The 7 New Season Trends We Loved At London Collections: Men

Wondering what all the coverage of pink fluffy knits, Lego masks and plastic carrier bag hats has been about this week? Of course it was the autumn winter 2015 shows at London Collections: Men. As usual, there was a broad spectrum of fashion on offer, from the sublime to the riduclous, but several key trends emerged for next autumn winter that any discerning gent ought to be aware of. Nick Barron is here to help out the men in your life with his definitive guide…

1. Shearling

Shearling coats were the main story at LC , popping up again and again across the four days and lending weight to the Seventies vibe that permeated across the collections. Tom Ford covered all the bases, with several gorgeous shearling pieces, including a knee-length hooded coat, a cropped biker cut and a shearling-lined denim jacket. At Burberry, Christopher Bailey ran shearling detail across one coat, including around the rounded pockets that were rather cute and JW Anderson fronted a cropped jacket with shearling panels. Margaret Howell, James Long and Hackett were just some of the others to get in on this burgeoning trend, so it is most certainly time for fellas to cozy themselves up in sheepskin and embrace Del Boy chic.

2. Orange

The trend that just won’t die, or catch on, orange seems to roll around almost every season at LC . For autumn-winter, it’s no different, with hoards of designers using this most unwearable of colours in their collection yet again. Katie Eary’s opening look was a below-the-knee orange overcoat with a black fur trim and later she showed an orange neoprene sweatshirt and quilted jacket. Agi & Sam’s childhood-inspired collection featured orange trousers and detailing on coats, as did Lee Roach’s line, as well as a sleeveless orange tabbard-style top. Liam Hodges at MAN used almost head-to-toe orange in one look and the eye-catching colour was all over Kit Neale’s collection. On a catwalk, it looks terrific, it’s just not that easy to wear, but if you’re foolhardy enough to try, it seems there will be plenty of options available. Again.

3. Stripes

‘Pin’ and ‘prison’, to be more specific - vertical stripes popped up a lot across the shows. At Ede & Ravenscroft, a wide pinstripe and a double breasted jacket gave a grey suit a retro vibe, while Margaret Howell’s slouchy, cropped trouser and relaxed jacked was a more modern interpretation. It was YMC who kicked off the bolder prison stripe trend, with thick black and white vertical stripes on a cotton jacket buttoned to the neck. At Hentsch Man, there was a similar effect on a pair of trousers and, at MAN, Nicomede Talavera’s first look was head to toe monochrome stripes on trousers, a top and a jacket. Dunhill’s interpretation was softer, with silk pijama-like pieces in copper, pink and brown against grey. Not something that everyone has hanging in their wardrobe, your man might have to wait uintil these looks land in the shops later in the year. Unless, of course, he’s been bad…

4. Grey

It may not sound like the most exciting of trends, but the great thing about grey is that it is incredibly easy to wear, it runs zero risk of looking ridiculous and it is something that men can adopt now, so simple an idea is it. Suits, jackets, coats, trousers - you name it, it popped up in fifty shades of grey at the AW15 shows. Most notable were Aquascutum’s dove grey quilet jacket, Joseph’s buttonless grey coat for it’s gorgeous cut and Lee Roach’s opening looks - soft grey pieces cinched at the waist with black belts.

5. Checks

Topman Design set the mood for the week as the opening show of LC with their Seventies rock-inpired show that strongly featured Bay City Roller-esque check across a number of looks, including one head to toe yellow and black suit that was like a boy version of Alicia Silverstone’s famous Clueless ensemble. From then on, checks were seen across the shows at Tom Ford, Dunhill and Shaun Samson to name a few. Most strking though was Jeremy Scott’s use of checks at Moschino, where he peppered his winter wonderland of a collection - equal parts fur and flesh, including that of one Miss Jourdan Dunn - with bright checks. Trousers in red and black, a kilt-style piece in yellow and blue and a jacket with an almost formalwear cut in all manner of colours took this bold trend to another level. Perhaps only for the brave, this one, or those with Scottish blood at least.

6. Straps

Remember the late Nineties/early Noughties, when girl bands like All Saints and Misteeq would bop around in combat trousers with long, loose straps hanging off them? No, it wasn’t a particularly pretty sight then, but somehow this dare we say ‘trend’ has come back around, and this time for the lads. Trousers, coats and jackets adorned with straps were a regular cocurance at the shows, used as they were in the collections of Nicomede Talavera at MAN, Maharishi and LC rising star Craig Green, to name a few. So dig out your Best of All Saints CD (or EP is probably more factually correct) and gird your loins, straps are coming back.

7. Jumpsuits

Possibly the most unlikely of the emerging trends from LC is the jumpsuit for men. Whether leather at Belstaff or snow white at Topman, the jumpsuit is officially a menswear item now. The good news is that one of the key jumpsuits shown at the shows is available now. The Kingsman for MrPorter.com wool siren suit combines the jumpsuit trend with aforementioned pinstripes - two AW15 trends in one! The collection has been designed in collaboration with director Matthew Vaughn to tie in with the rellease of his upcoming film, Kingsman: The Secret Service. If you know any men who class themselves as early adopters, get them on board now.

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