London's biannual celebration of cutting-edge menswear officially began yesterday with a series of collections that determined the way that we'll dress for the coming year. Excitement is at fever pitch for the SS15 collections and there are more questions than ever to be answered. Will Jeremy Scott bring his diner-chic aesthetic to his debut Moschino menswear collection? Will J.W Anderson put men back in platforms? Most importantly, who will be the new additions to the Rick Owens tribe? As we sit back and watch the action unfold, take a look at the highlights from day one of London Collections: Men.
 |
| Backstage at Astrid Anderssen SS15 |
Despite being relatively new to the fashion industry, Astrid Anderssen has managed in only a few collections to establish herself as one of the most-talked-about menswear designers in London. Heavily inspired by sportswear and the incorporation of femininity, Anderssen shifted her focus to the Far East with her SS15 collection, inspired by the ancient Japanese sport of sumo. Unlike the 20-stone behemoths we're used to seeing in the ring, Anderssen stuck to her usual cast of ultra-muscular jocks for a collection that boasted several highlights. There were elements of both new and old - on one hand, silk kimonos washed from pink to peach, emblazoned with swirling Oriental insignia. On the other hand, we saw washboard abs peek out beneath mesh tops and cropped velvet kimonos worn over mesh-panelled cycling shorts. As always, branding played an important part in the collection - the 'Astrid Anderssen' logo adorned everything from belts to rucksacks to floor-length navy kimonos, cementing the designer's stamp on LC:M.
CHRISTOPHER SHANNON
The name on everyone's lips since being awarded the prestigious BFC grant, Christopher Shannon showed a collection full of cut-outs, scrawled graffiti and the kind of band patches we all used to pin to our rucksacks in secondary school.The overall collection is an homage to the 90s in the best possible way - think high-fashion anoraks(emblazoned with 'TM! Too Much!'), stacked white moonboots and the multiple topknots that Bjork managed to make popular for about two weeks around 1996. Painted nails (remember the 'emo' phase?), coloured shades and pulled-up socks were the accessories that rounded off a collection so wrong that it was oh-so-right.
MAN: Bobby Abley
Always a staple of show season, MAN is the menswear umbrella founded by Lulu Kennedy as a platform for promising designers to show their collections for three consecutive cycles. For Spring/Summer 2015, Nicomede Talavera showed a collection comprising of slouchy, oversized layers whilst Liam Hodges showed safari-chic with his khaki cape and killer accessories. However, the show's true highlight came courtesy of Disney fetishist Bobby Abley, showing his third and final collection under the Fashion East umbrella. Adorned with evil queens (Ursula - aka the greatest villain in animated history) and doomed mermaids, his classic sweatshirts provided some of the show's stand-out looks. The oversized sparkle of his finale look showed teamed disco sequins with a slouchy silhouette to bring the disco back into daytime, whereas stiff, sculptural T-shirts were worn over slim-fit long-sleeve florals to introduce a new way of layering this summer. Combining pop-culture references with wearable silhouettes has proved to be a winning recipe for the young designer, making this collection a tantalising preview of Abley's hotly-anticipated future.
No comments:
Post a Comment