London Men’s FW17 Fashion Week Recap

This was Westwood’s first men’s show ever on the London schedule, but it would be silly to call it just a show for men. Her runway showed both men and women wearing everything from double-breasted, broad-shouldered suits to garish dresses. Westwood’s collections have been fairly adventurous for as long as I can remember, but this collection may take the cake in terms of blurring the gender normative lines of clothing with men in dresses and miniskirts.

 

One of the themes that was ever-apparent during this collection was the sea of faces printed onto garments: faces from puppets, comical faces and even what looked like Westwood’s own face. All in all, this collection felt like a day spent at the carnival, and sometimes that sort of whimsical look is just what you need.

 

 

Recently crowned British menswear designer of the year, Craig Green doesn’t miss a beat jumping into his Fall 2017 collection. This feels like Green’s furthest dive into textures and fabrics like wool and fleece — which were heavily used in this collection. When viewing this collection, I personally threw the question of “Could I see myself wearing this?” out the window. Not because it doesn’t feel wearable, but because when looking at an outfit, it’s a bit difficult to tell how many distinct garments are being worn, but that’s a common theme with Craig Green’s shows.

 

I started asking myself what sort of story this collection told. All of the looks felt particularly utilitarian: Some models were wearing helmets while others wore what can only be described as body armor. What is this looming doomsday or battle that many of his models seem so adequately prepared for? Maybe it’s a war or maybe it’s just the general dismal feeling in the air these days.

 

 

Simply put, this collection was a lot of fun. From the barrage of colors, to the crocheted patches, pockets, scarves and sleeves. It all makes me want to call up my mom and ask her to break out the crochet hook and make me a cool patch for a sweater so I don’t have to spend my rent money on one of these when they drop.

 

One thing, for me, was that this collection felt quite wearable in general (which can be refreshing). When I first viewed the collection, I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, I could totally see myself wearing this” on many occasions, which was certainly more difficult to say during the Craig Green and Vivienne Westwood collections. This collection confirmed two things for me: that oversized and exaggerated silhouettes are in for this year and that Michele’s Gucci has influenced other designers as well. I expect to see more wide pants and over-the-top designs in other collections to come in 2017.