It was only a matter of time until London would host its very own Men's Fashion Week. With the esteemed history of Savile Row, the production of big guns such as Paul Smith and Ozwald Boateng, and the cultivation of new talents such as Katie Eary and Christopher Shannon, London is a major player in the surging force that is menswear at the moment. Fashion Week kicked off on Friday and went on through to today with a combination of shows and installations in various venues. I was lucky enough to visit the Fashion East installations in Carlton Gardens over the weekend- exhibiting work from Astrid Anderson, Craig Green, Kit Neale, Shaun Samson, Meadham Kirchhoff, the list goes on!
I also got to see the James Long show on Saturday evening. The collection was entitled 'Kung-Fu Cowboy', inspired by the Alan Vega song of the same name. Graphic lines followed the sharp shapes of neat shirting to form patterns verging on mathematical, while the criss-crossing lines of the knitwear was more organic and offered a grungier edge to the collection. The stand out pieces for me were the embellished tees and sweatshirts- metallic beading glimmered like Art Deco architectural lines beneath the catwalk lighting. On the bottom half, knee-length pleated shorts appeared in various fabrics but their abundance rendered their significance minimal by the end of the 20-look show. The collection also showed off Long's recent collaboration with Cutler & Gross where the eyewear statement seemed to be the smaller, the better. Slicked-back hair and socks with sandals completed a show of contrasting tastes.
What I really enjoyed about the past couple days was the people watching and seeing those usually reserved for the pages of magazines in real life. Fashion can be a surreal world sometimes, and its such fun to be in the heart of it. Take a look below for some quick snapshots from my adventures.
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