Sarah Gilfillan founder of sartorialab.co.uk Archives

We start this season’s round up of all matters of a Sartorial nature in London and what better place to get the ball rolling than at an honest to goodness PUB QUIZ !!! OK with a rather stylish twist to it, in that it’s compare was Hacienda DJing Legend Mr Elliot Eastwick and it was organised by the Savile Row Tailoring trailblazers that are Cad & The Dandy, only in London.

TOPMAN DESIGN

Bright and breezy, otherwise known as flipping freezing, start to the day, but a warm reception was waiting at the TOPMAN Design show which was piled high with Northern Soul references, like being at a Wigan Pier Weekender. There was nods to The Bay City Rollers, Mark Boland right the way through to James Hunt and any show that finishes with Crazy Horses by The Osmonds is a winner in my books.

I was spoilt for choice on the first day of LC:M with a number of fave brands showing their wares but high points had to be David Keyte’s Universal Works, offering us a conceptual performance, which can go either way for me. But it didn’t disappoint, working on the principle upon which the brand is founded, the idea of Passing on, not in an deathly kinda way but how clothing can be passed on from being old to young and in doing so can be reinvented and reinvigorated.

One of my overall highlights of the entire schedule has to be the Barbour Presentation, which showcased the second season of their wonderful collaboration with the Japan company White Mountaineering, best summed

Barbour

up by the unique, Thank God, Mr Richard Gray, of The Sunday Times STYLE;

“I guess this collab is Tokyo cool meets Prince Charles or something like that. I spoke to Aiwaze San the designer of White Mountaineering, who told me the wax you see, which makes a Barbour jacket waterproof, was the Gortex of its day. And, in fact, it works as well as any new scientific development. Including Gortex. I look forward to the day the Royal Family wear White Mountaineering.“

Hackett

Then what a way to finish off the first day then to head over to one of London’s hidden architectural gems, No 2 Temple Place for a spot of dinner and to look at some exquisite attire by none other than Hackett, entitled, ‘Sheep, Shape and London Fashion’, this capsule collection paid homage to the prestigious longstanding textile mills of Britain. The 12 looks were an amalgamation of different checks and patterns in the finest British wools.

The second day started off with a great breathe of fresh air in the shape of the LC:M Exhibition, this never fails to impress me and I always fall head of heals for at least one brand this season my head couldn’t help being turned by the wonderful Gloverall and then the cashmere delights of ESK, this just has to be British craftsmanship at its best. And from one great example to another with Mr Nigel Calbourn who is never swayed by the short lived trends of Fashions but driven by inspirational stories of real people in history and vintage military, outdoor and work wear pieces.

Over then to Fraser Moss and YMC and once again I search the counsel of the ever wise Ms Sarah Gilfillan, contributor of this wonderful publication and founder of Sartorialab.co.uk ;

“I’ve always loved their simple understated look, and I particularly liked the clever layering and outerwear. The mixture of taloring with sportswear inspired pieces like the drawstring trousers takes me right back to the 90’s when they first started .I find their collections are minimal enough in design to appeal to the everyday man but they always have a subtle point of difference so they’re never boring. I have no doubt I’ll be buying many of these items with my clients next season and I can’t wait!”

Hardy Amies

Moving on to a brand which, to quote Messers Daft Punk and Williams, “Like a Phoenix from the ashes” WOW I can quite simply sum the Hardy Amies collection as, Beautiful clothes, where you find yourself wanting piece after piece.

Christopher Raeburn

Much like Mr Christopher Raeburn, who like Nigel Cabourn draws greatly on the great outdoors and nature in all its beauty for their inspiration and once again he does fail to impress. This season utilising Royal Navy rafts as his material of choice.

Belstaff

Now stay with me here, but I had my reservations when I headed towards an underground car park, not a million miles away from The House of Commons. Surely I must have taken a wrong turn, it wouldn’t have been the first time and this can hardly be classed as a glamorous setting for a stylish presentation for a brand like Belstaff ? Well, as I see Fashion Royalty like Ms Suzy Menkes, Mr Edward Enniful and Ms Caroline Rush spilling out of it, I can’t be wrong. Belstaff, took its inspiration from the ‘Ton-Up Boys’ of the 1950s. Heavily into their rock‘n’roll and motorcycles, these ‘greasers’ would rendezvous at cafés and attempt to ‘do a ton’ (exceed speeds of 100mph) on their custom-made bikes, both fearless and reckless in their stylish pursuit.

Casely-Hayford

Moving into the straits now we had a blinder of a show from Father and Son duo Joe and Charlie Casely-Hayford. Set to a sound track of Bjork and Bowie a tribe of Stylish Outsiders did the honours for u. Mixing Oranges and Pinks seamlessly with Blacks and Navy to create a riveting colour palette.

E.Tautz

Opening to a surmon by his Holiness Pope John Paul II isn’t the most obvious start to an E.Tautz show but give Patrick Grant his dues it certainly got the audience’s attention in what Grant called his most personal collection so far, for the Savile Row house. Every coat and piece of outerwear he sent out was one you lushes and craved for already, no brights or pastels for Grant this season only monochrome in his highly wearable colour spectrum.

Tom Ford

Now here’s the battle of the big boys of LC:M, the Texan and the Yorkshire lad, up first we have Tom Ford who showed us a much more causal side to him, which I have to say I’d really not expected to see which included jeans and trainers, I lie to you not ! Then we have Christopher Bailey in the Burberry Check corner, offering us Classical Bohemian in ponchos, florals and paisley, fresh off a hazy trip back in time to India.

Well, there you have it for another season next stop Milan, ding, ding !

A friend of a friend was singing and dancing the praises of Nickel Spa so much one day, that I decided I’d better pop in and check it out. Situated in the heart of Covent Garden and created by a man for men only, it’s a spa & skin care range exclusively designed for men’s skin & bodies.

When I arrived to have a look around their six treatment rooms, I found the staff to be friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The concept is based around creating a venue for men to feel comfortable in and treat themselves to massages andtreatments. There’s an extensive “menu” of professional grooming treatments to choose from such as a “REN – The Quickie facial”, a “Love Handles Wrap massage,” “overground” or “underground” waxing, to name just a few. Male and female therapists are on hand so you can request who you’d prefer to do your treatment.

The website echoes the friendly feel of the spa and has a reassuringly humorous do’s & don’ts section if you haven’t been to a spa before & feel unsure about the etiquette.

All the products they use are available to buy in the salon including their own Nickel range, or if you’re buying online you can search by concern ie: “I party hard”, “I have love handles” and it’ll bring up a range of products to choose from – neat eh?! They work on the premise that “Regular guys want efficient and no nonsense user friendly and yet serious cosmetics and treatments. Just the products, not the blurb and the nonsense around them”.

Even though the men’s grooming market has moved on in leaps and bounds since Nickel first started in 1996, there are still plenty of men who don’t feel entirely at ease with the thought of “masculine beauty”. So Nickel Spa, with it’s refreshingly down to earth treatments and products is just the sort of thing I like to hear about, and I for one, won’t hesitate to be recommending them on to my clients.

Sarah Gilfillan is founder of personal shopping and style consultancy for men – Sartorialab.co.uk

I had the pleasure of meeting Niklas Oppermann – one half of the Swedish born German brothers who form Oppermann London – at London Collections:Men recently.

The brothers are based in London and set up their accessories company in late 2012. The collection consists of a small but beautifully formed selection of bags, briefcases and tech accessories, which are of premium leather made through a natural tanning process without the use of toxic chemicals. The lining is made from recycled materials, and the leather cutting is optimized to reduce waste, making it clear that it’s a top priority for the brothers to keep their environmental impact to a minimum.

The clean, utilitarian & minimalistic lines reflect their Scandinavian roots, and are inspired by modernist architecture and design with an emphasis on clean lines and geometric shapes. This results in some stunning products, I’m sure you’ll agree? They’re available in a range of colours – black, cognac, navy, burgundy and racing green which will make a classy, subtle addition to your outfits.

Their flagship item is the “25 Hour Palissy Bag” – described as ” a large variation of a day-to-day bag. It has the sleek appearance of a briefcase, yet is spacious enough to fit all the things needed for overnight adventures.” It can also be used as a work and gym bag combined or taken as hand luggage as it complies with airlines’ cabin bag restrictions.

Well I rather like the sound of a 25 hour adventure and I definitely like the look of the bag that comes with it, don’t you?

Sarah Gilfillan is found of personal shopping and style consultancy for men – Sartoria Lab

As a personal stylist for men I’m fully aware that the current trend for a skinny and super skinny fit is no friend of the gentleman with a manly (read chunky) set of thighs. It’s proving a bit of a nightmare to find much choice in trousers for those clients, especially with chinos, as sometimes when you do go for a more standard fit they can end up looking, how should I put this, a little old fashioned. So, when I heard aboutSpoke I rejoiced, and even more so when I realised I already knew it’s founder, Ben Farren.

Let me tell you about them – they have a tightly edited selection of chinos in a variety of colours, and the brilliant part is that they come in all sizes, going up in 1″ increments in the waist size & leg length, plus they also come in different “builds”. All you need to do is to measure round your thighs, your waist and your inside leg, and punch that into their calculator and it’ll tell you the size and build you need to order. They have a wide range of sizes, going up to a 36″ waist and down to a 28″ leg length, but if they don’t happen to have them in stock they’ll make them up to order.

With free shipping and returns, a pretty reasonable price tag, and a complimentary tape measure if you don’t have one, all in all I reckon this makes for a pretty great service. And with no more pesky alterations needed at the dry cleaners to get a perfectly fitted pair of trousers, whether you have knobbly knees or chunky thighs, you might just find that Spoke is your new best friend.

Sarah Gilfillan is founder of www.sartorialab.co.uk

London Collections:Men – Highlights – Autumn/Winter 2015

Nickel & Dimes – Nickel Spa by Sarah Gilfillan

Bags of Talent – Oppermann London by Sarah Gilfillan

I’m spoking your language -Spoke, by Sarah Gilfillan

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