London Fashion Week Men's: What we learned for SS19

This weekend the ShortList team were out at London Fashion Week Men’s seeing what 2019 has in store for our wardrobes. Here’s what we learned.

Anoraks any style are the one

Iterations of the British summer wardrobe essential made their way down pretty much all the catwalks over the weekend. There were oversized and printed ones, Liam Hodges brought us a western-style trimmed one, cropped ones were shown by John Lawrence Sullivan and at Kent and Curwen it was a leather version that they presented for SS19. So good we’re almost hoping for rain.

Pink is back (again) in a big way

Okay to be fair, this trend rolls back around every few summers but this time the volume has been turned up in every way. Head-to-toe pink looks, highlighter hues and high shine fabrications are breathing new life into the trend for SS19. 

Face tattoos can be chic

By no means are we recommending you suddenly rush out and get permanently inked, but the temporary versions shown at Liam Hodges, Astrid Andersen and Stefan Cooke were so good I would implore you to consider getting creative with the temporary stuff by way of new accessory take. 

Places like Inkwear have really good transfer tattoo packs as well as options to create custom designs - but also try experimenting with a liquid felt-tip eyeliner. You can pick them up in Boots or Superdrug for a couple of quid and one of our favourite designs was strips of Balinese script running down the side of the nose. Not convinced? Road-test it at a festival first and see how you get on.

Tailoring is future perfect

Streetwear and sports pieces are still dominating the London shows and, keeping us on our toes, the few pieces of traditional tailoring we saw were in fact anything but. Charles Jeffrey brought us sharp-as-hell lapel-less suiting while newcomer Qasimi offered a sleeveless waistcoat-style piece as a jacket. Daniel Fletcher’s 2018 man has foregone the shirt and his trousers are floor-length and slashed. 

You can wear Lamé

John Lawrence Sullivan and Matthew Miller showed us that everyday metallics are totally possible and should be enouraged at all times. Silver zip-up worn underneath a suit? Obviously. Silver trousers chucked on with grunge denim and flannel like it ain’t no thing? We’re in.

Two-pieces are getting turned up

Don’t be intimated by these doubled-up looks. The beauty of these is that they’re entirely customisable to suit your own look but with relatively low effort as the main chunk of outfit is already sorted and interesting to start with. Fresh white trainers and a plain white jersey rollneck will do something completely different to a chunky black Derby Shoe, dark printed shirt and baseball cap.

Abs are getting a moment

Yep, while we saw trousers get longer, the tops were getting shorter. Perhaps not the easiest new trend for the fainthearted, start by trying a slightly cropped sweatshirt or long-sleeved T-shirt with a higher-waist baggy jeans like these ones from Topman. I mean, you don’t spend all that time in the gym for nothing, do you?

Handbags are here

We’ve had bumbags and bodybags and pouch bags before that. Now it’s the turn of the straight-up handbag. Iceberg kicked off fashion week with their highly wearable collection on Friday night and amongst the brightly-coloured, logo-emblazoned looks it was the refreshing accessories slung round tracksuits that caught our eye. Just think - never be caught out without a charger again and all that space for your headphones! We see this being huge for next year and can’t wait.

We should all wear more Polkadots

John Lawrence Sullivan showed us that you can and absolutely should get into polkadots for next summer. Not sure where to start? Ease yourself in with a pair of Play Converse low Chuck Taylors and come next year you’ll be champing at the bit to get stuck in proper.

Martine is Queen

There’s nothing that London darling Martine Rose can do that isn’t magic. With prior shows staged in climbing centres and indoor markets, this weekend it was a quiet, terraced cul-de-sac in Kentish Town that played host to her SS19 catwalk show on Sunday night. 

But don’t think the fashion elite descended and booted everyone out  for the day - residents were all invited down to the side of the catwalk to view her standout collection alongside press and buyers. Neighbours knocked back cans and kids perched on wheelie bins against a backdrop of garage and drum and bass creating an incredible warm-vibed almost street party feel that just emanated everything that Martine’s about - ease, comfort, inclusivity, newness and love for London.