With Paris and Milan Men’s Fashion Week come and gone, it’s the perfect time to take a step back and review this season’s trends on the menswear runways. Overall, the economic gloom took European designers back to safe haven – traditional looks with classic tailoring and business suits, overcoats and leather patent shoes flooded the runway. But aside from the return to classics, we saw creative touches with the layering, colour and accessories.
Trend One: Statement Outwear
If there was one key trend that took fashion week by storm, it would be statement outwear. Whether it was the bright colours or exotic fabrics, designers made sure that their jackets, trench coats and parkas alike stood out.
Burberry Prorsum (pictured above) had their traditional trenches dipped in complimentary colours, whilst designers like Prada had choose eye-catching prints to inject some fun into traditional pieces. Raf Simons who is never shy from pushing the envelope, had his models wear shirts-as-outwear garments to surprising effect. Whilst we don’t expect these designs to be available off the runway, it’s an innovative idea that deserves mention.
Trend Two: Keep a Warm Head
Lots of designers had their models wear headgear this season. Of course, they’re practical in the colder weather – especially in the cold European winter – and this season, we saw berets, caps, beanies and top hats on many models.
But the difference with this season’s headgear was how monotone they were. Olive green, navy blue, plain black were all colours of choices for many designers. Dior Homme paired plains suits with matching caps whilst the Giorgio Armani collection featured structured berets with fastener details on the side. Raf Simons, on the other hand, choose oversized beanies that covered the faces of his models.
Trend Two: Playing with Textures
Winter is usually the season where designers explore and mix interesting textures and fabrics together. The collections at fashion week did not disappoint. Designers showed off suits in luxurious velvet (Gucci), there were mohair sweaters (DSquared2) and we also saw shearing overcoats (John Varvatos).
Some designers combined materials in their garments, like Calvin Klein who added a dose of luxury to sportswear by having alligator sleeves on wool bomber jackets. Bottega Veneta was more conservative and instead chose to reinterpret the suit jacket with cut-out graphic shapes made from neoprene.
This is a guest post from Arthur, Editor of Hommestyler, a menswear and men’s grooming blog. You can also follow HommeStyler on Twitter or on Facebook.
