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London Collections: Men AW13

 

January is usually a terribly depressing month. No more parties, no more excessive meat consumption, no more dressing up fancy just for the fun of it. Well, if you’re looking for a cure to those blues, here it is – London Collections: Men.

 

Hailed as one of the greatest fashion events of the year by Prince Charles, GQ Editor Dylan Jones and an array of music moguls including Tinie Tempah, London Collections: Men returns January 7^th to showcase the highly anticipated trends for AW13.

 

Here’s a guide to some of the shows we’re most looking forward to. Move out the way, Christmas, London Collections is coming to town.

 

James Long

His knitwear collection for Topman is absolutely astonishing. Taking inspiration from his musical heroes including Keith Richards and the Sex Pistols, Long created a line of highly luxurious jumpers and cardigans (using the finest British yarn) with serious edge. Now he returns to show us what else he has up his extremely warm and stylish sleeves. Shop James Long knitwear now.

 

James Long’s show will be on Tuesday, 8^th January, at the BFC Show Space at 20:00.

 

                      Catwalk.com

 

Topman Design

We return to the catwalk with Topman Design to show our premium line. It will be one of the first major events to kick off the week and we never fail to impress. We have also just unveiled that you will be able to watch the show via the Web – with a 360 degree webcam view! You’ll also get to see what your favourite celebs are Tweeting on the front row, as they will be shown on your computer screen for you to read and interact with. Futuristic or what! We are one of the first brands to put on this innovative event in the fashion world, as we wanted to connect and get more involved with our audience. You can watch this unique show on our Facebook, official website and online magazine - Topman Generation. You can also enter a competition to win two front row tickets to the event from Wednesday, 19^th December, just head over to our Facebook page to find out more. We hope you enjoy the show.

 

Topman Design’s show will be on Monday, 7^th January, at the Topman Show Space at 12:00.

 

               Elisarolle.com

 

Nutters of Savile Row x Peter Werth

An extremely interesting collaboration to say the least, as the late and great Tommy Nutter is one of the most iconic figures of Savile Row. Creating new cuts and wider lapels that were completely unique in the Swinging Sixties, Tommy attracted everyone from the Beatles to the Rolling Stones with his avant-garde suit designs. Now that Nutters’ designers are working with Peter Werth, famous for their elegantly quintessential British styling, who knows what the outcome will be? Whatever it is, it’ll be the talk of London Collections: Men.

 

Nutters of Savile Row x Peter Werth’s show will be on Wednesday, 9^th January, at W1: 1- 3 Coventry Street at 18:00.

 

 

                       Catwalk.com

 

J.W Anderson

His range for Topshop was massive. As soon as his collection came out, it was only a matter of hours until half of London was carrying a J.W. Topshop bag. A hint at what to expect, Anderson has this to say about his work’s cultural influences: “We look a lot at different movements, within youth subcultures. You need to know what is happening in the world to be able to evoke a reaction in garment format.” With past collections providing some of the most creative and intelligent deigns to come from a young designer, London will be expecting big things – and he will be sure not to disappoint.

 

J.W. Anderson’s show will be on Wednesday, 9^th January, at the BFC Show Space at 10:00.

 

 

For more information, visit the London Collections: Men website.

 

Nobody Does It Better

The suit makes the man. It’s a fact. Throughout history, the most iconic men – real and fictional – have donned a good suit.

We run through some of the best men ever to wear a suit: from the classic to modern, and formal to outrageous.

 

    Photo from A Man Of Style

The Icon

David Bowie is to have an exhibition dedicated to his costumes at the V&A. That’s how influential his style is. In his heyday he wore some borderline mental outfits, but he also knew how to counter that and incorporate boundary pushing style into his formal attire. It was the same with his music, it was almost bipolar the way he could switch from piano ballads, to funk, then to punk. There has never been anyone like Bowie, and there probably never will be again.

Going for the bright look? Try this purple blazer.

 

 Photo from Secret Circle

The Modern Gentleman

 Ed Westwick as Gossip Girl’s playboy/bad boy Chuck Bass has to be the most stylish TV character ever. You might have missed this show if you haven’t been forced to watch it by your girlfriend, but the suits and the Upper East Side decadent lifestyle are worth watching.

Going for the New York elite look? Try out this Peter Werth suit.

 

Photo by Kooples

The Romantic

Pete Doherty has a bad rep. If he went on a puppy stamping spree (probably in The Sun tomorrow), it really couldn’t damage his image anymore than his ultra rockstar living already has. But the Doherty of the papers and the Doherty of the actual fans are two different things. Everybody (mostly the tabloids) loves a villain, so the character is distorted. We’ll probably never know the real Pete, but his dabbling into fashion design and his love of vintage wear has made him one of the most stylish indie icons ever, regardless of his personal mishaps.

Going for an indie look you can play down? Try this grey Nottingham slim suit.

 

Photo by Ken McKay

The Classic Brit

Dermot O’Leary may seem like an odd choice, but the X-Factor host epitomises classic British elegance through the simplicity of his suits. Low slung waistcoats and flawless navy shades; Dermot plays it safe, but his appeal lies in how he pulls it off so well.

Wanting to add some sophistication to your suit? Try out this navy satin two piece.

 

  Photo from Fine Art Diner

The Screen Legend

The scene in Casablanca where Humphrey Bogart looks so solemn in his white dinner jacket and bottle of booze is iconic. Bogart was the definition of masculinity, if you cut him open he bled nails and bourbon. He also wore his suits like a man – confident, no messing.

Wanting to add some golden age allure to your outfit? Then this black skinny tux if for you.

 

 

 

Vice Magazine Birthday Party

The line is long. REALLY LONG. It’s down the street and round the corner, and we can’t see the door. Well, this must be the right place: Vice’s 10^th Birthday Party, at Cable, London. It’s no wonder, though. Where else are you going to see Andrew W.K. and Wiley in the same building again?

 

Once we finally get inside, the place is full of tight jeans, kids carrying skateboards, and a lot shouting (Odd Future’s new label additions, Trash Talk, just leave the stage). Oh, and there’s a free bar being heavily taken advantage of. This definitely is a Vice party.

Tonight is one massive genre blend, as walking through the rooms you go from punk, to RnB, to hip hop. Necessary really for the broad Vice’ readership (from androgynous hipsters all the way to Made In Chelsea extras).

Although electro punks Crystal Castles and American rapper Danny Brown make appearances here tonight, it’s actually the stranger acts that put on the more memorable shows.

Newcomers Peace teeter between psychadelia and good ol’ rock and roll, and get quite a crowd reaction, which is a surprise seeing that their recorded material hasn’t really hit home yet. They provoke crowd surfing (we think it’s crowd surfing, or people are just passing out and being moved backwards), and the whole room becomes more sweat than human.

Andrew W.K. provides a bizarre set. Arriving on stage in his signature dirty white outfit, he takes the microphone and a backing track comes on. No band. Actually, there is a bald hype man doing the Irish jig. So they are technically a duo. However, W.K. surprises people by alternating between his Pokemon-esque shouting of ‘PARTY! PARTY! PARTY!’ to knocking out some elegant yet rapid chords on his piano, showing that still over a decade of partying hard he still has the palpitating heart of a student in freshers' week. 

Crystal Castles ramble their way through another chaotic live set, but by this point the place is so packed you can’t even bring your hand up to give a little cheesy fist pump.

 

If anything is taken from tonight, it’s that Vice know how to put on a real party (although it be a completely manic one).

P.S. Whoever took a skateboard to this…what were you thinking?

Photos by Christopher Bethell, Theo Cottle, Dan Dennison and Victor Frankowski

The Music Man

Shopping for other people is hard. It’s not like shopping for yourself, is it? Quite often, that’s what it turns out to be. Admit it, you’ve gone present hunting before and ended up with more stuff for yourself than for other people. We all do it. What you need is a starting point, and we’re here to go through every type of person you need to buy for this Christmas.

We start off with one of the toughest ones: the music mogul. Stuck on what to buy the person who just listens to records? Well, forget the boring and impersonal download vouchers, we are here to give you suggestions that’ll be music to their ears (PUN ALERT).

 

What better way to show off the band that you love than wearing it right on your chest? Here we have a few examples for every type of music lover. For the indie guy we have a white Kasabian tee, for the hip hop obsessive we have Run DMC T-shirt, and for the classic rocker we have a unique Jimi Hendrix printed stubs T-shirt.

 

Plain black earphones are a bit boring, so why not spice up your ear drums with a set of lightening bolt earbuds? There’s a pun to be made here somewhere, but after the earlier one we’re just going to leave it.

 

 

Don’t be a music hog and social pariah, share your music out, greedy! This cassette earphone splitter is the ideal way to show other people what you’re listening to without giving up half of your audio quality.

Mumford & Sons are the band of the moment and they love to dress smart. It’s hard to get the country gent look without looking like a farmer in the big city, but with these Harris Tweed waistcoats you’ll look effortlessly cool.