Matthew Miller's Modern Man for A/W'2011

Blurring the lines of tradition and practicality, RCA alumni Matthew Miller presented his autumn/winter 2011 collection both in Paris at the BFC's 'London Show Rooms' but also at London Fashion Week as part of Fashion East's Men day presentation.

The 2010/2011 McArthurGlen Spirit of Fashion Award recipient, introduced his own interpretation of masculinity through a collection that was inspired by German artist Joseph Beuys and travel in the twenty-first century. Still exploring the technological vs traditional impact of menswear design, Miller used traditional techniques that were complemented by the use of hi-tech and performance fabrics.

The Matthew Miller a/w'11 man prefers practical and functional clothing with an insertion of bright colour. Traditional duffel coats in melange wool get a re-vamp in vibrant blue and bold yellow with their toggles replaced with M33 carabiners, jersey t-shirts with military accents are insulated and the rope accessories are definitely innovative. 

The future certainly looks very bright for Matthew!

See all the looks from Matthew Millers a/w 2011 presentation after the jump

By Andreas Menelaou Features Assistant

The Givenchy A/W'11 Backpacks are sick!

Is it just me or did Riccardo Tisci up his game for this season ?Did he have a premonition that John Galliano would go AWOL and subconsciously designed his best collection yet ?

The Givenchy a/w'11 collections for both menswear and womenswear were probably the most stunning and seducing-ly innovate yet wearable collections from all the offerings that we've seen on the catwalk this show season!

The sexy ,up-tight, arrogant aesthetic transferred brilliantly through to the accessories with the chav-tastic all-over dog print taking center-stage and a fur covered backpack in both brown and black can lure anyone to the dark side!

Now the only question left to ask is' Will he take the reigns at DIOR ?'

By Andreas Menelaou Features Assistant

Editors Picks: Favourite oufits from Vauxhall Fashion Scout a/w'11

Vauxhall Fashion Scout -ONES TO WATCH MEN

C/BRUEBERG a/w'11

A.Hallucination a/w'11

Mr Lipop a/w'11

Asger Juel Larsen a/w'11

By Andreas Menelaou Features Assistant
Photography: Allexander Philip Aristotelous

BLAST by Christopher Raeburn a/w'11

Showcased as part of NEWGEN men's, BLAST by Christopher Raeburn a/w'11 continues to exhibit the undying love of exploration the designer has for military heritage, fabric technology and garment reappropriation.

'Inspired by our research into the original garments...each piece pays tribute to the objective of the real item-whether protection,camouflage,speed or warmth- and injects a new life and striking functionality through our complete redesign' said Christopher Raeburn.

From pop-out jackets utilising deconstructed Swiss military macs to German Parkas,duffel coats made up entirely from military trousers and the new 'British' range where the designer was working exclusively with dead stock from british-made wool, BLAST is definitely a unique range of outerwear that looks set to propel the young designer into a very exciting and rewarding season.

By Andreas Menelaou Features Assistant
Photography : Alexander Philip Aristotelous

MAN Show -The Designers a/w'11

NEW POWER STUDIO a/w'11

One of London Fashion Week's highlights must have been when NEW POWER STUDIO while presenting their autumn/winter 2011-12 'The Last Dance' collection under the MAN Show, sent out probably the cutest model parading in a brown bear jumpsuit covered in incense sticks.

Inspired by costumes and props associated with contemporary hen nights and the Roman Catholic Carnival, NEW POWER STUDIO gave a twist to the classic menswear staples that we've seen this year at fashion week and presented a full blown wild collection made-up of oversized printed tees & jackets ,nylon patent tracksuits and jaw-dropping headpieces.

FELIPE ROJAS LLANOS a/w'11

Darker and more lineal than their previous collections, 'The Grand Hall of the Mountain King', Felipe Rojas Llanos a/w'11 offering brings together two powerfully beautiful techniques,ballet and opera.Oversized capes, naked necklines and cinched in tailored trousers took over the catwalk in black,turquoise and powerful red. The strong, voluminous yet fluid silhouettes capture the physical essence of the dancers that harmoniously blend with the effortlessly graceful sequence of their movements.

MARTINE ROSE a/w'11

Launching her a/w'11 collecion within the illimitable boundaries of the MAN show, utilitarian lover Martine Rose,rose to the occasion of an exceptionally designed innovative collection that was remarkably styled, extremely well thought of and brilliantly executed. Her inspiration from desert tribes was clearly evident in  her outstanding use of layering fabrics that included fleece,wax,faux fur and felt in earthly hues,creating a multi-faceted range that can be broken down into contemporary wearable separates.Who else can make a hypothermia t-shirt fahsionable?!

By Andreas Menelaou Features Assistant
Photography: Alexander Philip Aristotelous

Charlie Le Mindu x London Underground A/W'11

Continuing our reports on London Fashion Week,it's collaborations like this one that catapults London designers as probably the most innovative ones in the fashion industry.

Designer Charlie Le Mindu showed his 5th collection for Autumn/Winter 2011 in-front of a fashion forward celebrity packed crowd that included Daphne Guinness and madame of drama Diane Pernet.The collection inspired by intimidating movies 'Carrie' and 'Salon Kitty' featured one particular item that had every fashion boy screaming with excitement.

Following in the footsteps of Nicola Formichetti and his Mugler collection, Charlie Le Mindu worked with London-based Underground Shoes to create his own unique pair of 'creeper'-inspired footwear. Staying true to his own aesthetic, Le Mindu incorporated lace as used in his a/w collection and brought into a form a thick sole, stained lace shoe in white & beige.

By Andreas Menelaou Features Assistant

Tween A/W'11 goes functional on video

Tween from tween on Vimeo.

It's very exciting to witness innovative and never-seen-before craftsmanship portrayed on the men's catwalk but we should not forget that the real man is not extremely fussy with his clothes and at the end of the day prefers comfort and utility over excessive style.

Tween's man for Autumn/Winter 2011-12 is a modern man who acknowledges trends but is not dictated by them, a man who is dynamic and wants to discover many things further from his closet but wants his closet to be able to accomodate and be n'sync with his lifestyle.

Functional coats that will allow any man to walk around and travel without the need of a bag, cosy patterned knitwear, denim and relaxed youthful suiting in warm tones of mustard, maroon,blue and grey that will easily transcend into any man's wardrobe.

 

By Andreas Menelaou Features Assistant

Omar Kashoura A/W'11

For the A/W 2011 season British menswear designer Omar Kashoura presents CLICK BRIGADE. The collection name is taken from the  feeling of binding together with a sense of efficiency and relevance, amalgamated with the feeling of a large body of people, the sense of a group of individuals coming together to reach a common goal.

Omar has taken inspiration from a variety of historical art forms that express a social commentary of the time post past and present, such as the Luchino Viscontis film ‘The Dammed’ released in 1969, which tells the story of life in World War I Germany and trials young men faced in the era.

Pulling on these strong culturally relevant references the collection presents clean lines, with focus on a relaxed elegance, in soft shades of oatmeal, grey and green. The fabrics used have a luxurious quality, featured in merino wools and silk in knitwear and over dyed Italian jerseys while tailoring is shown in modern tech cottons, heavy oatmeal wool, and soft grey suiting which is finished with a wash that gives a softer appearance and finer feel.

Backstage at Vauxhal Fashion Scout 'Ones to Watch' Men

Walking backstage at Vauxhall Fashion scout it was like we walked in model mayhem!For those of you who are not quite up to speed with London Fashion Week, Vauxhall Fashion scout 'Ones to Watch' is the only show that presents the best up'n'coming menswear designers with a special simultaneous catwalk presentation of who are going to be taking over the reigns of  the menswear industry in the near future.

For Autumn/Winter 2011,Vauxhall Fashion Scout is launching four immensely talented designers/labels making their London Fashion Week debut, A.Hallucination, Asger Juel Larsen, C/BRUERBERG and Mr.Lipop.

We didn't know where to look and frankly we didn't know what to say,which for us is relatively uncommon.The clothes looked unbelievable even when just hanging on the rails and watching the designers putting the outfits together is just a very magical experience.You could feel it in the air that everyone was 'buzzin', the flow of creativity was unbelievable!

And yes we did stay for the whole catwalk show and yes we do  have exclusive images from all the clothes and models sashaying down the runway,so don't go anywhere, this is just a small teaser of what's to come!!!

By Andreas Menelaou Features Assistant
Photography:Alexander Philip Aristotelous

See more backstage pictures after the jump!

Backstage at TOPMAN Design A/W '11

Yesterday 23rd of February saw the start of Menswear day at London Fashion week(sigh of relief) but while everyone was out in the cold and the rain, 7thMan had exclusive backstage access to the hottest shows in town; And yes, there were boys,lots and lots of boys and lots of lots of clothes and for us lots and lots of fun!

Starting off as early as 7:30 , we first invaded the TOPMAN Design backstage area at the Royal Opera House, wearing our full -blown AAA pass (that's access all areas), where we got to hang out with those boys called models and get a preview of the A/W'11 collection before it even went live on the catwalk.

Yes, getting our hair and make-up done seems like a pretty hard life for us too!

And boy did those models looked out of this world!We felt ashamed to parade in there with our all-black ensemble and our minimal height of 5ft 9'!!

The clothes were heavenly to say the least!Wearable, youthful and bang on-trend(for next winter) we were sure the show was going to be a huge hit(as it were).

The collection looked so irresistibly cool -and by all means 'cool' is still a brilliant word- that at one point we did catch ourselves considering what would be the most effortless incriminating way to 'borrow' a massive 'fur' coat that was hanging on the rail?Wear it and swag-out of there or pretend we walked in wearing it all-along?Hmmm tricky!!

We will review the show with our own ready-made-video a little bit later but for now enjoy more pictures just after the jump!

By Andreas Menelaou Features Assistant

Photographer : Alexander Philip Aristotelous