Topman Design - London Collections: Men

For AW13 the team over at Topman are taking us back to Britain's early days of exploration. Here we witness the journey of an explorer who first embarks on his new adventure equipped in practical outdoorsy clothing and hiking boots coloured in stone. As new discoveries unfold he becomes infused with rich saffrons and burgundys, unravelling the evolution into a cultured man. At the end of the collection, our traveller finally returns home in navy signifying a refined man. 

Awash with neatly rolled fisherman hats, and featuring cropped jackets with voluminous high necks also spotted in the other men's collections, I'd say next winter's trends are right here. 

Images sourced from: Fashion156.com

Lou Dalton - London Collections: Men

Kicking off the year's long awaiting list of fashion events comes London Collections: Men back with a second helping after last season's success.

Sadly, I will not be physically present during the 3 days of men's fashion but I will be posting coverage of my best sartorial picks for the season ahead.

Day one saw the aesthetically classic Lou Dalton start off the show schedule with an ethereal collection referencing the working class. The airy blurs of differentiating charcoal, blue and grey shades were stamped upon with the occasional hard slick of oil and traditional tartan in oversized utilitarian and sharply cut wool pieces, resulting in a simple but contradicting and wearable collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image source: Diary of a Clotheshorse

YSL - Androgynous Momentous

Just when you thought the androgynous moment of Casely Ledger had passed, Hedi Slimane securing Saskia De Brauw to model the SS13 Saint Laurent Paris menswear campaign ensures this is far from over. 

Gender swapping in the fashion world is nothing new thanks to the likes of Agyness Deyn, Tilda Swinton, Andrej Pejic and even AzMarie Livingstone playing important roles in the on-going obsession with androgyny, but whenever a French fashion power-house welcomes it into their grasp my appreciation is due.

Both the women's and menswear SS13 collections share the same aesthetic of sexuality and sensuality; women without make-up and un-kept hair, and men styled with touches of femininity and boyish charm in sharp black and white imagery combine for a care-free breath of fresh air into the new season ahead. 

Some images of the menswear campaign below.

Images courtesy of Dazed Digital.

Breaking The Gender Rules

I have a thing for androgyny. 

I love to see women who embrace masculinity yet still remain very confident in the fact that they are women. They don't let what they wear define their gender and they don't give a f**k about what people think. They'll rock men's tailoring on the regular, look better than most guys in it and equally, they'll kill it in a dress.

Look no further than Casey Legler. This woman is an ex-Olympic swimmer currently working as a model and artist. But Legler is no ordinary model - she's signed to Ford Models, exclusively as a male model. As far as I know she is 100% woman and she's blurring the lines of gender standing as a glorified example that anything is possible.



Check out her interview with Time Magazine below.