London Fashion Week Men A/W 2020 – Round-Up

London Fashion Week Men A/W 2020 is over for another year (six months if you’re waiting for the summer shows) and once again the British fashion industry levels up to reach higher design standards and media acclaim.  Men’s fashion is one of the few industries in the world that has to play a definite second fiddle to the women but, considering where the whole British industry was just 10 years ago, the leaps that have been made in that time certainly proves the old adage, ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’.  Here we give you a brief round-up of some of our favourite menswear shows:

Art School London

It’s easy to overuse the term ‘life imitates art’ but it was very apt for the Art School London show.  There was more drama than we’re used to, with models who felt more like stage actors that catwalk veterans.

It was a perfect match for a collection that displayed a sombre, almost Amish restraint to the delicious designs – with even the tailored outfits being cinched at the waist with loops of bleached rope.

Astrid Andersen

You can always rely on Astrid Andersen to give urban casualwear the kind of premium twists and design flourishes that makes it one of the most exciting labels on the block.

Bright tangerine sustainable fur coats, bell-bottom jeans, fringed ponchos and swirls of abstract colours that drew inspiration from rose printed upholstery subverted expectations alongside the obligatory hoodies, track pants and sports shirts.

Band of Outsiders

This year, the winter season for Band of Outsiders is, appropriately enough, all about outdoor work.  And there’s nothing in the rule book that says you can’t look good while doing it.

So work pants and jackets come in eye-catching colours and checks while the jersey hoodies and track pants are thick and luxurious to protect you from the elements while chopping down that tree or building that shed.  Nothing should stop you looking fashionable, even when you’re grafting out in the elements.

Bethany Williams

Fresh off her British Fashion Council award for Emerging Menswear Talent last month,  Williams took the new colour and enthusiasm injected into her life and applied it to her new collection in a series of head-turning abstract patterns and colour schemes throughout the show.  Recycled bedding and techniques like quilting and patch working are common threads in this collection.

Chunky hand-knit vests and shorts (from the fingers of Bethany’s own mother, Karen Kewley) play with the connotations of ‘winter clothing’ while denim is given the abstract art treatment.  The striped technicolour dreamcoat teamed with Adidas shell-toe sneakers was a particular highlight of the show.

Chalayan

Loose was the watchword for Chalayan’s winter collection.  Ankle-length coats billowed in the wind of the outside location to highlight the extra yards of fabric that had been incorporated into the designs.

The tailored trousers were equally volumous and created some great silhouettes when teamed with the tailored jackets.  The sombre palette of browns, blacks and beiges were occasionally broken up with shocks of abstract black and white prints to keep you on your toes.

Kaushik Velendra

When you’re a newcomer it behooves you to make sure you announce yourself and leave and impression.  Valendra did exactly that was his first show at LFWM with a collection that never strayed from the yin and yang of black and white and traded heavily on very sharp tailoring with a nod to his south Indian heritage (by way of Central St Martin’s).

Unusual touches like slick suits with sleeveless jackets and the addition of molded shoulder and chest pieces added a touch of drama to one of LFWM’s best dressed shows.

Paria Farzaneh

There are a few designers who are so distinctive you’d know their pieces on sight.  Farzaneh is one such designer.  Her Iranian heritage comes through everything she designs, creating the kind of cultural transference not many other labels could manage.

The unmistakable ethnic patterns reimagined recognisable staples like work pants, work jackets and hoodies, all utilising environmentally friendly materials.  The show itslef revolved around an Iranian wedding, mirroring the perfect marriage of culture and design and fashion and sustainability.

Click here for more show reviews.