E. Tautz Spring/Summer 2016 London

E. Tautz presented its Spring/Summer 2016 at London Collection Men.

Tailoring is not a word heard much this London men’s season, tilted towards elegant, retro-tinged casual wear. Patrick Grant is definitely of this leisure-minded school, recalling the optimism of Britain in the early Fifties, when holiday camps sprouted and the gravity-defying Skylon tower in London symbolized a buoyant economy.

Grant excels at this period, and every exit hinged on his signature high-waist pants – wide-legged when paired with boxy camp shirts, skinny and cropped for fine knits – or slim Bermudas with sewn-in pleats. These played a supporting role to a host of slouchy raincoats, parkas and anoraks in a filmy, rainproof fabric — or toppers with more of a period feeling, including zippered barbershop shirts and four-button safari jackets.

While such plain clothes can be ho-hum on a runway, unusual colors for the outerwear – rose, mustard, aquamarine – and shots of gingham prints occasionally livened things up.

Backstage, Grant talked up the return of luxury sportswear. “People are buying into this idea of an easy wear,” he said.