I don't know about you ... but I am clearly drawn to modern sobriety for FW13 Menswear.
I think that is what men get for (at the end of the day) loving normal clothes, good quality and great cuts.
But no confusion here : men do not want to look boring. Yes, ask them about that!
Fashion-makers know it. Their answer : accessories.
See the plethora of back-packs, hiking boots, skiing-hats, attaché-cases in the shows... you name it.
Browsing through the collections on
style.com, my attention is caught by the Fendi grey/black look ( picture 1).
At first sight, nothing new, nothing major, maybe boring, but I feel there is much more to it.
What I see is an astute quasi-monochramatic composition of substantial micro-details.
It is all stretched down to the perfect understated leather bag and polished wooden soles.
That textured wool coat fabric. That contrasted knitted polo neck, worn super-high neck (!) substituting the scarf.
They all feel part of elegant/casual/modern codes whose equation just feels right, unpretentious.
The kind of look any man, any age, anywhere, could wear.
Now, how cool area these hiking boots at Hermès (2) ?
Men should seriously consider more pairing hiking-boots with their office attire.
I am also very keen on the Carven silhouette (3). Particularly the hoodie skiing-hat ... don't you just love the idea an accessory could literally break the rules of the somewhat universal office uniform?
That said, the office-wear exercise at Valentino was absolutely magnetic (4).
No-one could resist the 'executive meets 70's gangster' attitude.
Attitude that was also seen at Lanvin (5) and Louis Vuitton (6) where urban-warriors, all envelopped in earthy-toned oversized parkas, were protecting their office-gear.
In an odd to normality, we had the likes of Givenchy (7) and Marni (8) mixing high-tech sports jackets with utility-tailoring. Nothing overly unconventional or experimentally avant-guarde though.
And you know what the best part is? That it wasn't missing. It felt completely right, completely 2013.
Taking cues from the two power-houses, we can conclude how in fact Simple looks are not Simple at all to execute.
That is what men fashion seems to be dictating. Normal Plus.
And isn't it just after all what designer menswear fashion should be about ?
