Is it just me or does this London Collections: Men feel more maudlin than usual? I feel as if stories are being told, prints are taking a rest from London, and structure takes more focus this season.
LONDON COLLECTIONS: MEN
TEXT: Carl Gustaf von Platen and Ethan Potter
“Eboincs is a black symphony” - Ebonics is the name of my favourite collection of LC:M A/W15.
Grace Wales Bonner, one year fresh from Central Saint Martins, has already been picked up by Fashion East and is riding quickly to luxury heights. Wales Bonner dissects the 19th century representation of black people in art, and basal 60s/70s black poetry in this romantic collection that is beautifully tailored and gently rough. We can observe pinstriped denim, crushed velvets and extravagant bling.
I adored this collection because of the distance is stands from typical whitewashed fashion. For me did this collection not only make a visual statement, but a political one too.
-Carl Gustaf von Platen
In general society, “falling apart” is a phrase not often worn as a badge of honour(unless you consider that dark and over romanticising corner of Tumblr as “general society). However, when it comes to British design maverick, Craig Green, tatters is the new black. Undoubtedly on of the strongest new players on the LC:M (London Collections:Men) field, Green continues to define and reshape the definition of masculine dress. Along with fellow Brits J.W Anderson and Shaun Samson, Green is eradicating the archaic idea of the perfectly symmetrical ‘3 piece suit & tie’ as the male uniform, one judogi at a time. His recent Fall/Winter 2015 collection was another conquest in the crusade. The austere cuts and block militaristic shades provided a healthy departure from the ethereal and “zen” feeling of his Spring/Summer collection, proving a desired ability of brand growth that so many new generation designers seem to falter on. In true Green fashion, however, this uniform idea was subverted within his adherence to a very ‘Wabi-sabi’ aesthetic- waistlines were doubled and tied, necklines were tugged, unevenly, towards the belt, holes were accentuated with thick ribbing at the stomach, and jacket lapels ran in every direction. Green’ staple of randomly placed, free flowing bands were a mainstay fixture in the looks, with the runway, conclusively, looking like the aftermath of a bootcamp themed bondage film.
Whilst theatrics and flare are a visual feast Green seems resistant to discontinue, it is his apparent devotion to the ‘handmade’ that truly escalates him in the design crucible. As his clothes are crafted by a human, they feel human, the look human, and I could imagine they smell human, sending us into sensory overdrive. His sporadic and deconstructed aesthetic embodies the two halves of the creative mind- precise and learned crafting abilities and the explosive and imposing nature of human emotions. Green shows us its ok to be tearing at the seams a little, pants should be worn backwards, or doubled, or not at all, and that deconstruction is as organic and pleasing as reconstruction. In a Craig Green outlook, humans are not too different from a luxurious sateen cotton-shiny and new is never as good as bearing a few holes.
-Ethan Potter
Take Craig Green’s S/S15 collection, push it through a battlefield, spill a little blood, and toughen the silent monks - here you have Green’s A/W15. The collection was as if the airy protesters of S/S15 had converted to bloodshed. Thicker fabrics, tougher structures and darker colours. It was easy to see that a subtle airiness still lingered in Green’s mind. Wide trousers were now made in thick wools and stretchy jerseys were done in rugged knits. There was also the stab of crimson that shone through the dusty dark pallette. Perhaps this was done to symbolize a shock on the battlefield - a flash of utter passion or hate?
I adored Green’s collection because of the soft brutality that made me feel a sharp attachment to the garb.
-Carl Gustaf von Platen
There’s something I find extremely reassuring about JW Anderson. I’ve always read him as an intelligent man, who calculates all aspects of his collections, meticulously referring to history and his imagination.
This collection verified his intelligence and passion for mode, as he sent down a collection that really felt like a fresh step outside of his conventional minimalism - yet it still very much encompassed that Anderson mood. The models were clad in oversized cuffs, and unconventional shapes. Anderson relied much on his transformation of buttons, belt buckles and pull tabs. He used truly refreshing sculptures in place of the conventional, mundane nonsense that normally stands in its place. This gave the collection a contemporary vibe that was contradicted by the utterly 70s signals and silhouettes. In connection his women’s pre fall Anderson as always questioned mens and womens clothing, and played with the idea that there should not be much of a change between them - which I wholeheartedly agree with. Composed, contemporary and handsome is how I would describe this collection with three words.
-Carl Gustaf von Platen
This season, MAN welcomed Irish born designer Rory Parnell Mooney, who opened this S/S show with a sense of arcana. Mooney used softly tailored shapes to extend the body, pulling it closer to earth with silks and poplin. The collection felt delicately put together and delicately made. The details fell right into the creative flow of the dark, loose collection. Much like a dystopian, dark monk, Rory Parnell Mooney’s collection awoke a feeling of somber harmony within me.
-Carl Gustaf von Platen
Despite this London season being softer than usual, Agi & Sam opted out for that classic London playfulness that made us all love london in the first place. Primary colours donned the coats that felt perfectly “off”. Lego masks extended the models’ faces, and slowly the coats started falling apart in the most organic way. I like this collection since I know that Agi Mdumulla & Sam Cotton had heaps of fun when designing it.
-Carl Gustaf von Platen
