DRESS CODE: BLOKE

The lightbanks have barely cooled over the final US/Euro autumn/winter 2014/15 menswear shows in Paris and already, the Voxfrockers are fully collated and ready to deliver another list of best trends useable immediately by blokes attuned to The Now.

Before we launch into the list, however, let’s acknowledge again the glacial pace of mainstream men’s fashion. It’s a blessing and curse to those who rack and sell it. Blessing; because most chaps respond to The Familiar when shopping for new clothes. Curse; because most chaps don’t feel moved to buy new versions of The Familiar when shopping for new clothes. “I’ve got one of those suits, thanks, and two of those jumpers, and half a dozen shirts almost exactly like those…let’s go drink some beer…” You get our drift.

But. Let’s also acknowledge there is enough creative wriggle-room in this – short and sharp – a/w 2014/15 trend list to warm the cockles of any civilised chap’s heart. For the sixth or seventh consecutive season, mens trends are underpinned by a potent, gentlemanly aesthetic. Think fine tailoring, crisp shirts, proper coats and polished shoes, buckled belts, barber haircuts, tweedy scarves and the whiff of cigars. It’s an aesthetic most blokes know by osmosis, if not by family tradition. It is intrinsically masculine.

“It’s an aesthetic most blokes know by osmosis, if not by family tradition…”

Melbourne menswear doyen Arthur Galan described this season’s version, refreshed in London, Milan and Paris, as: “Gentlemanly, but with an underground chic”. We vetted just over half the 100-odd shows mounted in those cities to carve out a trend list that illustrates what he means.

Our favorite designers exploited the instant, slickifying effect of black on grey on textured knits and classic tweeds. They understood the chic of sharp contrast: a salt-white collar or a graphic patterned shirt or knit juxtaposed with a smooth plane of slate grey or French navy or ink black. They layered tailoring, textures and striking contrasts but kept their outer silhouettes smooth – sleek and lean, or loose and luxe – from shoulders to knees. Designers such as Hedi Slimane for Saint Laurent, Alexander Wang for Balenciaga, even veteren rebel Jean Paul Gaultier and young modernist Christopher Kane, all showed collections plugged, one way or another,  into familiar notions of sartorial masculinity.

Here’s the fashion-matics of what we mean, Here’s THE LIST

SILHOUETTES: sleek and neat, built on a knit or college/biker-style jacket and ankle-cropped trousers, loose and luxe built on layers of sharp, masculine components: crisp shirt, thin tie, fine knit, tailored jacket and trousers, modern coat, scarf or shawl, and “pumpkin” built on bulky parka jacket or boxy car-coat on second-skin pants.

 

PALETTE AND PATTERNS: Blacks, greys, navies and airforce blues, slabs of brown and camel, slivers of salt-white, classic houndstooth and Prince of Wales, window-pane and lumberjack checks, slick leathers, furred surfaces.

THE (ESSENTIAL) COAT: tailored for broad boyfriend style, sloped shoulderline, raglan sleeves in knee length to mid-calf hemlines and fabrics from plain camel to digital mural.

TAILORED JACKETS: single-breasted (one, two and – new at Saint Laurent – three buttons), double-breasted, all fabrications, all variations from high to low-breaking and sliver-thin to four-finger-wide lapels.

TROUSERS: roomy knife-pleat oxfords with side-pockets proper-waistbands and ankle-cuffs, to flat-front skinnies cut revealingly tight in the crotch.

SHOES: slab-soled soft-point creepers, lace-ups and luxe high-top sneakers.

ACCESSORIES: two-finger neck-ties, buckled belts, soft carry-alls, hair cut to flop in a glossy-soft thatch over the forehead.

Photographs: wwd.com, style.com, nowfashion.com (Main photograph, top, Hedi Slimane for Saint Laurent)

Compiled by Terry Carruthers, MelanieWhitlock, Candice Burke and Michaela Summers, intern@voxfrock.com.au, with Morgan Devitt, info@voxfrock.com.au and Janice Breen Burns, jbb@voxfrock.com.au