After giving myself concussion on Wednesday, London Fashion Week passed me by in a somewhat confused and bemused state...I can't believe that it's Saturday morning already. I promise that I will go through catwalking.com with a fine toothed comb and will post my highlights...in terms of menswear these were a little too few and far between but we expected that though, this is just the state of menswear today. Anyway, yesterday afternoon I was on the mend from my self induced affliction and most importantly fortunate enough to have a ticket to the hottest ticket in menswear all week, the MAN show. We've mentioned our admiration for this show before but it has to be applauded once again. MAN gives up-and-coming designers the opportunity to make a name for themselves (however we would like the panel to branch out a little bit more and offer new names a chance) and eventually even sell some clothes which is always a good thing for a starving, young designer. It was a strange crowd who were crammed into the NCP Car Park on Brewer Street including, Erin O'Connor, Jefferson Hack, Charlie Porter, Daniel Jenkins (who I got to meet for the first time and we discussed the state of menswear before and after the show), countless fashion students and erm, Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen...very strange indeed...Now onto the collections:
Christopher Shannon
First up was Christopher Shannon, who I knew would deliver a wearable and interesting collection and he didn't dissapoint...but then he didn't amaze either. Shannon has been given a fair bit of media atention in the week's running up to the show and rightly so (highlight being an interview with wearethemarket), since graduation from Central Saint Martin's he has worked with Kim Jones ad designed a collection for New Balance. It was a solid, marketable collection and I can see a lot of men wearing these clothes. The colour palette was fresh and I particularly liked the use of green, it was a collection which offered sort the type of imaginative sportswear that wouldn't disgrace his past mentor, Kim Jones.
In this collection Hans Madsen was playing with textures and textiles to wonderful effect. I do have one problem with it though, the clothes just looked too warm to be part of a Spring Summer show. Yes the seasons are somewhat blurring and merging but for me there still needs to be a difference in the collections and not just teaming the knitwear with shorts. That said, if we our Summers continue down the same path I would happily wear these clothes all year round.
James Long:
Unlike the previous MAN show, thankfully Long managed to keep his collection safe from the thieves. This was a step forward for Long and the highlights for me included his new slant on knitwear and in particular his use of sheer fabrics and textures.
Topman Design:
I was pleasantly surprised by the Topman Design collection, initially I was dumbstruck as model after model came out clad in neon coloured tracksuits and matching rucksacks but my eyes soon recovered and enjoyed the rest of the show. My fashion week highlights will follow...
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