather enough of wishing time away, I thought I’d join in and add to the temptation by highlighting what they have on offer for Autumn 2016. Enjoy.