MILITARY MARCH
Bombers with command, officers’ greatcoats that are far from a mess… the vogue for military-inspired outerwear is on the march, and the latest examples put the “art” into artillery. Take Our Legacy’s khaki duffle: stylish enough to turn heads (if not hoods) but sturdy enough to withstand a retreat from Moscow (or any other deep-frozen winter capital). Private White V.C.’s shearling-trimmed bomber is inspired by World War II G-1 flight jackets, and is the perfect partner for a brisk afternoon’s fell-walking – or even dam-busting. Meanwhile, Saint Laurent’s double-breasted officers’ coat, with lion-embossed gold buttons and metallic faille-trimmed cuffs, puts the Navy seal on military style.
TARTAN ARMY
Our love affair with tartan is far from plaid out – in fact, as Scotland prepares to go its own way after bucking the Brexit trend (maybe even preparing its own Sexit?) the clannish check is re-acquiring the kind of Braveheart-style rebellious aura last seen when Dame Vivienne Westwood put the Sex Pistols in tartan bondage trousers. The autumn/winter catwalks were a riot of Royal Stewarts and Black Watches, but you don’t have to go the full kilt-and-sporran to pledge your allegiance to the land that gave us Sir Sean Connery and the deep-fried Mars bar. A vividly checked overcoat, like Bottega Veneta’s, will show that you’re more than ready for a Highland fling.
SOMETHING ABOUT SHEARLING
Is shearling still a sure thing? Absolutely. The autumn/winter shows were rammed with various iterations of the snug-and-stylish sheepskin – trims, linings, outerwear – showing that this is one lamb-derived product that continues to have legs. If you want to stay ahead of the flock, while stressing shearling’s weighty, rugged, winter-defying elan, you could opt for a bomber jacket – Brioni’s slick, tonal collared version is a flying ace, while Loro Piana’s tan, cashmere-trimmed number is anything but sheepish when it comes to tactile allure – or do the swell-boy-not-Del-Boy thing with a full-pelt shearling coat like Loewe’s. Either way, these are garments that put the elation into insulation (almost).
SHOW-OFF SHOES
When it comes to footwear, we hold to the immortal words of Dr Seuss: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.” And if you’re the guy in a pair of standout – nay, shoutout – shoes, like the jacquard fur slippers designed for Gucci by Mr Alessandro Michele (think Rococo Yeti) you’ll definitely be heading in the direction of the cutting-edge avant-snug. If you’re not quite ready to go out on that particular limb, there are plenty of other examples of hoof-adelia around this season – from baroque boots to psyched-out sneaks – to ensure that it’s best-dressed, if not trippiest, foot forward.
ZIP IT
Zip, as in pep, verve, vigour, vim. Zip, as in link, connection, yoke. Put them together and what have you got? The plethora of elegant zip tops coming your way over the next few months, as exemplified by Loro Piana’s auto-inspired “Roadster” storm-blue cashmere half-zip sweater (could this be the inspiration for a new franchise, The Fastener And The Furious?) The zip top is easy enough to slip over jeans and a T-shirt, and smart enough to look suitably done-up under tailoring. In fact, it’s the perfect reach-for piece – one with teeth, you might say – for the age of smart-casual.
STRIPE HYPE
Don’t be side-swiped by side-stripes – this is a trouser detail that’s proving very seamly for autumn/winter, primarily because it combines two predominant themes in menswear right now – namely old-school military chic and a retro take on the athleisure look (think the Duke of Wellington meets Mr Chas Tenenbaum from The Royal Tenenbaums). And if that sounds like a particularly outre combination, rest assured that where side-stripes have been deployed – in contrasting black on Neil Barrett’s Prince of Wales check trousers, for example – they add a formal crispness and a rakish dash to any parade-ready leg.
DOUBLE-BREAST ASSURED
“The thing with double-breasted,” the American journalist and style authority Mr Glenn O’Brien says, “is that it’s for men, not boys.” The chest-enhancing, waist-slimming silhouette has been in vogue for several seasons – it’s still the default style for the menswear movers and shakers at Pitti Uomo – not least because the brash pinstripes and boxy shapes associated with the yuppies are a distant 1980s memory, and the modern DB is form-fitted, streamlined and supremely well put-together. Case in point: this Richard James wool coat, which will give any ensemble a Savile Row-worthy upgrade – at the double.
WORN AGAIN
What kind of looking-glass world would we be living in where “distressed” meant desirable, and “worn” was interchangeable with “invigorated”? The kind where the sartorial concept of “deconstruction” – clothes that are pre-weathered, ready-ripped and generally given the dragged-through-a-hedge-backwards treatment, as pioneered by the likes of Comme Des Garçons and Mr Yohji Yamamoto in the 1980s – is a thing, as it most certainly is right now. Any snags? Plenty in the loose-fibre or scuffed-surface sense, as seen in the likes of Saint Laurent’s battered biker jacket or Raf Simons’ unravelling virgin wool sweater, but none in the drawback sense. The pieces may be torn, but you won’t be.
THERMAL POWER
Remember the good old days of exploration and derring-do, where men conquered Everest and raced to the Poles equipped with little more than hip-flasks of brandy or Scotch, while the hardy thermals they wore beneath their tweed suits were all that stood between them and the injurious temperatures? The explosion in heritage (and heritage-referencing) brands in the last few years is still going as strongly as a team of eager huskies, and the retro-insulated likes of RRL’s waffle Henley will help you strike a suitably Shackletonian or Hillary-esque pose, whether you’re heading into Antarctic ice storms or braving a bitter Northerly on the way to a weekend pub lunch.
INTO THE WILD
In the last few seasons, designers have been deploying their very own version of “rewilding” – the process that sees an area of land restored to its natural, uncultivated state – by covering their offerings in extravagantly fecund floral prints. The hothouse atmosphere continues into autumn/winter, with all manner of sartorial biodiversity; Alexander McQueen’s sylvan V-neck – inspired by the work of the Dutch Masters – is among this rainforest of riches. Accessorise these pieces judiciously – the well-manicured is always preferable to the overgrown – and they’ll become hardy perennials.
EMBROIDERY & PATCHES
If you think appliqued patches and embroidered adornments are a bit sew-sew, think again – they’re worn like badges of honour on many of the season’s key pieces, including the 1950s-inspired souvenir jackets that have been making their retro-contemporary mark this past year. Gucci’s lustrous satin version features embroidered snakes, birds and flowers among its varsity-inspired stylings; a stitch-up in the best possible sense, and an object lesson in wearing your art on your sleeve.
