London Men’s Fashion Week – first past the post.

This season sees London’s first Mens Fashion week of 3 days giving the big thumbs up to our creative capital showing highly competitive London menswear designers that are sure to set the world alight with their energy and optimism. I am most interested in observing and showcasing here the developments in digital printing, trends in print and colour and their combinations of course which aligns me with the new generation of designers that do it best.

Sportswear still reigns supreme, from the clean lines of tennis inspired pieces to urban hip hop and skate as inspiration, gym gods get a good looking over not forgetting the utility of clothes that make easy the bike ride to work – the same common element amongst them all are the luxury fabrications used and elegant detail that makes the difference.

I became overly excited last season with the many new options men now have for dressing and this feeling continues this season as designers serve up clothing that sits outside the traditional menswear square. Think new shapes, brave suiting, high shine and bold print that bangs.

Decadent tropical reef, oversized skate silhouettes & serious gold hardware at Katie Eary. This collection funnily enough reminded me of my mother and her friends wearing Versace on the Gold Coast in the late eighties, but that just shows my age. Katie Eary’s clothes need no reference to what has gone before, so sorry for my personal memoirs here. Her version of menswear will be seen street style, on stage and overtly styled to a T in menswear magazines for months to come. Brilliant baroque.

Luxe sports layering, brotherhood and the agony & ecstasy at Astrid Andersen. A complex collection that examines the parallels between the gym and church, the collection continued her exploration of the athletic male who has a darker and more delicate soul. Traditional feminised fabrics such as lace found top form on hard bodies that worked in this intricate mix. Your body is a temple.

Watch this film of Astrid discussing her inspiration and themes for the show by i-D online.

Playful pixels, Magnum PI and pastel panache at Agi & Sam. Old favourites Agi & Sam again inspired with a playful, personal and ethical approach to menswear that totally wins, this is head to toe dressing that will put a smile on your dial. Agi & Sam’s second season at Fashion East/MAN was inspired by being made to watch “rubbish detective programmes” at their Grandparents when they were younger, hence the merry moustached men that walked their show. Also and more importantly their perfect print-work, taken from nostalgic upholstery and scanned, reworked and developed into an eclectic melange of future fabrics that have become their signature. Great use of men across all ages again too.