AW19 Men's Fashion Week Report: London, Milan & Paris

Boys on tour…

The menswear buying team consisting of Dean, Lee, Thibaud, Thom, Enrico and Joseph took on the AW19 men’s fashion week circuit accompanied by photographer Adam Katz Sinding @AKS, a G Wagon and some stellar outfits. The boys have picked out some of their AW19 fashion week highlights, including a Lou Dalton exclusive, a couple of conveyor belts and lots of tie-dye.

Day 1

The biggest highlight of the first day was the colourful creations from Liam Hodges. Currently part of BFC’s NewGen, Liam teamed up with Stain Shade founder James Brackenbury to create some exclusive tie dye pieces alongside a new collaboration with retro sportswear giant, Ellesse.

Day 2

First stop was the Lou Dalton presentation where we got up, close and personal with the Gloverall collaboration pieces that will soon be available exclusively at Browns. Taking inspiration from 65 years of British heritage, the capsule collection features a range of overcoats and duffel jackets and will be available in February.

Next up was NewGen designer and cult favourite, Kiko Kostadinov. Unafraid of pushing the boundaries of traditional menswear, his collection took us to the dark side, referencing films such as Midnight Lace and The Ring. His faceless models took to the runway in shiny suiting, boxy bomber jackets and new pieces from Kiko’s ongoing collaboration with Asics.

Day 3

The final day took the team to the last of the NewGen designers A-Cold-Wall* and Paria Farzaneh. New to Browns last year, A-Cold-Wall* has quickly become a favourite amongst the streetwear elite. This collection took us back to the noughties with puffer vests and nylon tracksuits.

The arrival of Paria Farzaneh’s SS19 debut at Browns is imminent and whilst we wait, we had the exciting experience of watching her AW19 performance that saw models drift past on a custom conveyor belt whilst taking a selfie. Taking a stand on the next generation’s inability to live in the moment, she provided all guests with a plastic bag invite where they could leave their phone. Sadly this didn’t work as it was too good not snap. Sorry Paria!

Day 1

Milan got off to an impressive start with a great show from Versace. Taking a rather kinky approach, Versace’s AW19 collection showcased a range of wipe clean macs, a leopard print faux fur coat and a surprise appearance from a few of Donatella’s favourite female supermodels, Bella Hadid and Kaia Gerber.

 

Day 2

First up was one of our favourite avant-garde brands Bed J.W. Ford, headed up by Japanese designer Shinpei Yamagashi. Taking a more casual approach for AW19, the collection still addressed his signature tailoring but the fit was loose and the layers were deconstructed, completing the look with pieces from a new collaboration with adidas.

Last on the agenda was Prada who referenced society’s monsters with a collection inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Keeping up the theme of a bold printed shirt and ensuring Jeff Goldblum’s wardrobe is up to date, Prada’s new iterations featured florals, lightning bolts and naturally, Frankenstein’s monster.

Day 1

After a brief stopover in Geneva to visit the Luxury Watch Fair, the team headed to their final stop – Paris, with the highlight of day one being Heron Preston who maintains his penchant for a uniform. His signature orange shade remained, alongside utility vests, double denim and a collaboration with UGG Australia.

Day 2

First stop, Off-White. Continuing his ultra-cool approach to ‘new luxury’ fashion, Virgil Abloh’s latest collection continued to fuse tailoring and sportswear. Some models appeared as modern-day Patrick Batemans whilst others were sporting the iconic logo and arrow print pieces. Of course, no Off-White show would be complete without a guest appearance from Virgil’s rapper pals, which on this occasion included Offset and Playboi Carti.

The evening’s show was Raf Simons who was inspired by David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. Elongated silhouettes walked to sounds from Belgian punk rock band Whispering Sons wearing knitwear adorned with stills from the film and the slogan ‘burning down the house’ printed on the knees of trousers.

Day 3

Palais De Tokyo was the location for the ‘master of darkness,’ Rick Owens. Lit up with huge spotlights, the collection took inspiration from Larry Legaspi, the man who gave Kiss their infamous look and reflected this with a range of ‘vampire collar’ coats, skin-tight trousers and chunky platform shoes.

Continuing with the tie-dye trend that appeared in SS19, Dries Van Noten used a kaleidoscopic print on his tailoring and outerwear. Models paraded the runway to the sound of famous voices including David Bowie, Andy Warhol and Jimi Hendrix in what seemed like a timeline of iconic tailoring.

Day 4

Keeping up with the ongoing tailoring trend that has seemed to carry through each show, Lucie and Luke Meier at Jil Sander presented boxy silhouettes and wide leg, cropped trousers. Structured macs, checkerboard knits and chunky Chelsea boots completed the look. 

The second conveyor belt of the season took centre stage at the Dior Homme show. Soviet style suiting, logo emblazoned velour and a touch of subtle animal print brings another triumphant collection for Kim Jones.

Next stop...Copenhagen and NYC.

Words by Alexandra Oliver