London Collections:MEN Autumn/Winter2013 part I


Following on from the stella success of London Collections:Men‘s launch back in June last year, eveything went quite, in a ohhh God how can we top that kinda way. Well Gawd bless the BFC and it has to be said GQ’s Dylan Jones they’ve only gone and done it ! London Collections:MEN (sorry just cant get use to that name) has bounced back for Autumn/Winter 2013 bigger, better, faster, stronger with a schudule that includes such names as Hackett, Richard James and Rake, keeping the side up for the formal side of Great British Tailoring and Lou Dalton, Richard Nicholl and Christopher Shannon, no surprises there, yeah OK, OK. But, the BFC etc have been on a charm overdrive offensive and have been working their little socks off as they have enticed,drum roll please, Alexander McQueen, Bally and no other then get ready for it Mr Tom Ford to showcase their menwear wares !!!!

Lou Dalton A\W 2013

Lou Dalton A\W 2013

So to kick the proceedings off it fell on the first lady of British mens style, MsLou Dalton, to show the lads how it should be done. She graced us with a much more grown up collection for Dalton, as always, her suiting is impeccably cut, my personal favourites were the tweed numbers. Lou seems to be evolving into a confident and contemporary designer, but more importantly isn’t losing her sense of fun and humour, which Fashion so often lacks at times. Olympian and Strictly come Dancing contestant Victoria Pendleton sat front row flanked by the beautiful Catherine Hayward of British Esquire and fresh from spending his royalty cheque thanks to John Lewis, was 80’s pop icon, Frankie goes to Hollywood front man Holly Johnson.

From this great start I pulled on my hiking boots and headed over to for the launch of luxury brand, Bally, they were conducting their first capsule collection to cememorate the Sixtieth anniversary of the scaling of Mount Everest. Present at this soiree was a mixed bag of celebs which included TV presenter Rick Edwards, Merlin actor Alexander Vlahos, Libertines front man Karl Borat, Swimmer Marc Forster and fonejacker comedine Kayvan Novak , all out to celebrate both this feet of mankind’s conquering of nature’s elements and an unsurprisingly luxourious range by Bally.

John Smedley A\W 2013

John Smedley A\W 2013

Then onto a great colourful presentation laid on by the Forefather of fine gauge knits John Smedley, who have been proudly producing their wonderful knitwear in the UK since 1784 and did you know we have to be grateful to Mr Smedley for the invention on the Long Johns thermal underwear, you learn something new….

From here it was a well earned pit stop at the Bloggers suite care of The St Martins Lane Hotel. The perfect and most luxe way to file copy, check ones email and refill, before out into the breach again. Onwards & upwards !

TopMan Design A\W 2013

TopMan Design A\W 2013

Next up was TopMan Design and what a difference a season makes, no reference to surfers or surfing for this collection, as we saw with their last offering. No it was full on luxury explorer and his sherpa companion travelling and making their way through some urban comtemporary landscape. The first section of the show was very East 17’s “Stay another day”, but in a good way, honest. Then came a full on colour explosion on the senses in Reds and Oranges and if we are to believe Gordon Richardson and his TopMan design team, the Parka IS the coat for next Winter and they offered us options in all shapes, sizes and lengths.

Mr Start A\W 2013

Mr Start A\W 2013

Mr Start was next on my schedule, the uber stylish boutique of East London, where Nick Grimshaw sat next to Designer Henry Holland both with matching haircuts. The fabulous Mr Hare came along and of course a show isn’t quite complete without the two book ends of LC:M Model David Gandy and Man about Town Mr Tenie Tempah. Start offered us a beautifully sophisticated Man of Mystery, drawing on such iconic figures as George Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy and Mid Sean Connery in his Bond years, almost a modern day vintage super spy. The collection felt rather Miu miu Menswear with its 60’s silhouette.

I can’t finish day 1 of LC:M without mentioning the Hackett show, which had a setting which was equal to how beautiful the collection was, The Crypt of St Paul’s Catherdal no less ! The range was masterfully styled by William Gilchrist and once again illustrated how a true gentleman should dress for every occasion.

Catch up with us tomorrow for the second part of LC:M

 

The rise of the bespoke shirt

The idea of having your suits personal made to your very own specifications is something that most men find terrifying, for numerous reasons including the “ah Suits for sir” characters from the TV Comedy The Fast show, obviously, the cost, but also the lack nowadays of the availability of reputable tailors. Now having you suits bespoke tailored to your own vital statistics might be out of your budget at the moment, but have you thought about a bespoke shirt ? Increasingly, in this gloomy economic climate men are turning to bespoke shirts to add a little piece of luxury to their lives. So, as always, we at Clothes make the man, like to make the lives of our loyal readers a little easier so here are a selection of the best around from difference sections of the market. But before I launch into one I do need to explain three things when it comes to Tailoring and they are;

i) Ready to wear – This literally means Ready to wear now, you come into the shop see it, like it, buy it and leave with it.

ii) Made to measure – This is taking a ready to wear piece or the pattern or block for it and tailoring it to your own measurements.

iii) Bespoke – This is to make a garment from scratch using your own personal measurements and constructing the piece to fit you perfectly.

1) Savile Row – Richard Anderson

Now this really is a bespoke experience, these shirts are exclusively made for Richard Anderson, in London, by one of the finest shirt makers in the whole of the UK. As the shirts are only available ‘to order’ they are all individually cut to the clients specification and finished by hand. The fabric selection is made up of the very finest Egyptian cotton which, for the most part, have been woven in Italy. The lead time is approximately 4 – 6 weeks (from time of order to delivery). If required, the shirts can also be personalised by adding an embroidered name or initials. Prices start from £240 with an average price of approximately £260 – £280. Now Anderson also offers a Made to Measure service on ready to wear shirts The lead time is approximately 4 weeks (from time of the order to delivery) and clients cannot only order a shirt that fits perfectly but the shirt can also be personalise by embroidering the clients name, or initials, on the cuff, chest or midriff. With Prices for this garment as £200 approx.

2) The Expert’s choice – Mr Start

Now when researching this piece I did think who should I ask, I thought a designer like Paul Smith or Tom Ford, but wouldn’t they be bias, the same for a Savile Row Tailor. A Celebrity ? Well I might as well speak to their Stylist, because behind every well dressed Celebrity is an equally well turned out Stylist, no matter how much they protest they dress themselves. Then it came to me, go for a Style Journalist who isn’t afraid to speak their mind and  tell 100% of the truth, plus know what they’re talking about. Of course ! Style Director of Shortlist & Editor of Mode Adrian Clark, who replied straightaway when asked where he would go to ? “Mr Start !!!! Without a question of doubt.” Now Mr Start is Philip Start a man who has a sterling reputation within the Menswear industry and was behind the Mens retailer Woodhouse until 2002. Philip set up his own men’s tailoring label, Mr Start, in 2008, which specialises in suiting both off the peg and made to measure. The fit is described as subtle yet certain, creating an everyday elegance. It has its own store in London’s East End Temple to style Rivington Street and has representation in Selfridges, Harrods and Harvey Nichols amongst others in the UK and world wide. Their made to measure shirts, start at £180 each and run up to around £240.  Included in the price is a matching pocket square with each shirt.  They source fabrics from great shirtings factories around the world including Thomas Mason, Albini, and Mileta They have a selection of small, mod-style collars, our famous round collar, and a new forward point collar and the turn around time for this service is approximately 5 weeks.

 

3) The New business – Harrington & Thomas

Harrington & Thomas was founded after, Tom Griffths who was working in the city, up to last year, got fed up by the quality of shirts the general  high street had to offer. The quality of the fabric was generally pretty poor, and a whole bunch of his shirts developed holes in the elbows from sitting at the desk (admittedly for 18 hours a day but that’s another story).

He found it a struggle to get a shirt that actually fit well, and with the jacket on the back of the chair for most of the day, it was the shirt that was on show most of the time. They thought there must be a better way than having to shell out over £150 to a bespoke tailor, but to still be confident that you were getting a great fit and top quality fabric. They strive to provide a made to measure service where people could really be confident that they were getting a really good quality shirt, that wasn’t going to cost the earth. Plus, they wanted to keep it simple so that someone could order a shirt in a matter of minutes, without necessarily having to take out a tape measure.

4) The High St Opinion – Marks & Spencer

Probably not surprised to see this High Street name in this position to be honest, it is the number 1 most popular suiting supplier to the UK male population. Marks & Spencer offer a made to measure shirting service in four simple steps, with prices starting at just £45, you can create a shirt from a choice of over 25 fabrics, design details including collar, sleeve and pocket options and a choice of fits, including the super slim fit. Using biometric technology, your correct size and fit is worked out ensuring the shirt is created just for you! For a unique look, each part of the shirt can be a different fabric, if you so please, from the front panels to the collar and cuffs, plus intricate details such as button colour and monogram create your shirt just the way you like it.

5) Tailor Made – Dale Rhodes
Dale Rhodes is a Yorkshire based tailor who splits his time between the Dales of Dewsbury and the Metropolis of London. His company was launched by his Father Bert over 60 years ago and now boasts a client roaster that includes Barristers, international Business men, Members of Parliament and celebrities. Earlier this year he launched a new online system of measuring the clients based on off-the-peg sizes which are then adjusted to the individual. He has fascination of technology and its effect on the way people interact. Rhodes has assembled a team of tailors and a specialist IT team who have combined these elements and reacted to the feedback of their clients and designed his unique way to shop online.This site allows people to choose and design perfectly fitted shirts online with a simple to use interface that engages the customers and allows them to preview how putting together different designs and combinations will look on a shirt before choosing to order. With a simple to use order system you can buy shirts in ready to wear sizes or at a no cost option adjust them accordingly to make them available to the large, small, tall, short, athletic and portly, basically adapting them to the individual.
Hope this has thrown some light on this ever increasing trend and maybe even given you an idea for a potential gift for a tricky fella to buy for, or even something for yourself ! Nonetheless, Clothes-make-the-man.com will be offering you indispensable guides to gift buying and making your life a little easier over the Yuletide.