There were two overarching themes to come out of last weekend's 11th bi-annual London Men's Fashion Week: another stride towards the unmatchable comfort of streetwear and a focus on real-life wearability.
At a time when the purpose of fashion week has been called into question and the industry sits in a state of flux between antiquated tradition and newfound possibility, showing market-ready product on the runway certainly seems to demonstrate a new sense of purpose from brands. While these events were one industry exclusive affairs, aimed at peaking the interest of an inner sanctum of weathered fashion journalists and buyers, their purpose has evolved to cut out these industry middlemen and speak directly to the customers on Instagram on the lookout for the latest styles from their chosen brands.
That's not to say there isn't an important place in the fashion system for pure conceptual creativity from the likes of Craig Green, Rick Owens, and Thom Browne, - the kind of creativity which has given us the Balenciaga Triple S and the unforgettable Moncler C collaboration - but these avant-garde presentations don't speak to the end consumer on a commercial level. Your standard customer scrolling through Instagram is interested in two things: what's hitting stores and when can he buy it? This season's presentations were ready to answer these questions.
Out on the streets, statement outerwear asserted itself as the clear grail among guests. There were notable appearances from Junya Watanabe's 2017 collaboration with the North Face, alongside a slew of heavy trench coats and tactical bombers. On the sneaker front, retro classics from Nike were a popular choice, intermingled with an unsurprisingly high number of attendees sporting styles from Virgil Abloh's 'The Ten'.
As collection season kicks off, keep your eyes peeled for up-t0-the minute content coming from Milan, Paris and beyond as the global tastemakers debut their AW18 visions.
