Fix up, look sharp: Men's fashion comes to town

This week the first London Collections: Men rolls into town. About time, as menswear is now not to be sniffed at either economically or sartorially speaking
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Jamie Millar13 June 2012

Dedicated followers of men’s fashion will be fully aware that the first London Collections: Men is taking place June 15-17. Everyone else may not know or care — or find the whole concept of “men’s fashion” faintly preposterous. The suit has barely changed since Beau Brummell, right? Besides, most men aren’t interested in clothes.

But men’s fashion is nothing to be sniffed at, economically at least. The international menswear market was worth a not inconsiderable £20 billion in 2011 and is growing faster than womenswear. Online retailer Asos recently posted that menswear sales were up a recession-busting 60 per cent year on year. It would seem, then, that more and more men are interested in clothes.

This is just one reason why you should know and care about London Collections: Men, a new three-day menswear showcase.

A special British Fashion Council committee, chaired by GQ editor Dylan Jones and including everyone from Tom Ford to Tinie Tempah via David Walliams and David Gandy, has been assembled, Avengers-like, with the aim of raising the capital to parity with the more commercially powerful Milan and Paris. (Prince Charles is hosting the opening reception.)

The schedule comprises established brands such as Dunhill and Hackett as well as up-and-coming designers fresh out of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Indeed, it is London’s diversity, from the avant-garde to the conservative, from sportswear to Savile Row, that could yet give it a competitive edge over its rival fashion capitals.

Besides, men’s fashion isn’t all man bags and meggings (male leggings). Here are four exciting new British tailoring brands doing interesting things with the suit —things which you could actually wear to work without attracting the mockery of your less sartorially enlightened colleagues.

Mr Start

Purveyor of “Shoreditch luxury” Mr Start is known to his friends as Philip. (Gok Wan fans may also be familiar with his wife, Brix Smith-Start.) He founded his eponymous made-to-measure and off-the-peg label in 2008. “Mr Start epitomises great contemporary suiting, from formal to casual,” says Start. “Everything stems from tailoring, even the shirts — hence our made-to-measure service extends to these. Our customers are often creatives from the design and art worlds. Quality is paramount, but so is price, and this is translated into everything we do, keeping the luxury affordable.” The spring/summer 2013 collection promises a more laid-back, soft-shouldered construction. Right, suit from the S/S12 collection.

mr-start.com

E Tautz

“I started Tautz in 2009 because I felt there was a big hole in the London menswear landscape,” says designer Patrick Grant, by day director of Savile Row bespoke tailor Norton & Sons. “We have amazing streetwear and excellent tailoring, but I’m too old for the former and a lot of the latter is just too staid. I wanted a line for the way that I like to dress off Savile Row.” The result is beautifully, chiefly British-made ready-to-wear with sportswear influences that earned Grant a British Fashion Council Award for Menswear Designer of the Year in 2010. Pictured: S/S12.

etautz.com

Rake

There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth among a certain kind of gent when Savile Row bespoke tailor Kilgour decided to cut its ready-to-wear in 2009. The silver lining was that Clive Darby struck out on his own. “Rake aims to cater for the international man,” he says. “Every season we present a collection of versatile separates that will work with any man’s wardrobe: the pieces can be worn as full suits but equally, because of cut and proportion, they can also be worn with jeans or chinos, shoes or trainers.” Ironically for a brand called Rake, its symbol is a halo. Left, the A/W12 collection.

rakestyle.com

A Sauvage

Ever wondered how George Lamb always looks so sharp? It helps that in 2010 he founded his own suiting line together with Adrien Sauvage, a former personal shopper and basketball player (really). The latter describes their offering as “contemporary modern tailoring, bridging the gap between classic and fashion” — think suits and interchangeable separates in a slimmer, shorter cut. “Our mantra is ‘Dress easy’,” says Sauvage. “No cufflinks means no nonsense.” Speaking of which, the brand has expanded into casualwear — Lamb’s fellow presenter Dermot O’Leary recently wore one of its bomber jackets to The X Factor auditions. Above, A/W12.

asauvage.com

*Jamie Millar is a features writer at GQ

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