TQS Staff(Versace, Prada, Vivienne Westwood)
Oh Milan, how we love you. The most stylish fashion week of all, oozing ounces of delicious sartorial substance for us to lap up like hungry fashion dogs, with your collection of some of the biggest names in menswear. We knew were in for a treat – and you didn’t disappoint. In a whirlwind of leather, beards and man bags, we were left exhilarated and exhausted in equal measure – a fine place to find one’s self, we’re sure you agree. So, what will our most creative of European cousins have us wearing by the end of the year?
Layers (as pictured above, click here for full size)
You might think that this is an easy option to say to ‘wear layers’ in winter – and you’d be right. But Milan Fashion Week doesn’t do anything by halves. When we say layers, we mean layers. We’re talking coats under coats. With another coat tied around your waist. And one of the coats is made from leather. And the other two are made of the thick, heavy woollen material, making your silhouette look a bit like Edna Turnblad. You’ll be waddling like an American obesity crisis, but oh you’ll look cool.
Victorian Geek Chic
If geek chic had been around in the Victorian age, we’d imagine it’d look a bit like this. Dolce & Gabbana and Burberry Prorsum both mixed dandy eye candy with ruffled, tousled Clark Kent lookalikes. It’s a contradiction between suave and scientific, and we can’t get enough of it. We can take or leave the Bridget Jones pants though – only a top male model can make the grundy work.
(Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry Prorsum, Dolce & Gabbana)
Monochrome
A designer’s favourite for the drab, dreary months of A/W, we expected to see a lot of monochrome, but we weren’t expecting the tidal wave of grey that swept down the catwalks. Mixing greys and blacks together always works well – regardless of whether you’re wearing designer, high street or vintage, but we did enjoy Auntie Viv injecting a bit of colour into proceedings with her banana yellow shoes. Don’t do this with Converse though please – we’re not in college anymore. Dock Martins maybe. Dock Martins are cool.
(Jill Sander, Dolce & Gabbana, Vivienne Westwood)
The Suit
Style.com proclaimed that A/W 12 heralds the new age of the suit. We’ve seen an emerging trend for boxier, square suits, ala Chandler from Friends, but we’re trying to ignore this in the hopes it’ll just fade into obscurity. It’s still too soon to bring the 90s back, sorry. We do like a nice suit jacket though, and it’s always nice to surprise people on a night out by wearing suit trousers instead of jeans. 2011 was the year that saw tweed blazers take off (and jeggings, unfortunately…), and men’s high street fashion got a little sharper. Let’s hope 2012 continues this – consider investing in some suit separates, and slipping them in your every day wardrobe. You’re mum will love it, if nothing else.
(Jill Sander, Gucci, Vivienne Westwood)
Motifs
Hurrah! Motifs are back. Before we begin, we need to say this: NOVELTY T SHIRTS AND JUMPERS FROM TOPMAN ARE NEVER A GOOD IDEA. PUT IT DOWN. BACK AWAY SLOWLY. These motifs are adorable, and earthy tones of brown and red, rustic oranges and deep navies will add a rich, delicious texture to any look. Forget Christmas jumpers, A/W 12 is all about who can have the cutest animal adorning their chest. Game on.
(Jill Sander, Burberry Prorsum, Jill Sander)
Words by @martinloves
