Tag: Fashion

Justin Bieber, Will.i.am and Jude Law in bomber jackets. Photograph: Rex Features

Thanks to stars such as Jude Law, Justin Bieber and Will.i.am and the influence of this summer's Olympics, retailers are reporting a surge in interest for the bomber jacket.

Luxury retailers and the high street have seen major interest from consumers despite the squeeze on personal finances, with styles in leather, jersey and technical fabrics all selling well.

The online retailer Asos has sold more than 5,000 bomber jackets in the past two months and recently ordered 20,000 more worth 1m for next season.

Topman has also had an "extremely positive reaction" to the jacket shape both in its larger stores and online. It plans to roll out more variations regionally in the coming weeks and will be building on its current range of 15 styles for autumn.

Robert Johnston, associate editor of GQ, said the appeal was simple. "It's express fashion," he said. "Bomber jackets are really easy to wear because you can just shove them on with jeans and a T-shirt. Plus they have pockets, which makes them practical."

Terry Betts, senior buyer for Mr Porter, flagged up their versatility. "They work well with chinos and denim, and create a clean silhouette accentuated by the fact they are fitted and stop at the waist," he said. They have the "wearability factor" said John Mooney, head of men's design at Asos. "There's something for everyone in the bomber jacket repertoire, whether you're a lad's lad or a fashion guy.".

Bomber jackets also have relatively ageless appeal, as shown by the celebrities who have taken to wearing them of late. Stacey Smith, menswear buyer for Matches, said: "Ryan Gosling in Drive last year proved they're not just for the twentysomething man."

Esquire has featured the look on its cover for the past two months. The May issue shows John Hamm in a seersucker style while the current cover has Michael Fassbender in a black leather Gucci version.

Betts said the bomber had evolved from a simple "utility garment in nylon", helping it reach a broader audience. "We have them in seersucker, linen, leather and even reversible versions," he said.

Reece Crisp, men's contemporary and design wear buyer at Selfridges, said the bomber had proved a hit because of strong performances across the board, from traditional varsity styles to luxury versions in leather by labels such as Alexander Wang.

But the bomber's popularity is also a reflection of a move in men's fashion towards sportier clothes, said Crisp. "Sportswear as an aesthetic is really having a moment and the bomber is a staple piece within that look.".

This sporty look has been seen in menswear from upcoming designer names at London fashion week, such as the increasingly influential Christopher Shannon, to powerhouse brands in Paris and Milan. Johnston said luxury sportswear was becoming "increasingly sophisticated".

One of the most influential collections for spring/summer 2012, by Louis Vuitton, featured designer versions of varsity jackets and sporty shorts made from expensive fabrics such as suede.

These are also selling well. Smith has seen a great response from customers towards statement bombers this season. "It seems men are more willing to explore bolder colours and textures when they are tempered by a sportier shape," she said.

The matchy matchy look:Jessica Biel, Rihanna and a Stella McCartney model show how it's done. Photographs: Getty; Mavrix/Xclusive

Yes, it's official - you're allowed to match your clothes again
Clashing patterns has been all the rage for what seems like an age - yes this week Fashion Statement rhymes. But Jess Cartner-Morley has just broken the news that in fact matchy-matchy is the new fashion compliment you should be hankering after. Firstly, from Stella to Whistles, there's been the surprise success of this season's pyjama set trend. Secondly, designers and the high-street are backing matching print top-and-bottom sets for next season too. This week Topshop's autumn/winter press preview was bursting with co-ordinating separates in all manner of textures and patterns. Oh and Wendi Deng got in on the act with a nail polish and cuff matching moment during Leveson.

Barjis Chohan's AW 2012 collection: "Young, fashionable Muslims are struggling to buy clothes from the Western, high-street shops" Photograph: Barjis Chohan

Muslim fashion is having a moment
Muslim fashion is worth 59 million globally. Vivienne Westwood proteg Barjis Chohan has just launched a fashion-forward, Muslim-focused line. Harrods are selling abayas. This week Sara Ilyas rounded up how Muslim fashion is having a moment while discussing hijab trends and what fashion labels are doing to target a modern Muslim audience.

ASOS Autumn/Winter 2012 key trends. Photograph: ASOS

There was a lot happening in the world of menswear
Singapore staged a men's fashion week, which Sue-Wen Quek had some issues with. The first London Collections Men schedule was released by the British Fashion Council. As Imogen Fox noted, there are a lot of Christophers (and a Prince) on board for this first men's London fashion week. Savile Row was once again in the spotlight: Charlie Porter thought it needed to "adapt its crafts to the modern world." Gustav Temple meanwhile, argued that there was no place for the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch on this hallowed street. And if this wasn't enough male fashion action then Simon Chilvers' roundup contemplated Russell Brand's select committee look, shoes, and a new knitwear neckline.

Helen Mirren on the catwalk at Dolce & Gabbana's autumn/winter 2012 show in Milan earlier this year. Photograph: Olycom SPA/Rex Features

Dolce & Gabbana made the Invisible Woman giddy
She was attending the first Vogue fashion festival and minding her own business, when suddenly the Invisible Woman found herself whisked off to interview Italian power duo Dolce & Gabbana. She loved them. They talked about older women, botox and chocolate. Obvs.

Madonna launches her first fragrance Truth Or Dare. Photograph: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Cowell and Madge
Not together. Can you imagine? No, no, no. The world couldn't cope. Instead this week Ask Hadley dealt with why Simon only appears to have two outfits. And perfumer Stephen Nilsen lifted the lid on working with the Queen of Pop on her first fragrance. Cue tales of 8ft high black steel walls and bitching about musk. L.U.V Madonna!

Suits designed in 1966 by Aquascutum and Simpson-Daks, members of the British Menswear Guild. Photograph: Keystone/Getty Images

The growing variety in men's clothes has reached a point where the tailoring world talks of rival styles. In Britain, it is the Flare line; in Germany, the Flowerpot line; in America, it is the Ivy League. Named designers of men's clothes are conspicuously absent, particularly in Britain.

Whatever the designer's interpretation of what men (or, as often or not, their womenfolk) want in clothes, it is increasingly apparent that we are fast moving towards an "international" style. Of course, there will be variations: age modifications between, say, the "teenager," the "man about town" and the "professional man", plus national variations.

Just as Paris has had to fight to resist the challenge of Italy and America in women's fashion, so today Savile Row is making a stand to retain some claim for traditional British bespoke tailoring. Hence, the Flare line, London's first major attempt for a decade to introduce a revolutionary new style. Will it succeed?

This spring's version of the Flare line, first introduced a year ago, is modified to the point where it at least becomes a practicable proposition. It is essentially the marriage of a cavalry-type jacket, longish in length and flared, and semi-bell-bottomed trousers with turn-ups.

Combined with it is the growing emphasis on brighter colours, on bold checks for country and Italian-inspired stripes for town wear. Waistcoats pick up a single colour from woollen or worsted suiting and are further enlivened by a novel cut.

Already, Savile Row reports that some of London's bold pioneers are adopting and adapting the Flare line. It will need further modification, however, before the ready-tailored manufacturers attempt to market it on a mass scale. Which is probably why the bespoke tailors have plunged for it.

The continental Flowerpot style is slender-making. The emphasis is on freedom of movement. It appeals as much to the young man on the continent as to those who wish to hide middle-age spread.

The jacket is directly opposed to the British conception. It is short with natural sloping shoulders, narrow lapels and slim sleeves to give the arms more emphasis. The trousers hug the hips and have very narrow bottoms without the turn-ups.

A touch of continental logic: bespoke tailors now cut the trouser knee on slightly fuller lines; this, together with a lining from the knee upwards, prevents bagging.

In America, this same mood of casualness has been developed over the years from what the college students wore into what has become known as the Ivy League line. Extreme forms of the Ivy, popular with younger men, are similar to our Edwardian style.

Already an American version of the Flowerpot has appeared, known as the Continental. No doubt each country will adopt its rival's styles. It becomes harder and harder to spot a man's nationality by his clothes.

Agi & Sam Agi & Sam's autumn/winter 2012 collection Photograph: Agi & Sam

Ex-girlfriends, tequila drinking and prints of men waving their arms in the manner of a chicken. These are among the hot topics at the Dalston headquaterters of menswear's latest ascending stars Agi Mdumulla, 26, and Sam Cotton, 25 of Agi & Sam. The young pair are the buzz of the men's fashion scene following their hit autumn/winter 2012 collection which showed at the Royal Opera House this February. Aside from featuring their signature witty prints, colourful plaid and snappy tailoring, the show culminated in an explosion of eye-catching rooster suit jackets and mallard trousers. Not bad considering the whole lot was made from recycled bottles.

The Agi & Sam studio is a lot like a teenager's bedroom, with giant blue Ikea bags full of clothes that litter the floor. In the corner of the room there are two sewing machines while a young dude in a baseball cap is at work at a cutting table. On a desk in another corner are DVD box sets of Miami Vice and Magnum PI. Apparently, these are inspiration for the duo's next collection, being shown in June, which will be based on "rubbish detectives."

The pair met while interning at Alexander McQueen during the Lee years. "I've never seen anyone's brain work so quickly," says Sam, as he makes a scissor cutting sound effect and mimes the ripping of fabric off a model. Their own label was set up in 2012 and was born out of frustration, says Agi – neither could find work that creatively fulfilled them. Despite being the new kids on the block, they've quickly established strong and influential industry mentors, such as Fashion East's Lulu Kennedy, GQ Style's Ben Reardon and menswear champion Charlie Porter.

Before their recent show, they had too many ideas and the collection was swerving in all directions. Porter told them that they should focus on the wit and humour in their work, which he said had something of the Paul Smith about it. Since then, Sir Paul himself has taken a keen interest, recently inviting the boys over to his offices for a chat and to dish out advice. Sam rather brilliantly proceeds to do a series of gestures to explain Sir Paul's formula of purity versus commercialism – fashion's holy grail.

Agi & Sam: the design duo as kids (as they appear on Twitter) Photograph: Agi & Sam

Sam grew up on a farm near Stratford Upon Avon (might this explain those chickens?) and trained in illustration, but it was following an internship at Topman that he realised he wanted to branch into fashion. Agi meanwhile hails from Yorkshire and, until he was 16, wanted to be an airline pilot. But an art foundation in Leeds, followed by a BA in fashion design at Manchester Metropolitan university changed that. The partnership works with Sam developing the prints and Agi doing the patterns. "We sit together at the start and draw the collection together," says Sam. "So we know what the shapes and our overall ideas are."

The research for autumn/winter included podcasts about Quantum physics, the aforementioned tequila, 2001 A Space Odyssey, M. C. Escher, and ideas around evolution and the future. Eventually, the collection would be called Darwin's Theory of Why the Chicken Crossed the Road. Beyond the jumble of references was a strongly focussed menswear mix, including suits, printed shirting, tailored coats and sporty parkas, anchored by a strong use of colour. Up close my favourite pieces were the repeat pattern duck shirts (jolly, commercial), a belted coat with rounded shoulders and a print that reminded me of a wet water colour canvas (arty, fashiony), and a simple orange and black blown up plaid print T-shirt (the kind of thing oki-ni should stock).

"The prints are so loud that you can't push the clothes too much. They need to be wearable but not boring," explains Agi talking about the shapes and styles in the collection. Their PR pipes up "you've got to entertain with a catwalk show, don't you?"

And then there's the recycled bottles. "We began printing on polyester, firstly due to cost as we couldn't afford digital printing," they say. This was then followed by a lot of research, which led them to a signage company, various canvas cotton alternatives and then eventually to GreenPac, who sell emulation polyesters that performed exactly how they wanted for suiting and outerwear. The polyesters were then woven to replicate natural fabrics, such as cotton drill and jersey. "We are definitely interested in finding new, revolutionary, cost efficient and eco-friendly ways of producing clothes, so we will be working on more stuff with Green Pac."

Currently the duo's prints slot perfectly into the celebratory London aesthetic for print and colour, which is happening in women's fashion too. "London is more accepting of new things, new designers. You can't really do what we do anywhere else," says Sam. Agi says the daring of London designers is partly to do with the multiculturalism and the variety of tribes that live in the capital. "In London, you walk down the street and you've got seven different cultures all on that one street, and I think it's that mix that's inspiring. You don't get that level of multiculturalism anywhere else in the world."

With London hosting its first full menswear event this June instead of showing at the end of the women's shows, menswear is clearly having a moment. The pair have their theories. "Metrosexuality," says Sam grinning, and the fact that being interested in fashion no longer seems like a pursuit for the posh, which he thinks hindered menswear during the Thatcher years. Agi, meanwhile, rather wisely says that: "The internet and globalisation means people are able to access anything anywhere. You can see what people are doing and wearing, and when men see other men wearing stuff, it just becomes more acceptable to them."

So on a scale of 1-10 how brave does a man have to be to wear a pair of trousers with a duck on them then? "Probably a three," says Agi smiling. "I'd say more like a six," says Sam looking at the trousers in question as they sit on the rail. "I mean, they are white!" he laughs.

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