Displaying items by tag: Per Götesson

London Fashion Week Men’s - LFWM - was stripped back in more ways than one, this season. While the bones of the skeleton schedule were showing through, it was the lack of themes on the catwalks that really raised questions. What we were given was a genderless, season-less and sex less display of menswear: a casstratrated men’s fashion week. The rumour mill was flying that LFWM will soon be merged with the women’s London Fashion Week. It’s worth noting, there were as many female models as men, so, if gender is becoming less of a differentiation, then London Fashion Week will become just that, and the two separate halves could make a whole. 

Left - Alex Mullins AW19 - Girls for Boys?

If the men do return to the women, it needs to be as equals and not just a day tagged on at the end. Menswear is outgrowing womenswear, and is always seen as the less established and important sibling from brands who see ii as an add-on and not a priority. It’ll be interesting to see which brands are brave enough to give menswear equal billing.

Men’s fashion needs stereotypes to challenge, it needs boundaries to push and lines to blur, if all the lines have been erased, aren’t you just floating into nothingness? And that’s what it felt like a bit here. Menswear collections entirely shown on females models - Alex Mullins produced an entire men's show featuring only female models - more non-binary club kids dressing up in dated womenswear or six pack revealing T-shirts for the coldest months of the year: it was the male minimised.

As for gender, the whole big reveal of a chick-with-a-dick is no longer shocking, nor interesting, nor original. Art School showed a collection that didn’t look good on either gender and, Charles Jeffrey, the Uri Geller of the London scene, continued with more theatrics, but, in his defence, when the feathers stopped flying and the smoke and mirrors were turned off, the collection looked more accomplished and could hold its own alongside any other designer in-store.

This lack of focus made for a schizoid season, and it was brands like E. Tautz, which didn’t do anything particularly new, that created a pull and yearning for collections featuring something beautiful again. Bored with sports, bored with fugly, the next men’s movement will be a return to something you want to enjoy and cherish rather than Instagram and discard.

That most British thing of all, the weather, was totally missing during LFWM. It’s all about “drops”,  and “Autumn/Winter” is delivered in the middle of the summer, but, before, many brands and designers would start with this idea of “Winter” or, rain, which made Burberry. That probably had something to do with bigger budgets and fancier staging. Larger and more established brands used to like to ram home the cold weather feel, already visualising the windows, and while this idea is dated, at this LFWM, many of the clothes could have been for any month, anywhere, at anytime. So, what makes it 2019?

Sex was missing too. Even the hyper masculine muscle boys at Astrid Andersen were covered up for a luxury pyjama party. It was as though men were getting ready to go into hibernation until all this woke madness blows over. Though, Per Götesson, showed T-shirts pulled up to reveal the stomach, perfect for those social media body fascists. “It’s about equal parts vanity and fragility.” he says. “Each piece is designed three dimensionally around the body. We are applying techniques perhaps more common in womenswear and couture where lines and proportions in movement are taken into consideration. The jersey pieces are developed using this process, it is about finding a balance between strength and fragility.” And, there was me just thinking it was about likes on Instagram. Back to creating a male pecking order, As soon as one thing disappears, a new line or goal is revealed to differentiate the masses: that unattainable 8-pack separating the men from the boys.

Right - Art School AW19 

Fashion is about selling change and, as a designer or brand, you need to create desire for that change into what you are presenting at that moment in time. Genderless, season-less, sexless, can equal nothingness. Just please don’t make men redundant.

Big Coloured Bags

If you're a man carry man-sized stuff around, you need a man-sized bag, obvs. Matching it with your hair is up to you.

From Far Left - Tourne de Transmission, Berthold

LOVE & PEACE

Who was it that once sang, ‘All you need is love’? Well, whomever it was, London needs a bit of a cuddle right now.

Below - Oliver Spencer, Bodybound

Canary Yellow

Just as orange has become a menswear staple colour, it's now time for primary yellow.

From Far Left - Kiko Kostadinov, Berthold

Androgynous ‘Non Binary’ Club Kids

Men’s and women’s fashion collections are merging so they may as well make it all androgynous, unisex and non-binary. They’ll save a fortune!

Anything goes? Yep! Read more here

From Far Left - Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Art School

String Vests

Alf Garnett becomes the style icon for SS18.

From Below Left - Per Götesson, Nicholas Daley, Bodybound, Katie Eary

Name Badges

Networking, fashionably so.

Far Left - Miharayasuhiro, Blood Brother

Logo Tape

Selvedge tape continues to proclaim you allegiance.

Below - Bobby Abley, Christopher Raeburn

Striped Rowing Jackets

Keep putting your oar in? Don't stop. Discover the new brand Rowing Blazers - here

From Below Left - Topman Design, Songzio, Hackett, Kent & Curwen, Kent & Curwen

Brexit Breakup

Border control. Who needs the eye scanner when you can wear this?

Left - Bobby Abley

Characters

The first rule of fashion week - always end your show on a high.

Below - Bobby Abley, Liam Hodges

Cycling Shorts

Fashion gets streamlined. Bike optional.

From Far Left - Martine Rose, Daniel W Fletcher, Wan Hung

Tie Fasteners

Fashion loves a few pointless dangly bits.

From Below - Tourne de Transmission, D.GNAK 

Big Zips

Who knew big zips could be so slimming?

Both - Miharayasuhiro

Where was everybody? That could have been the final statement when it came to London’s latest round of men’s shows and presentations. Having dropped from 77 to 57, the number of brands showing was a reflection in the current oversupply of fashion brands and collections. LCM felt a little vacant and, unfortunately, what was left didn’t exactly set the menswear world on fire.

Here are a few trends TheChicGeek spied to take us into the new year:

Bleached Wail

It's 40 years since punk first burst on to the British streetwear scene and to celebrate designers have been getting creative with a bottle of Domestos.

From Left - Casely-Hayford, Mihara Yasuhiro (See how to make your own pair of bleachers - here)

Mattresses

Tracey Emin rang, she wants her spare bed back! Could it be a comment on generation rent and the nomad status of today’s young and creative generation or maybe it was simply the lazy option. Expect to see 'Dreams' as the headline sponsor of the next LCM or London Fashion Week Men’s as it is now called. 

From Left - Per Götesson, Edward Crutchley

Playful Towelling

Nothing says 'playful' like Terry towelling. And while a playsuit maybe taking things too far, if you've got the legs...

From Left - Sibling, Topman Design

Flag To The Mast

Tie your sartorial flag to the mast and dress like a walking United Nations.

Both Craig Green

Doodlebug

Colouring in is so 2015! Get that Sharpie out and start to doodle to your heart's content.

Below - Coach

Prominent Zips

Zips go man-sized, this season, and take centre stage.

From Left - Mihara Yasuhiro, JW Anderson, Mihara Yasuhiro

Fresh Seventies

Large lapels yet streamlined shapes make this a contemporary seventies revival.

Left - Wales Bonner (See more from this trend in Milan)

Tribal

Fashion tribes take inspiration from ethnic jewellery and the play with masculinity and decoration.

Left - Casely-Hayford, Wales Bonner, Charles Jeffrey

Pink/Green

The colour combo of the season. Bubblegum to fuchsia, lime to forest, these two colours work in every combination.

Both JW Anderson (See more from this trend in Milan)