Best of fashion week: Highlights from the 2015 London Collections: Men

City A.M. Bespoke fashion director Ozzy Shah gives his take on this year’s London Collections: Men.

 

This was one of my favourite shows of the season. They called it “classically bohemian” but to me it was more of an Indian winter vibe, with lots of fringing and ponchos. They had mirrors on T-shirts, scarves and trench coats, which is reminiscent of a material you often see in South Asia. This picture is the final look of the show and it’s a real statement piece. The ocean blue is stunning and I love the layering. I’ll be buying it when it’s out – it’s very me.

 

This show got some mixed reviews but I loved it. The collection takes a lot of inspiration from other designers, and some people suggested they tried to squeeze in too much. There were certainly a lot of different themes on show, but piece by piece I thought it was a really interesting collection. The big “ombre” mohair coats (pictured) are daring for a high street brand. You can see Topman Design edging closer and closer to the high-fashion world and I think that’s a great thing.

 

This was a surprising collection from Richard James. You assume there’s only so much a Savile Row tailor can do with menswear but he really shook things up. The styling, inspired by South America, was amazing. He’s not only on-trend – he’s actually creating a trend, and I think we’ll be seeing the influence of this in autumn/winter 15. Expect to see fashion mags falling over themselves to shoot this kind of look.

 

This was the most emotional show for me. There was something very lonely, almost bleak, about it. It was about the brand distancing itself from trends and fashion as a whole. During the finale, the models all wore hooded cardigans and looked down, isolated from the crowd. This picture shows how you can layer different prints and colours, making something complete out of contrasting pieces.

 

This was a very simple, minimalistic show, as you’d expect from Margaret Howell. I heard someone sum it up perfectly: “like a detox”. When you’ve been to show after show of colours and noise and layers, it’s refreshing to see something so controlled. The look in this picture is both fashion-forward and understated. The polo under the white shirt is timeless – it could be worn anywhere, any season.