J.W Anderson Menswear LFW – A/W ’12

It’s been quiet around these parts for days now. So where, in amongst a sea full of Mary Katrantzou tote bags, beautiful James Long knitwear and a trusty pad and pen, have I been all this time? Interning for Melanie Rickey of course, Fashion Editor-at-Large of Grazia magazine! Her business proved so much of a learning curve, and it was down to Melanie herself that I got to perch my bum front row at some of the biggest menswear shows this season during the highly anticipated London Fashion Week. Not only that, I got to put my journalism skills to the test, interviewing some of London’s hottest talent in menswear backstage. Thanks Mel!

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J.W Anderson fuelled the fire of menswear on Wednesday 22nd February and sartorial wear was strictly off the cards. As the first menswear designer to showcase his new collection, entitled ‘Chamber of Isolation’, the venue was claustrophobic to the backdrop of heavy industrial beats. A spooky start to a theatrical collection. Fitting considering Anderson’s background in theatre.

MARNI – A/W 2012 Menswear

Not a boy, not yet a man. MARNI’s male filled no big boots this season and instead, held respectful ground merging elegance with adolescence.

Lanvin – A/W 2012 Menswear

No frogs presented themselves at Lucas Ossendrijver’s menswear collection for the French house Lanvin this season. Instead a modern day Prince toyed with a variety of heavy prints and romantic angles.

Galliano S/S ’12 – A collection stripped of its theatrics

Newly appointed Creative Director Bill Gaytten seemed a crass topic to discuss or visualise this season. Fashion, more than ever becoming a business, doesn’t stop turning for anybody. Not even when the former Creative Director, John Galliano, stood trial a mere 48 hours before the showcasing of the new Galliano S/S ’12 collection. Jumping into the anti-semitic grave with good intentions is bound to cause a rather pressurised stir.

 

Dolce & Gabbana S/S ’12

Dolce and Gabbana showcased prints fit for a Prince this season as Royal crests and colonial influences conquered light weight t-shirts with rolled sleeves, ripped denim in true D&G style paired with low neck line single buttoned blazers all in a breath-taking collection that showcased laid back wealth.

Jil Sander S/S ’12

Raf Simons edged well away from the vast Crayola colour box we were familiar with last season. Illuminated oranges and intense violets were rinsed under a hot tap and the palette wiped clean to leave behind, a colourless mix of harsh leathers and high-waisted shorts in lightweight wools boasting only patent blacks and deep neutral navy.

Neil Barrett S/S ’12

I, myself, have forever been an adoring, unofficial ambassador, and fan of Neil Barrett. His latest collection saw two toned jackets and tailored monotone print trousers come together in a shake up of the traditional young man’s evening suit. Turning it on its head and creating, in the unorthodox Barrett style, an androgynous feel through leather and wool.

Stylist Spotlight – Ricky James Flynn

Talent spans far and wide and we’re constantly searching every nook and cranny for something, someone, that really takes our breath away. This months Stylist spotlight takes us down under as we divulge, scream, fluster and blush at the talent of editorial, lookbook and celebrity stylist Ricky James Flynn.

Back to black – summer showdown

I dread the moment the clocks go forward. For most the uplifting prospect of lighter evenings and Indian summer night skies come to mind. For me it is quite the opposite. I do not function well in temperatures above twenty. I’m certainly partial to the odd bit of sunbathing, an ice lolly and the eye candy summer brings with it. However my temperature suffers. I refuse to let go of my functional absence of colour. Black is my everything and here’s how to wear it when the sun shines heavily from the mid day sky.

Don’t go getting yourself in a sweat about it. You need to compromise with mother nature at some point during the summer, else she’ll continue to burn out your retinas and turn that Ann Demeulemeester shirt you’ve spent months saving up for into a sopping mess of dripping thick cotton and soaking wet cashmere.

Anatomy of change – Thierry Mugler

Creative director Nicola Formichetti’s new menswear collection demonstrated a darker play between designer and body as veiling and draping both encapsulated and revealed the human form. As observation and curiosity grew it was easy enough to allow the exclusive preview of Lady GaGa’s new song from the unreleased album, Born this way, to over shadow the velocity of talent and heritage tradition Formichetti displayed. The new creative director of Mugler certainly stayed true to Mugler’s keen interest in the human body and demonstrated a beautifully dark array of tailoring and veiling.

Sharp angular cuts kept the menswear masculine whilst exaggerated veiling and elbow length latex gloves gave way to an obscure and unconventional silhouette. The face of the A/W ’11 show lay with tattoo decorated male Rick Genest, as his inside-out body art was decorated in a single breasted suit jacket with leather torn jeans and laced black boots. Mirrored panels also lay as under shirts to Mugler’s navy suits creating constant contrast.

Other models showcased an array of traditional tailoring in blossoming oranges and tamed navies partnered with wide, free flowing draped trousers which pinched snug around the ankle to form a thigh loose appearance. High collars that engulfed the neck led way to chiselled jaw lines framed with embroidered pearls  working their way from shoulder to shoulder, again draping elegantly down a backdrop of nude and navy.

Cropped torso jackets also emphasised the male figure as the torso lay bare on show whilst layered shawl collars trailed down into long-sleeved blazers and loose fitted cuffs. With Nicola Formichetti having no previous design experience, instead coming from a solely styling position, the angle to which the designs took were true to that of Mugler himself as body formation was explored through a range of tailored fits and exaggerated head braces.

To accompany the vision of Anatomy of Change the show featured a short fashion film into the vision of fashion and the human body. A genderless undertone shone from the film which was directed by fashion photographer Mariano Vivanco. The film exposed the vision of fashion as a frame-work around a body made up of something more staple and static as Mariano Vivanco expressed fashion as an enhanced branch of the beauty we possess under our very own skin.

photo credit: Jac & Jill