London Collections: Men SS15 Highlights

LC:M kicked off last Sunday with some of the most respected and cutting edge designers in Menswear showing their Spring/Summer 2015 collections.  This year I went along as the official blogger for QVodka who were sponsoring the event and ensuring the attendees never went thirsty thanks to their refreshing vodka cocktails.

It seems difficult to even begin to decipher the trends for 2015 when summer 2014 has barely kicked off but that is how things operate in the world of fashion with the designers carefully crafting their look multiple seasons in advance.  One of my favourite things about LC:M is their support of emerging and new British design talent, where else will you see the likes of Lee Roach & Agi & Sam on the same bill as Paul Smith & Burberry.  I think it says a lot about the menswear scene here in the UK and how vibrant it currently is.

Lee Roach

For my first show on Sunday, I headed down to Victoria House in Bloomsbury to take in the  British Designer Lee Roach’s show.  An energetic soundtrack set the tone for the presentation that heavily sat its focus on clean lines and collarless jackets.  The colour palette was strictly navy, khaki, red and white with nylon being the material of choice.  Jacket waists were routinely drawn in too with the use of belts creating a bold urban look.

Agi & Sam

After a wander around the accessories showroom at Victoria House, I met up with a blogger mate of mine, Paula from The P-ho Diaries and we headed along to the Agi & Sam Show.  Anything that involves Fleetwood Mac is a winner in my book so this show got off to a great start as the music started and ‘Big Love’ belted out across the sound system.

I seem to love everything that Agi & Sam come up with.  Each season their look is so completely different but manages to maintain a sense of their identity.  They really need to be applauded for that alone.  For SS15 the look is all about slightly Japanese style loose-fitting smock jackets, socks with sandals (sorry I can’t buy into this strand) and pleated trousers.  The colours were controlled switching between block whites, blues, grey and camel.  Camel it seems will be a big feature next summer having featured across a few designers collections.

Orlebar Brown

Swimwear specialists Orlebar Brown recruited some canine models to assist with their SS15 presentation that took an underwater direction.  A bright and vivid palette of colours including tangerine, dark tyrian purple, dive blue and pink helped give the range exotic tone inspired by underwater plant life and tropical fish.

Oliver Spencer

The founder of QVodka, Fabrice Limon kindly invited me along to the Oliver Spencer show at the Old Sorting Office.  I had been eagerly awaiting this one as it is always regarded as a highlight on the calendar.  I am glad to report SS15 for no exception.  Maybe in a nod to the World Cup or just a coincidence, the theme was Carnival.  Not so much via the clothing but through the feather-adorned Brazilian dancers and steel band.

The Oliver Spencer collection is not only aesthetically pleasing it is completely wearable.  Unlike lot’s of ‘catwalk’ only pieces that we often see sent down the runway at these things, I could see myself wearing pretty much this entire summer range.  Textured materials and prints are used in a variety of shades of blue, red and yellow paired with whites and oatmeal.

QVodka Tasting

On Monday evening we headed back down to Victoria House for the LC:M Open House drinks reception hosted by Menswear Insight.  While we were there we were treated to a QVodka tasting session by the team.  Straight Vodka and I do not normally mix very well but I found this very easy (maybe a tad too easy) to drink on the rocks.  Fabrice enlightened us to the production process involved in premium spirits like this.  The reason that it is so much easier to drink (and less likely to cause you a bad hangover) is the distillation process and lack of added sugars.

Sibling

We wrapped things up with the Sibling show that was presented in associated with Lavazza coffee.  Their SS15 look revolves around an ‘anti-culture’.  Hair and spots form two of the Sibling motifs in this presentation which is a reference to the biggest preoccupations of the average self-obsessed youth.  Red, grey, navy and black feature across the collection with some of the most ‘out there’ pieces I can recall from the whole LCM event being shown.  Think huge red pop pom costume and you are just about there.