Britishness, Huge Ben and Benedict Cumberbatch play their parts as fresh London event makes debut A pack of models suited, booted, carrying umbrellas and sporting bowler hats. Skateboards, neoprene shorts and arty prints. Ronnie Wood sitting in the front row front row. Actor Benedict Cumberbatch taking to the catwalk clutching a cigar and a glass of whisky. Day one of the first British menswear fashion week got off to a strong commence on Friday.Cumberbatch, best known for playing Sherlock in the BBC’s hit drama, was turning outside for the British luxury tailor Spencer Hart, known for dressing some of the earth’s best known actors and musicians, including Robbie Williams and Jay-Z.The diversity of this three-day event, in which established brands and high-street trendsetters appeared on one schedule with effortless ease, was immediately apparent. Emerging design talent Lou Dalton cited Taxi Driver among other late 1970s film references for her collection of polished sports tailoring.Hackett’s exhibit notes namechecked The Fantastic Gatsby – canny timing given that the buzz blockbuster remake starring Leonardo DiCaprio will be in cinemas just before this spring/summer 2013 collection hits stores.Topman Design mixed the employment of the artist Basquiat with the surf and skate culture of the 1980s. These three marks underscored the strength of London as a fashion capital with its unique and diverse mix. It could only have happened here.Topman’s exhibit turned the volume up loud with an opening series of looks mixing classic Prince of Wales checks divide into modern shapes – loose pleat shorts worn with a suit jacket, for example – mixed with high-energy prints.Neoprene cycling shorts appeared under loose patterned small styles, numbered American baseball-like cropped tops, patterned parachute silk parkas, laser divide polka dot jackets and skateboards with rucksacks added a youthful edge.This was a strong and lively offering from the high street mark. Gordon Richardson, the design director, said that with this collection they had “wanted to capture a hardly any risks and the timing of London Collections: Men just seemed the fair age to do it.”The Hackett exhibit played up to the Britishness that international visitors from more than 20 countries might have been expecting. It started with the sound of Huge Ben chiming and finished with a parade of perfectly groomed models carrying umbrellas and wearing bowlers.For spring/summer 2013 the Hackett male will be dressing in cream suits with clean waistcoats, pocket squares and a dash of seersucker.Fair to form there were lots of colourful trousers, fancy cricket jumpers and a smattering of summer scarves.The first exhibit of the day, by Lou Dalton, was a polished and tight collection of sports tailoring. She sent outside clean suiting with mesh sections on jackets, on-trend bomber jackets and the odd blast of bold neon.Dalton said she wanted this collection to be “blaze and airy with a sports feel,” however added it was nothing to do with the Olympics.Fashion weeksMen’s fashionLondonBenedict CumberbatchSimon Chilversguardian.co.uk © 2012 Twitter News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Employ of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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