Top four trends from men’s fashion week

Metallic overcoats, slashed suits or highlighter shade sweater vests — thinking outside the box and thinking in terms of going outside

Edward Crutchley did a good job of imbuing comfort with heightened craftsmanship

The autumn/winter 2021 men’s collections took place (online) between January and March with videos and image galleries galore musing on the future of men’s fashion in the months to come.

“The forthcoming Autumn/Winter season looks to encapsulate the mood of our times, but through a breezier and more optimistic lens,” said Olie Arnold, style director at MR PORTÉR. “Key trends include unstructured tailoring in relaxed and comfortable silhouettes, which offer versatility so you can still dress up when you need to be presentable but are also an upgrade to your lock-down sweatpants when working from home!”

Additionally, expect sportswear’s overhaul and the rebirth of fashion in the post-pandemic world.

Creatures of comfort

As the political landscape became more and more frenetic in recent years, designers have reached for comfort and protection, filling their clientele’s wardrobes with things to shelter us from the turbulence and make getting dressed in the morning that bit easier. When the pandemic forced us all indoors, those concepts became much more pertinent — we saw knit dungarees and knit suits at Fendi, Zegna delivered some dashing unconstructed tailoring in cashmere jersey, felted cashmere, and jacquard wool in a serene palette of earthy tones. Hèrmes and Jil Sander showed knit polo-necks worth investing in.

Prada’s vision of tactility and comfort signalled the mood for the season. Designed by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons — for context, The New York Times’ fashion director, Vanessa Friedman, likened the partnership to Mark Zuckerberg making Elon Musk his co-chief executive — the collection thought about the clothes we reach for when the doom and gloom refuse to let up; think graphic print oversized knitwear, all-over print jacquard-knit long johns, and cuddly teddy bear coats in primary colours and pastels that you’ll be reaching for come winter.

Equally colourful, Etro’s highlighter shade sweater vests and paisley shirts and shorts combos were relaxed options that will look good beyond the winter months.

Edward Crutchley did a good job of imbuing comfort with heightened craftsmanship: cashmere melange tracksuits; cashmere tweed and leopard merino make for fine jackets; imagining languorous days spent lounging in his organic silk pyjamas in soft hues. This loungewear is a forever purchase.

Sports: reimagined

Menswear designers lean on sportswear like no other trend. Interestingly, there are some developments for fall. The way forward for our wardrobes is to the outdoors. After months spent sheltering in place, it’s time to break out again — with appropriate attire, should we decide we never want to spend another minute indoors.

Phipps looked to the world of winter sports: skating and skiing mixed with formal menswear in a palette of ice and electric blues, vermillion and raspberry, extending across gabardine workwear, ski jackets, and recycled cashmere knitwear. Reese Cooper, who was drawn to mountaineering, designed some strapping slim anoraks, wool coats, and deconstructed denim in a dashing palette that evoked the beauty of natural landscapes. Prada’s long johns are ideal skiing garb, though one could arguably grab for them when temperatures hit below freezing.

Meanwhile, Saul Nash, a precocious talent from London, an essential fixture to add to your radar, is softening sportswear with sensuality: softshell anoraks embroidered with men embracing in dove grey and burgundy; breathable mesh accents on tracksuits, and burgundy compression tops with cutouts. Moreover, he lets every man find themselves within his ergonomic clothing, designed with performance and breathability in mind giving them the option to style each piece as they deem fit.

The new suit

The big news of the season is that the suit is here to say. Forget the spell of its death, designers are reimagining the traditional ensemble. At Fendi and Botter, suits were slashed or featured cutaways to indicate the changing male form. For many, their weight has fluctuated during lockdown so expect roomy proportions in the tailoring department going forward. Those generous silhouettes you see make a lot more sense than comfort and breathability, they are a comforting gesture to the male body. Suffice to say, their swishy silhouette is elegant as ever.

Casablanca interpreted the debauched after parties at the Monaco Grand Prix in the 1960s in candy shades and what can only be deemed luxe extravagance. The sixties sensibility fed into classic silk shirting, pussy-bow blouses, double-breasted jackets, and roomy trousers in chartreuse and scarlet. Here, the suit is all about the sun-drenched fun of the Riviera — a proposition to strongly consider when unencumbered by lockdowns.

Elsewhere, for the braver among us, GmbH delineated a new male erogenous zone with sculpted tailoring exposing the shoulders. Nipped at the waist, the fit is snug yet sexy.

Think outside the box

Say goodbye to pandemic dressing Jonathan Anderson is sick of ‘pandemic dressing.’ Like many of us, he’s tired of lockdown stupor, swathing ourselves in loungewear and blankets. At his eponymous label JW Anderson, to put a vigorous spring in your step, he’s offered some leather trousers with sculptural, geometric side panels that explode outward in dramatic fashion; psychedelic mohair jumpers; tunic-like shirts in khaki green; structured metallic overcoats redolent of shock blankets, pertinent after the year we’ve just had. Your wardrobe should be about thinking outside the box but, at the very least, thinking in terms of going outside.

Think of Casbalanca’s colourful tailoring or Prada’s graphic coats — the mood is buoyant and exuberant. It’s time for change.

The beauty of fashion is that one needn’t conform to the status quo. It takes a ferocious talent like Anderson’s to jolt us into the future, to manifest lockdown frustrations and societal tribulations in a collection turbocharged with gumption and frenetic energy but humbled with a homespun edge. (Come on, there’s butternut squash printed on hoodies for the homebound chefs among us.) The collection said, dress for the future you want: be it in long johns, extreme sportswear, louche tailoring, or even exaggerated trousers and pom-pom-like sweaters — it’s all about the individual.