menswear

"From a flawless Cary Grand to a kilted Kanye West, menswear is changing. Currently a sort of renaissance is taking place which is seeing spend a bit more time and money on creating their wardrobe" (Peterson 2014).

Christopher Kane floral t shirt

A new trend which has taken menswear by storm is one which is traditionally known as a more feminine cliché is the floral print. Floral print were a huge part of the Spring 2014 by many designers including Prada, Dries van Noten and Christopher Kane. EditD a fashion market analysis has reported an increase of 130% in floral pieces this year while Asos has sold out of floral suits for men . (Cochrane 2014). This trend has coincided with a new type of fashion conscious man who know as yummie, a term coined by HSBC analysts, describes young urban professional men with an unabashed interest in grooming and fashion, that includes keeping up with the latest catwalk trends.

Prada floral shoes

Bomber jackets have seen a revival with both luxury and high street stores having a numerous selection, with the more colourful the better. Continuing with the flower theme Zara has a bomber jacket which is straight off the luxury cat walk with bright colourful flowers dotted around the jacket.

Zara floral bomber jacket

Although this moda style fashion is now popular with men, classic tailoring still is very important the mens fashion with mixed tailoring becoming ever so popular especially coming into the summer months. This involves mixing blazers with different coloured trousers and shirt to give a more Italian mediterranean inspired look (esquire). This is an example pf mixed tailoring where key pieces from other suits has been mixed together to form a mixed tailored look suit.

According to fashion beans, another key trend linked to this mixed tailoring is wearing trainers with a suit. It goes it to discuss what suit is suitable for this look. Fashion beans suggests that the suit should not be a bold or daring colour but plain black, blue or grey and well tailored. This look should not be worn in the office simply because it is just no suitable.On shoes, it advises to keep the colour;s simple and not too over the top. Below shows the contrast between wearing a suit with shoes and with trainers .Trainers are matched well with linen suits something which is a key trend for 2014. Acording to the Swiss import  promotion programme linen is a vital fabric and key material for both spring/summer 2014 and Autumn/ Winter 2014/ 2015.

Celebrity and menswear

Celebrities have a huge influence on fashion and in particular menswear. It is said "evidence on celebrity influence shows that it is most powerful when the celebrity has credibility, is attractive, is trustworthy and is likeable" (Easey 2009 p.86). Celebrities such as David Beckham famous for being a footballer, David Gandy famous due to being a male model, rappers Tinie Tempah and ASAP Rocky have a huge influence on menswear fashion and are seen as instigators for new trends and styles.

Denis Campbell of the guardian looked at at a study done by Dr Andrew Parker of Warwick University and it found that David Beckham is a hugely important figure in popular culture and is now the most influential male figure for anyone in the UK between the ages of 5 and 60. Beckham was awarded for his classic style when he was named the most stylish man of the year 2013 by GQ. His style varies from classic suits, to leather jackets and boots to sportwear. He is now a celebrity endorser for both Adidas and Belstaff.

According to mens style fashion David Gandy can be viewed as the James Bond of fashion. Gandy is on the committee which launced the London collection mens this year. His style shows his British heritage as he goes for a classic, vintage heritage look and always is dressed to impress using mixed tailoring as the vocal point for his differing style. He is often seen in thr front row of Fashion weeks especially London fashion week where Gandy and Tinie Tempah have become regular faces of UK fashion.

Tinie Tempah goes beyond the usual stereotype of a rapper and is now seen as one of the most influential figures in UK mens fashion. He blends street style with smart and casual elegant looks. Tempah was GQ's 2012 most stylish man of the year. According to fashion beans Tempah who often reclines in the personal shopping suite of London's selfridges, has a dress style as sharp as his lyrics.                                                 

American rapper has become a style icon in his own right. According to GQ  ASAP Rocky real name Rakim Mayers has become a fashion icon. His style inspired by Givenchy often uses leather, black shorts and oversized bomber jackets can be seen in the high street and in the cat walk by luxury designers.

Menswear and feminism

Feminism is said to be a set of beliefs and ideas that belong to the broad social and political movement to achieve greater equality for women. As its governing ideology, feminism gives shape and direction to the women's movement and, of course is shaped by it (Fiss 2004). More and more, women are seen in suits and a more tailored look to have a more powerful boss like look.  At this years BAFTA's Angelina Jolie impressed all by wearing a Yves Saint Laurent suit. It is said that Jolie wore her tux with the right balance of femininity and nonchalance. With an open neckline, draped 'dickie bow' sported like a diamond necklace and a sexy pair of patent Saint Laurent escarpins this was never going to be tomboy but smouldering maverick. (Bergin of fashion telegraph)

It is now common practice for retailers to sell unisex clothing with menswear and womenswear side by side with brands like American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch ans superdry selling loungewear suitable for both men and women. 

Harpers bazaar even gives tips in how to wear menswear fashion yet still look like a lady. Tips include how to match a tailored blazer with a skirt, wearing basic white oversized t shirts and wearing high neck knitwear.

Complex says that men are from Mars, women are from venus but style is universal. It goes on to say women just wear things better. Anything. Everything. Women have the genuine intuition for how pieces should fit and what fits them best. It then goes on to explore women who wear menswear inspired fashion and wear it better than men do. Mentioned are Lanie Alabanza and Cara Delevingne who have very different fashion trends but use menswear fashion as a base for their styling. Lanie who is a designer in her own right mixes street style with influences from menswear and womens wear and blends it perfectly into her own unique style. 

Cara Delevingne who is most famous for her high end, luxury modelling career but also has a become a style icon due to her laid back look off the catwalk. Here Cara can be seen an oversized menswear bomber varsity jacket and teams it with denim shorts and chunky heeled boots. She mixes both styles to achieve a comfortable yet stylish look. 

Influence of television on menswear fashion

Tv has a huge influence on the trends and the way in which men dress. Miami vice, mad men and the new wave of reality TV has altered fashion in the past 30 years.
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an 80's TV show and is renowned for changing and inspiring men's fashion. So much so it has a fashion page dedicated to its fashion of the time.

Characters of the show made pastel t shirts and linen suits popular fashion trends in the 1980's. The Armani blazer made Italian fashion popular in the United States once again. The blazer and pastel t shirt were accompanied by linen trousers and loafers to match. Below is a picture of  Sonny Crockett played by Don Johnson and typical fashion trends at the time.

Mad men

Mad men is a 1960's inspired tv series which looks at advertisers working in madison avenue and were therefore given the nickname mad men. The tv show has inspired a second coming of tight fitted grey suits and crisp spread collars. Don Draper below is the main character and his fashion can be seen progressing through the series from varying suits, white shirts, overcoats, pocket squares, hats and shoes.

Below is examples of the types of suits worn by Don Draper. Although the suits are simple and plain, they maintain the classic gentleman look of the 1960's. According to paste magazine tailoring suits as seen in mad men make a suit look more sophisticated and therefore makes the man wearing it look like a stud.

                                                               

Don Draper who is played by John Hamm is seen always wearing bleach white still collared shirts. The plain shirts has a point collar which spreads enough to just meet the lapel of the suit jacket. Real men style has a page which is dedicated to the style worn in the show. It mentions that he favors straight ties, this creates a very deliberate, upward- pointing arrow effect on the front of his body, guiding viewers guide directly to his face. 

The X factor

Although not often linked with fashion, the reality tv shows and especially the x factor has aided the popularity for fast quick changing fashion. The x factor has turned into a weekly fashion show showing off the newest and latest fashion trends both by the high street stores and luxury fashion houses. Below are rough copy who competed in last years X factor. They were known for there street style edgy look which changed each week.

One direction were a band who were in the 2010 x- factor. They have now become the biggest boyband in the world and Harry Styles is a frequent member in the front row at London fashion week at shows including Burberry.