All wrapped up, Milan menswear, Winter '10

4 days of men’s fashion shows in Milan is both an obstacle course and a race.

Show tickets turn up late, or not at all. I lost my driver on the corner of Via San’Andrea and Via Montenapoleone among 80 identi-kit chauffeurs and navy sedans – twice. And some stylish Milanese is, ratcheting up an off-the-scale bella figura, probably wearing my Persol 714 limited edition sunglasses that I left on my seat after the Roberto Cavalli show. Dammit!

And let’s not forget the barrel of Chianti on my last night due to the relief of getting through it all, ensuring I could scarcely focus on any moving object the following day.

Reassuringly though, many designers returned to the core values of their brands, which in Gucci’s case led to a show of such understated elegance – vintage silk scarf-lined beige jackets, narrow pants and classic snaffle loafers – that the bling of the last few seasons was as quickly forgotten as last month’s Xmas decorations. Creative director Frida Giannini said that by looking in the archives she’d found a way of pushing the brand forward – which could be a motto for this season.

Salvatore Ferragamo under the design reins of Massimiliano Giornetti (a name that can only be said after a slug of Barolo), took above-the-knee great coats and oversized scarves as his vaguely Argentinian theme played out to a soundtrack of beating horses’ hooves. Autumnal browns and deep reds stood out in a season that was more often than not monochrome. In fact, outer wear, especially coats, played out on catwalks far more than suiting, accessories or hats. It was as if Milan was saying: buy yourself just one over-sized coat and you can brace against whatever the world throws at you.

Of course not all followed this simple idea. Alexander McQueen took a post-apocalyptic theme with a show dominated by sand-blasted, skull-printed suits and skin-tight head stockings as if the future may well resemble the world of Cormac McCarthy’s bleak novel, The Road.

I think I’d rather sweep through life in a Ferragamo great coat, or if I was feeling futuristic, donning one of Versace’s skintight leather biker jackets. Alexander Plokhov, the house’s new design director said he was – just like Giannini at Gucci – going back to Versace’s brand values. The Versace man suddenly looked purposeful again in his Matrix-esque sunglasses and ultra-slicked hair.

For those excited that fashion is going to end up eating itself, proof was found on the Prada runway. A third of the show’s exits were women wearing the brand’s pre-Fall collection, which looked oddly like what the men were wearing, and strangely hardly any press commented on. Perhaps they’d all been on the Chianti too and hadn’t noticed the 15 girls filing past them. Both genders wore golfing shoes that had certainly hit the bottle labelled, ‘Drink Me’, sprouting impossibly long tassled tongues. They were hardly desirable, but I could see Tiger Woods sporting them – anything to distract from his imploding personal life.

Milan Mukmirovic, creative director at Trussardi, didn’t show a catwalk collection at all, preferring to present his ideas on the top floor of the Trussardi store opposite the famous La Scala opera house. Which was a surprising venue for his dressed down chunky knitwear, Alpine boots and puffa jackets. “We’ve brought our prices down by about 20%,” said fashion’s very own renaissance man. “Men aren’t interested in the catwalk any more, they just want to find clothes they can wear.” Which was probably the sanest but also the dullest thing I heard all week.

So a pat on the back then for Vivienne Westwood who took a very special curtain call after her A/W collection, which was kick-started by a model stumbling out of a cardboard box onto the catwalk (how long had he been in there? Poor man). Dame Viv was wheeled out to take her applause on a hospital trolley. It was a Derelict moment straight out of the film Zoolander. Catwalks. How could we possibly live without them?

Base layer: Redux

Underwear brand, Sunspel offer nothing new under the sun. Classic white T-shirt. Check. Fine guage polo shirt. Check. Lightweight cotton boxer shorts and fine cotton briefs. Check again. And their colour spectrum– black, marl grey, white with the occasional teal blue or brown in a merino sweater - will hardly set your wardrobe alight. Yet, when I discovered the pleasure of wearing Sunspel Egyptian cotton T-shirts a few years ago, I can no longer bring myself to pull on any other brand.

‘The secret is in our fabric,’ says Dominic Hazlehurst, co-owner of Sunspel , ‘we only use the biggest staples – the bud of fibre at the top of a cotton plant - which gives us longer and smoother threads for our garments.’ As well as this, many of Sunspel’s cotton items are ‘flamed’, which further smoothes the cotton as microscopic knots and puckers are burnt off each thread. This process gives their T-shirts and boxer shorts a smart-looking sheen that feels remarkably comfortable against your skin. Talking of boxer shorts, Sunspel were the first to launch this style to the UK from the States in 1947. And they made the world’s most famous boxer shorts - worn by Nick Kamen in that iconic 80’s Levi’s TV ad.

It is this refined quality in these menswear basics that have made Sunspel the place to go if you’re an already established menswear brand such as Richard James or Kris Van Assche, and you want to launch an underwear range. It’s fabrics like their Q14 lace-like cotton, developed in the 1930s, which is both breathable and warm, which give them the edge. ‘And we employ 35 machinists in our Long Eaton factory just outside of Nottingham,’ says Hazlehurst, ‘so we can control every part of the manufacturing process to make sure our standards don’t dip.’

Which goes some way to explain why Daniel Craig as James Bond, is seen wearing an ultra lightweight, Sunspel ‘Q75’ polo shirt in Casino Royale, a Sunspel fabric developed for the heat of the Italian Riviera in the 50’s. And another reason to duck into their pop-up shop currently rubbing up next to Dunhill’s Bourdon House on Davies Street, Mayfair until January 2010. Which is about as James Bond an address as you’re likely to find.

Sunspel pop-up shop, 10-12 Davies Street, London W1

The Gold Standard, Harrods' smart new menswear department

“The concept was actually very simple,” says Jason Broderick, general merchandise manager for menswear at Harrods, “we just wanted it to be the most luxurious menswear department in the world.” Broderick and Marigay McKee, Fashion and Beauty Director, are co-creators - with US architectural firm, Callison - of the slick gold, taupe and metallic ground floor. It’s a gilded backdrop for the sharpest menswear; a playground designed for Hedge Funders with an AmEx Centurion card and an hour to spare.

The £9 million menswear department curves around the south eastern corner of the world’s most famous department store bathing Bottega Veneta, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Dunhill, Turnbull and Asser, Lanvin, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana and others in a golden light that seems to suggest that if you pull on that two button cashmere Bottega jacket (£1600) the world might just become a better place. Even by only a cuff length.

“Traditionally we had the scenario of 'the grey suits are over here sir' or 'the navy this way...' and so on,” says Broderick. “Whereas men today want to feel and live a retail experience by looking out for things by themselves. Men have become more confident shopping for their clothes over the last ten years in ways that traditionally only women did.” Hence the shop-within-shop idea giving each brand the space to create their own signature within the overall Harrods banner. At Louis Vuitton their emblem of luxurious travel is suggested with their monogrammed upended trunks (£21,500 each). While outsize black ginger jars like lacquered sentinels give the Ralph Lauren Purple Label its esoteric air.

Exclusives and one-offs are a Harrods signature (as if gulls’ eggs really could be available throughout the year if only you knew where to look). This brand value is embraced in the menswear department with one-of-a-kind items scattered throughout the collections. Just one Burberry trench coat, signed in the lining by its designer Christopher Bailey, was left on the rail during my recent visit. Though my guess is it’ll be long gone by the time you’re reading these words.

The-not-quite-finished basement houses Tom Ford’s only London ‘shop’ – a paean to masculine sartorial excess (I defy anyone to not find a home for his tan alligator, chunky zipped bowling bag, as long as they’ve got £15,000 handy). It plays its occult seductions opposite the personal shopping department and alongside other men’s brands such as Neil Barratt, Paul Smith and Rag and Bone. This space is itching to become the throbbing bass to the heady sartorial notes upstairs.

The boys are back in town

The dedicated menswear day at LFW signifies both what we men choose to wear being of increasing importance to an industry in tough economic times, but also a welcome change of pace and mood to the high-jinx, feeding-frenzy called womenswear.

Men’s clothing presents itself, even in a catwalk setting, in a calm and measured way. Suave Cary Grant to the women's gobby Lady Gaga. Without every being dull, of course. And true to the renegade spirit of London’s fashion weeks past – there was the eye-popping clash of the unwearable pressed up against the eccentric, nodding towards the slick and covetable.

Into the latter group was Royal College of Art alumna, Carolyn Massey’s collection, inspired in part by a camping trip to Dungeness, hence the drawstring detailed caghoules, so refined that they at times morphed into shirts. Her trousers were sharp and flat-fronted and her shorts, neatly tailored. The stand out piece, a multi-pocketed caghoul-inspired top summed up the luxury utilitarian spirit of the show.

The big guns, including Mr High Street himself, Philip Green, was a front row presence for the Topman sponsored MAN shows where Katie Eary’s disturbing cut-out collection had models painted with exposed sinews, blood vessels and bones. While Topman’s own collection, a refined take on youthful, sports-influenced menswear – cotton trousers and wide short-sleeved shirts, trod the commercial/edge line with easy confidence.

The evening’s selection of tailor-to-watch, Wintle, a Child of the Jago, Tim Soar and outré B-store climaxed what was a confident day of British men’s fashion. Noteworthy were Wintle’s pale, loose-cut tailoring with contrast ribboned edging and bStore’s preppy elegance of buttoned up, loose shirts and old-school satchels. We may not choose to wear all of what was on offer, but with this standard of product, we’ll certainly be spoilt for choice.

What Eddie did next...

‘We get the style set coming in on a Saturdays, cool couples in matching trainers and a dog,’ says Eddie Pendergast, a kid with a shiny new toy. And why shouldn’t he be grinning, his just-a-month-open store has swiftly gained a healthy slice of local consumer ker-ching. ‘Throughout the week it’s architects, the creative’s from Hoxton and Shoreditch, just look at those people going by. Is there a more diverse street in London?’

And he’s right. As we peer through the picture windows at the front of Pendergast’s latest venture, Present (launched with his business partner, Steve Davies), the view outside is almost comic in its clichés of urban cool. Dreadlocked skate kids in Keds and baggy Firetrap jeans dodging around vagrants and anxious City types who’ve slipped through the north edge of the Square Mile like spies under the Berlin Wall. And what they all do as they glide, amble or shuffle past the Present window is look inside.

Where they see Gwilm Davies, recent winner of the World Barista Championship (making him the best coffee maker in the world, indeed) holding court over his treasured La Victoria Arduino machine as it wafts the mouth-watering aroma of freshly brewed Arabica coffee. This neat placement of both talent and coffee ensures a tight knot of drinkers at the entrance intriguing passers by to head deeper inside the shop. ‘The action at the door is deliberate, it gets people interested to explore further,’ says Pendergast.

Where they find a surprisingly welcoming 1200 square foot industrial space. The floors may be poured concrete, but the mixture of period display cabinets and high tech metal and wood shelving softens the effect with the help of magazines like limited distribution Monocle, vintage Sex Pistol posters and handmade Ceri Trudon scented candles. Artfully worn-in Haversack tailoring from Japan (before sold only at Liberty), and Ramdane Touhami’s cult brand, Resistance R T with its clashing checked bombers and gilets with satin linings, compete with Davies’ own-design Tricker hybrid boots, the shop’s biggest hit so far. This is menswear as sensory overload – colour, aroma and detail grabbing your attention from every surface.

It’s the confidence with which Pendergast and Davies, who between them have over thirty five years in menswear design and retailing, mix up diverse elements at price points from the eye-watering to the every day (a cup of Gwilm’s coffee is a steal at £2.40 for a flat white) which will likely ensure their success. With a smart roster of brands lining up to join in the fun including Macintosh and a 600 square feet of basement about to be integrated into the retail space, this is no longer just the present but, indeed, the future too…

Aramis reboots its greatest hits

I remember a colleague cajoling me to buy for his wife a

bottle of Aramis’ New West for Him, the next time I went to the States. This was about twelve years ago when New West was impossible to track down in England and it was chic and ironic for women to wear men’s fragrances. Which it still is, perhaps for younger womenstill experimenting with their signature smell.

I was under instruction to buy in bulk, with directions to the particular branch of Bloomingdales that carried the biggest supplies. This dedication to the cause of fragrance shows something of the passion, even ardour they can inspire, or in this case, perhaps addiction! So with this kind of frenzied, dedicated market still out there, it’s not surprising that Aramis have decided to relaunch six of their past classic aromas from the back of their fragrance cupboard.

‘Each of the Aramis fragrances has a highly distinctive personality,’ says Roja Dove, ‘and as each men’s fragrances tend to follow a few clichéd accords, each fragrance in the Aramis Collection is polarizing – love them or hate them, if you love one, nothing else will do.’ Which, I guess must have been the case for my colleague’s wife, and her New West habit.

The six relaunched classic fragrances from Aramis are, Aramis 900, Devin, J-H-L, Tuscany Per Uomo, New West for Him and Aramis Life. For Roja Dove it’s the woody note found in many of fragrances that make them so attractive and masculine, ‘this woodiness is sublimated by mossy notes. Freshness is also very important and is generally achieved by the use of citrus blends underscored by aromatic, herbal, notes,’ he says. Imagine having an amble through the New Forest with the smell of damp wood in the air, a quality particularly noticeable in Aramis 900, Devin, Tuscany Per Uomo and Aramis Life.

The quality these fragrances each have, apart from a linking masculinity, like a rock solid scrum, is their power to last on your skin. Unlike many more contemporary fragrances which seem to need to be carried in your briefcase and reapplied throughout the day, these can be splashed on just once in the morning and manage to quietly linger into evening. ‘The ingredients in these fragrances carry little volatility,’ says Dove, ‘the element which fixes a fragrance, often referred to as the base notes, are what stabilizes it and keeps it doing its job on your skin.’ Which explains with all the mossy, woody, resinous and animalic notes found in all these aromas why they tend to last. So maybe our dads did have it right back in, 1974 when Aramis 900 first launched - they must have had far better things to be getting on with than worrying about reapplying their fragrance.

All the relaunched fragrances in The Gentlemen’s Collection are £44 for a 100ml bottle. Sold exclusively at Harrods from 16^th August, nationwide from 7^th September 2009.

Q&A - Simon Foxton - men's fashion stylist

Once in a while a stylist comes along who creates images of such arresting power that their input can no longer be overlooked, and their name becomes as important as the photographer's. Simon Foxton's catalogue of muscled, handsome, dynamic men - work he's been producing for over twenty years - is a case in point. 

Wardrobe Master: You have an exhibition coming up at London's Photographer's Gallery, that seems pretty unique for a stylist?

Simon Foxton: Yes, as far as I know, 'About A Boy', is the only exhibition of a stylist's work ever put on. I feel flattered and very honoured to have been asked.

WM: What will it be like?

SF: It's a survey of all my work based around three photographers who I've worked with the most-  Nick Knight, Jason Evans and Alasdair McLellan. There will be a wall at the back devoted to my portrait-based work and some of my scrap books, from which I generate my ideas, will be displayed too.

WM: You work exclusively in menswear, why is that?

SF:  I was at St Martins (art college) and my interest always lay in menswear. I don't have to think about what makes a man look good or interesting - it comes easily to me.

WM: Where did your work first appear?

SF: I started working with I-D Magazine in 1984 which has been my base and home ever since. They have always given me the freedom to express my ideas.

WM: You're a Fashion Director there, what does that involve?

SF: Well, I'm not really a Fashion Director, as such, I don't have the people skills! I think styling and being a Fashion Director are very different jobs. It's rare to find both in one person.

WM: And  you're involved with Fantastic Man magazine too...

SF: Yes, I came on board 2 or 3 years ago - it's a magazine with a very definite point of view.

WM: Tell me about your scrap books and how you  come up with your ideas.

SF: I don't hoard magazines in my home, but I do tear out images which I find interesting then I stash them in a box in my bedroom. Once or twice a year I go through the box and pull out all the pictures and start to make scrap books. It's so useful to me as they act as a reminder of what I like.

WM: Is there one particular story of image that stands out for you?

SF: The minotaur picture shot for the cover of Arena Homme Plus a few years ago by Nick Knight, which is also the image for my exhibition. We were playing around and I decided another guy should wrap his arms around our main model and the image took off from there. It was a very organic process, which is how I like to work. I don't like to have things too planned -it's good to be playful and to see what happens.

WM: How does someone working as creatively as you do feel about the recession?

SF:  In times like these, there are much more serious parameters. You have to keep track with the advertising, to be careful. But in more straightened times there tends to be more creative ideas pushing  up too. There is always a need to be entertained and delighted.

WM: What in your work entertains and delights?

SF: Most of my work is cartoon-ish. My general aesthetic is to use healthy looking men wearing bright colours. It's quite pop-like, really. When I work with Nick (Knight), he tends to push for the more violent side of things. And I use clothing or fashion to make a picture. I've always felt resistant to the idea of trends, and I'm not really into fashion or menswear for their sake only. After all, a thing of beauty is a joy forever. 

For further information about Simon's exhbition which opens on the 17th July, follow the link below: