Everything You Need To Know From London Fashion Week Men’s SS18

Teletubbies on the runway, snarling street style and peacockery on a city-wide scale: it can only be London Fashion Week Men’s.

The circus rolled into town last week, showcasing the threads we’re likely to be shopping for next year (or not in a few cases). By and large, it somehow all felt a little directionless and a little more self-indulgent than usual, but perhaps we’re becoming jaded or it’s the political climate we’re living in.

That said, there were some real polished gems hidden among the glittery you-know-whats.

The Next Big Trend

Monotone

After season upon season of bold floral prints, busy patterns and separates, this week we saw a refreshingly simple approach to colour, that is, going for a single tone from head to toe.

In some ways, it’s as an extension of the classic two-piece suit into casualwear, adding a sense of uniformity to a look. Oliver Spencer, Phoebe English and Xander Zhou all went big with the theme, as did Tourne de Transmission and Songzio, both which adopted bold vertical stripes. It certainly eases the load on the grey matter when you’re staring into your wardrobe wondering what to put together, but it also leaves room to be a bit more creative with accessories and shoes.

Key Piece To Buy

Baggy Trousers

The loose-fit trouser was again making a big play this season. It’s not a brand new trend, but so far fashion buyers have been reluctant to bring them to the high street. Is the public finally ready?

The floppy style of trouser shown at E. Tautz and the excellent Berthold stopped just short of ridiculous, making them a cool antidote to the stovepipes that have been constricting our collective blood flow for the last decade.

Colour Of Summer

Burnt Orange

Despite the monotone trend that emerged from the shows this season, it was hard to pick one definitive colour that stood out above and beyond all others.

However, there was a cabal of likely hues that should be on your radar for next year. Foremost among those was a rich burnt orange, which might be tricky for paler skins to pull off, but they’ll have no problems with striking blues and earthy greens, which were also very popular this season.

Designer To Watch

Nicholas Daley

Coming into this season’s shows, Nicholas Daley’s rep was relatively low-key outside of a cult following in Japan for his cultural interpretations of classic tailoring.

The designer’s presentation this season was entitled ‘Madras’ and featured loose linen silhouettes inspired by the cross-cultural influences between Asia and the UK. He focuses a great deal on fabrics, production and heritage, so you can expect very wearable collections of the highest quality.

We should also mention there were some great brands showcased in the designer showrooms, not least contemporary knitwear label Tomorrow Threads and the very quirky yet equally chic men’s scarf maker Vassilisa.

Best Street Style Look

Oliver Cheshire

All the usual suspects were out in force over the last few days, filling up fashion bloggers’ memory cards.

While the ubiquitous David Gandy was looking pretty slick in braces, it was the chiselled Mr Cheshire that caught our eye wearing a peach coloured bomber jacket alongside a white Nike SB T-shirt and black trousers with white piping.

A melange of formal, casual and sportswear pulled off perfectly. Probably a carefully curated look, but he made it appear very natural, which is, of course, the real secret.

The Most Outrageous Thing We Saw

Loverboy

LFWM doesn’t shy from the ridiculous, which usually makes picking a single pinnacle of preposterousness quite difficult.

That said, the decision was made a simple one this year thanks to Charles Jeffrey and his Loverboy brand that shares its name with his cult club night. What to make of it? Dalston must be cooking up some pretty gnarly batches of acid right now.

Credits: Fashion Beans