Since London Collections: Men first touched down in the capital in 2012, the menswear platform has rapidly grown, attracting the biggest and best brands, leading international press, global celebrities and style stars. Each season LCM gives the significantly more established LFW a run for its money, showcasing the most directional designs, meticulously cut clothing and inspired ideas. LCM's remarkable impact can be qualified by the fact that the men’s clothing market has seen sales rise by 22% in the last five years, reaching £13.5bn in 2014, growing at a faster pace than womenswear.
Ending yesterday, the London Collections: Men AW16 season certainly didn't disappoint. The four-day event reaffirmed the creative and commercial greatness of both heritage British brands and emerging UK talent, reminding us of the rich cultural landscape of contemporary menswear. This season, 65 designers showed on schedule and throughout the week, the British Fashion Council held a series of talks featuring industry influencers including Nicola Formichetti and Menswear Creative Director at Louis Vuitton, Kim Jones. In case you missed any of the action, ahead are some of the highlights from LCM AW16...
Topman
The Topman show opened London Collections: Men on Friday and boy was it good. Think back to your uni crush who slunk in late to lectures, throwing his clothes over his PJs, looking effortlessly cool – and you're somewhere close to the highstreet brand's AW16 collection. Double denim, oversized beanies, crushed velvet, grungy layering, slouchy knitwear and dressing gowns as outerwear doesn't sound so desirable on paper but in actuality, this is the wardrobe that everyone will covet come autumn.
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Wales Bonner
This season, designer du jour, Grace Wales Bonner showcased her first collection as part of the MAN initiative, having previously presented with Fashion East. Grace graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2014 where her graduate collection 'Afrique' won the L'Oréal Professional Talent Award, and her dissertation Black on Black achieved the Dean's personal commendation.
Not long after, in January 2015, Wales Bonner debuted 'Ebonics' as part of Fashion East to critical acclaim, and less than a year later, in November, won the Emerging Menswear Designer title at the British Fashion Awards.
Proving herself as one of the hottest young talents in London, this season Wales Bonner seamlessly fused long-line tailoring and flared trousers, cinched-waist shirts, with zippy sportswear for an outstanding collection that married African references with Victoriana. Backstage the designer explained: "It’s about bringing beauty and sensuality to menswear."
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Alexander McQueen
For AW16, Sarah Burton went back to the beginning for a collection that was centred on Charles Darwin. "I was drawn to this idea of a traveller, a collector and the concept of natural history, natural selection, and the dawn of something," the designer said. There were pinstripe tailored pieces, military embellishment and trench coats in a rich array of print and pattern. Though butterflies and florals recurred, the collection was hardened with punk safety pin facial piercings and funereal coats with undone seams.
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Moschino
Jeremy Scott is revered for his subtle and quiet approach to design. Just kidding. The reigning king of fun fashion lit up the catwalk again with an eye-popping collection inspired by British artists Gilbert and George. "They gave me all their archives to play with, so I went ham on it," Scott joked backstage. And go ham he did with graphic suits, denim, jackets and shirts in vivid, clashing shades of pink, yellow, blue and green. Jourdan Dunn, Lucky Blue Smith, Molly Bair and Ruth Bell all walked.
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Benjamin Clementine at Burberry
Music man of the moment, Benjamin Clementine, was last year's winner of the Mercury Award and poignantly dedicated it to those who lost their lives in the Paris terrorist attacks. The singer won our hearts all over again with his performance at the Burberry AW16 show. The vocalist stunned the audience with a haunting set, featuring tracks named 'Condolence' and 'Adios' which seemed especially pertinent and heartfelt following the death of David Bowie earlier that day.
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A$AP Rocky at J.W. Anderson
A ticket to J.W. Anderson's AW16 show was arguably the most sought after on the schedule, following his double win at last November's BFAs where he picked up the award for both Best Menswear and Womenswear Designer.
Rapper and fashion killa A$AP Rocky sat front row at the show on Sunday morning, wearing a coat from Jonathan Anderson's AW15 collection teamed with fur-lined Gucci loafers. We'd expect nothing less from Pretty Flacko.
Darren Gerrish
Coach
Stuart Vevers showed his first menswear collection for Coach just a year ago and the warm response to that gave him the confidence to continue in a similar vein and establish his house signature. The designer played with size and silhouette and the standout shearling jackets are top of our wishlist.
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Paul Smith's Presentation
For LCM AW16, Paul Smith recreated his first ever store which opened in 1970 and stood at just 3m x 3m, transposing it from Nottingham to London's Pace Gallery. The fashion press were welcomed into the compact space, filled with memorabilia, personal portraits, the colourful collection and a perfectly coiffed Afghan Hound, 'Homer', the Studio Manager. Bursting with books and miscellaneous items, both old and new, the re-imagining of the designer's first store encapsulated the idea at the heart of the collection – that you can find inspiration in everything.
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Sibling's Boxing Champions
Always injecting fun and colour straight onto the catwalk, for AW16 the Sibling gang presented a collection inspired by the famous photo of Basquiat and Warhol wearing boxing gloves, taken in 1985 by Michael Halsband. Honed and toned models stepped out in intarsia knits and boxers, blanket wraps with graphic doodles, medallion belts and chunky woolly hoodies and robes. It's a knock out.
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