I’ve noticed a bit of a pattern. All the womenswear designers I’m most excited about at London Fashion Week started out in menswear. Margaret Howell began with a handful of shirts, J W Anderson with his neurotic boy outsider references and Sibling with their subversive man-sized cashmeres. (more…)
The last day of LFW is menswear day. Some see this as not worth bothering with but I beg to differ. As much as I appreciate good design and admire the work of our young womenswear designers, most of them are far too polished and feminine to appeal to me as a consumer. Being all about the perfect jean and a well-cut sweater, when I look at the mens shows, I look at them with a female ‘what can I steal for myself?’ eye. Thankfully, some of the menswear designers also show womenswear (thank you J.W. Anderson), while others come up small enough for women to steal (Topman and Mr Hare). Sibling tell me that their imminent womens line for Topshop will still have the boyish flavour of the menswear, but to suit girls.
Another plus point of the mens shows is it’s a generally smaller, friendlier, less stressy affair. The Fashion East hut was like a full-on garden party by lunch time, with scorching sun, booze and a live jazz band in the midst of it all. My favourite bits:
*Sibling designer Sid’s Mr Hare cuban heel boots. Their knitwear wasn’t bad either, with its signature pop-art graphics and a new collab with art stars Tim Noble and Sue Webster. There was also a rather fine accompanying Alasdair McLellan video…
*Katie Eary’s riot of mohair stripes, animal-print, tartan and studs, all wrapped up in a live boxing match with Olympic gold medallist boxer James Degale. Bruce Weber shoot, anyone?
*J.W.Anderson’s layered, embellished, pinned-together, youth-obsessed collection
*Marc Hare’s dandyish footwear (which starts at a size five, so with the help of an insole or two I reckon I could just about pull off). SS11 is heavy on ‘replenishable skins’, including ostrich, salmonskin and eelskin
*Boyo fanzine pop-up shop. Pardon me for not being au faitwith Boyo, a fanzine created by Patrick Waugh, the very affable creative director of Pop. His vanity project resulted in a one day pop-up shop showcasing the fanzines, his T-shirt collection and some bandanas. Because, well, why on earth not?
CHECK OUT THE REST OF MY LONDON FASHION WEEK COVERAGE ON THE STYLECOMPARE BLOG
As a fan of bricks and mortar shopping, I like to see brands doing things differently and Cerruti has done something bold with its newly relaunched Paris flagship boutique. Embracing brands with a similar sensibility, it now sells Philip Treacy hats, Frédéric Malle home fragrances and Pinel & Pinel trunks alongside its luxury tailoring. This sort of curated concept store only works if the mix is perfectly realised. Too many obviously similar brands and the result is blah and even damaging, but a clever, unexpected mix can increase footfall and create a buzz.
News is trickling in of hires at Net-a-Porter’s sibling site, Mr Porter. Toby Bateman, currently buying manager at Selfridges has been appointed by Natalie Massenet as buying director for the new menswear site which launches in January. Working alongside Bateman will be buyer Katja Delaloye, previously at Brunschwig & Cie and Hofstetter Sports.
I’m very interested to see who will make the grade for Mr Porter’s editorial division. Net-a-porter is as well known for its magazine (made up of mostly ex-Elle staffers) as its buying and it will be fascinating to see what kind of content is deemed appropriate for the Mr Porter man. Incidentally, the editor hasn’t been appointed yet so if you fancy your chances, apply here!
