Even those looking for the latest designer clothes for men can now choose from an apparently endless number of collections, reissues and garments marketed as iconic, yet many collections continue to revisit familiar ideas season after season.
Choice, technically speaking, is hardly in short supply. We can scroll through collections from thousands of brands, all churning out new pieces at a relentless pace, yet more often than not offering precious little to anyone who sees fashion-and clothing itself-as something more meaningful.
Those who regard fashion as a form of self-expression, a matter of uncompromising choices and a means of saying something even in everyday life will often leave boutiques, online shops and glossy magazine adverts feeling distinctly underwhelmed.
The challenge today is to find men’s designer clothes that still possess a soul: garments that amount to far more than T-shirts plastered with prestigious logos, or pieces designed to please marketing departments rather than the designers who would much rather be shaping the present and future of menswear.
In this article, we offer a few pointers for navigating a world in which there are still genuine gems waiting to be discovered.
A logo isn’t everything – quite the opposite
The history of branding, as the word itself bluntly reminds us, is not exactly an uplifting one. A logo has always been more than a visual signature. At its best, it reflects a house’s identity, heritage and creative vision. Over time, however, logos have sometimes become the focus of fashion conversations in their own right, rather than the craftsmanship and design they are meant to represent.
From there came the idea of using a mark to identify products made by a certain manufacturer, or indeed by a particular fashion house. Over time, however-and forgive us for the perhaps overly vivid image-we have unfortunately come full circle.
In some cases, the logo has come to overshadow the craftsmanship behind the garment.
The logo itself is not the problem. Many symbols are part of fashion history and can be used intelligently. They can be discreet or, even when they are anything but, serve as the finishing touch to a beautifully made garment that tells the same story as the emblem it bears.
Our advice is not to be overly swayed by the logo, nor to settle for a T-shirt or coat simply because a celebrated name is displayed prominently across it.
A logo can-and should-open up a conversation. It should tell a story, as Vivienne Westwood’s iconic orb does.
By all means be bold, but use some judgement
We are certainly not among those who worship at the altar of boredom or insist on sticking to the safest and most well-trodden paths.
There is, however, always the danger of being bold without meaning, of producing eccentricity without substance, or clamouring for attention only to reveal, under closer inspection, that there is very little there at all.
There is an enormous difference between someone who understands the rules and chooses to rewrite them, push them to their limits or play with their contradictions, and someone who behaves as though those rules, and the languages of fashion they belong to, had never existed in the first place.
It is possible to be bold without compromising elegance. It is a subtle game, and unfortunately not everyone knows how to play it.
Reference, yes. Recycle, no.
There is something about Vivienne Westwood’s latest designer menswear collection that particularly caught our attention.
The tributes, echoes and references to major pieces from previous collections are unmistakable, at least to anyone familiar with the history of the house.
Drawing on a great heritage, as in this case, is perfectly legitimate. The trick is to do so without boring either those who already love those garments or those who believe fashion should still be capable of moving forwards.
