AW13 menswear day 1: Hi-vis meets intrepid traveller at London Collections: Men
In the main, I like my menswear shows colourful, casual and youthful. So thank you Topman Design for your intrepid traveller theme, incorporating hi-vis berry and citrus-hued outerwear (above), including many variations of furry hooded parka (is the cropped parka the new cropped puffer?) and some clever backpacks dripping with tech-cessory hooks and holders. That same hi-vis orange also reappeared later at Richard Nicoll, amongst a more muted palette of blues and greys (I spotted a grey wool onesie which I suspect is going to be popping up quite a lot in this short menswear ‘week’), plus a flash of silver metallic…
Topman Design
Richard Nicoll
Earlier in the day, we were treated to more extreme outdoorwear at Bally’s makeshift explorer camp in the midst of Bedford Square. “Crikey they’re brave setting up an outdoor camp in rainy January,” I thought, but once inside, all was snug and toasty and rather beautiful. Bally boys Michael Herz and Graeme Fidler were cleverly giving us a prelude to their Milan show with this capsule collection of accessories to mark the 60th anniversary of the first Mount Everest ascent (in which Sherpa Tenzing Norgay wore Bally reindeer-skin climbing boots, no less). So we were offered enamel mugs of hot beverages and mini beans-on-toast nibbles while we admired the furry gloves, mountaineering-style boots and perfectly propped setting of vintage explorer paraphernalia…
