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Old Dog, Old Tricks

Margaret Howell has been producing indisputably tasteful menswear for well over thirty years and if you think she’s gonna stop now then, well, you will be dissapointed. That means little in the way of surprising innovation for AW16, but plenty in the way of, quite simply, lovely clothes. That could be a high-waisted, fuller trouser styled with chunky chelsea boots or a flannel suit cut with enviable skill: a cut that is neither sculpted nor baggy, but rather hangs in an almost casual way – perfect, you imagine, for all the semi-formal gallery openings that Howell’s customers must attend.

A Touch of Flair 

It was mostly a collection in those classic menswear colours of navy, grey and black, though colour did come through in a 70s-done-well mustard mockneck, a raffish scarf here and there or a splash of Fair Isle. Double breasted blazers added a touch of Michael Caine’s Swinging London with their six, high buttons and short peak lapels.

Well Worn, Worn Well

Outwear to last a lifetime is a Howell special, and there was no shortage of that here with a snow-white duffle coat proving a crispy update on an iconic style and softly constructed navy woolen macs looking like an excellent update on grandfather-wear. She may not change much, but the monochrome looks Howell put forward seemed as crisp and as modern as you could hope for within the guidelines of traditional cut and fabrication.

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Parisian

The rare quality of striking the perfect balance between simplicity and sophistication is often attributed to the Parisians, and Margaret Howell. This season, Howell has played on this and produced a somewhat obviously French feeling in the SS16 collection: the entire line stuck to a simple colour palette of red, white, navy and black. Howell’s trademark casual tailoring was added to with fine details such as a silk neckerchief, which really cemented the Parisian, easy-elegance look. The city shorts were cut beautifully: super high waist with roomy pockets and a longer A-line cut for flattering the leg while maintaining youthfulness. The shorts came in three staple colours, red, white and navy, and were worn on the catwalk each time with a matching coloured short sleeved, 4 button shirt. The red on red and white on white looked surprisingly stylish. The collection was all about summer in the city: cool cotton and linen fabrics with the loose fit tailoring, paired with strappy flat sandals.

Work(wear) it

This summer in the city look is often a smart one, which transitions from workwear to nightwear so easily – Howell ticked all these boxes. The paper-bag, belted trousers with pleated detailing and super pressed silhouette were made casual with the choice of a rough linen. The classic, crisp white shirt was made playful with different sleeve lengths, different collars (from camp style to tiny style), hoods, and even in the form of an A line dress belted. Typical knitwear styles were present in the theme of workwear, but again experimented with to modernise the old frumpy classics. A turtle neck cropped with mid-length sleeves, worn open with one button secured at the neck for a swing style, and Wonderland’s favourite, the cardigan made surprisingly sexy unbuttoned from the bust onwards, one half tucked into to white cigarette pants with a slither of stomach showing.

Mixing it up

Howell experimented with other colours beyond her staples. A knitted brown sweater vest worn over a white shirt tapped into the chic in geek. Outerwear was simple but effective: beige and navy macs were to be expected but the clear rain mac was a winner simply for paying homage to the rain poncho in such a stylish way. Howell threw in one denim piece, a classic jacket that lacked congruence with the rest of the line. However, when paired with matching trousers in the same shade of denim the jacket became interesting, and the oversized turn-ups (as seen on many of the guests at the show) may well be a trend to watch.

Photographer: Thurstan Redding

Words: Abigail Southan

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School uniform

Knitted ties in muted primary colours were reminiscent of the house points system at school, but instead of having to pair them with a polyester blazer and itchy jumper, Margaret Howell gave us slick suiting with cuffed knee-length shorts. It was all a bit private school boy but don’t imagine the Riot Club, they kept it cooler with rolled sleeves, rumpled socks and loose cuts all round.

Monochrome

Other than the deep blue of the indigo denim, Howell was all about black and white. From crisp Daz white shirts and trousers to the translucent shine of plastic rain coats and off-white checkered shirts, everything was pure and clean. Black was reserved for suits, sunglasses frames and leather accessories as well as a long flowing cape-like mac.

Boxed up

Although the fabrics were lightweight and the lines were soft, sharp edged angles were everywhere in the details, boxy diagonals of short sleeve shirts, in harshly contrasted necklines of v-neck jumpers and bright white shirts and even the wide cuffed ankles of jeans.

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Whether you’ve hung up this season’s most outrageous outfit or jumped on the next plane to Milan, the dust and glitter leftover from LFW is just beginning to settle. It’s unlikely that you’ll forget the best moments from the AW15 shows but we’ve listed our top seven just to make sure. You can thank us when you’re back from Paris.

Shouty Slogans

Ashley Williams was serving up truth with her patches. “Improve your image, be seen with me,” words anyone wearing the new collection can say wholeheartedly. Ashish’s “SEX” jumper will certainly sell, proving the saying true and Sophia Webster’s never-fail clutches were adorned with messages of “Touch my Clutch” and our favourite piece from her was the “Sexy Back” backpack. Simple, effective, cute.

Furry Friends

Obviously, for AW, fur was everywhere. Our favourites were of the patchwork variety at Ashish or on the hems of latex macs at Sibling (is there some sort of waiting list we need to be on for one of those btw?). The cutest was faux and worn on the Martian models at Shrimps, with their selection of fluff trimmed peep toes, striped coats and petal shaped clutches. Vibrantly coloured, utterly dreamy and probably softer than the real bunnies at Marcus Lupfer.

Street Walkers

Ashish made it ok for us to wear hooker boots, whether they’re PVC, lace-up, platformed, or all three. Over at Fyodor Golan they came in thigh-high baby pink patent styles, whilst Ed Marler took on a trashy tone too with his laced trousers and his models worked it in the highest energy show of the season with one of the best set designs and soundtracks too.

Boho is Back

Tassels and fringing galore were on show at Burberry and Temperley. Temperley luxed it up with jewel colours and sequins whereas Burberry stuck to the classic 70s earth tones, suede and florals. Topshop Unique also snuck into retro territory with au naturel hair, high necklines, shearling and the sweetest dandelion prints and embroidery, not to forget Paul Smith’s mustard shearling number, sure to be a favourite when autumn comes rolling in.

Gothic Girls

Vivienne Westwood always has something dark or devilish and this season was no exception with Rollacoaster cover girl Daisy Lowe taking to the catwalk in a hip hugging black lace gown, with scary almost industrial neck chains to up the ante. Giles was the real goth girl collection though with pieces straight out of a fairytale. Exaggerated bows, ruffs and dominatrix PVC gave the perfect balance between traditional and contemporary and black slick lips teamed with french plaited hair combined girlishness and witch-chic.

Pretty in Pink

It’s a tried, old and untrue stereotype that’s blue’s for boys and pink’s for girls but you would have taken it as gospel at LFW. Every shade of blush, petal, peach, magenta and even Pepto Bismol was on show just about everywhere. House of Holland, Ashley Williams, Simone Rocha and Sibling skirted around the saccharine with PVC and latex infused collections whereas Molly Goddard embraced the fluff and frills of the colour with her dreamy fairytale tulle creations.

One of the Boys

No nonsense was had at Margaret Howell, Paul Smith, Belstaff or Joseph. Clean lines, wintry colour palettes and heavy focus on shirts, coats and tailoring at all three brands made a more masculine trio of collections. Loose cuts at Paul Smith will make everything look like you borrowed it from your boyfriend or your brother, in a good way, that is.

Words: Lily Walker

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What?

Not one single man’s neck was left out in the cold, Howell’s line had high-collars all round with polo-necks, top buttons firmly done up and scarfs knotted elsewhere. Shearling and tweed made an appearance, lending an English gent romance to the collection, modernised by the pops of colour, ankle-grazers and slightly relaxed tailoring.

Who?

The AW15 Margaret Howell man was ready to take on the world, all in his stride of course as he shrugs on his mustard yellow mac. Someone nonchalant, these clothes are high quality fashion and they know it, they’re just not shouting about it.

Want?

A duck egg scarf definitely, to go with everything. The shearling and yellow jackets are obviously at the top of the list too, and to go underneath, a navy shirt with a light sheen.

Photographer: Chris Moore.

Words: Lily Walker.

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