London Collections: MEN

James Long’s clothes are a decidedly acquired taste. There are men among his brethren who adore his Lurexes, his paint-splattered denims, his embroidered sweatshirts and rubberized leopards. Those flamboyant peacocks are not only Long’s loyal customers but his inspiration for Fall 2016.

Held in a railway arch carpeted with scree and lined with snow–topped foam boulders, this presentation was meant to transport us to an unspecified North, where we would hear The Call of the Wild.

Margaret Howell has 98 stores in Japan. The fact staggered this American journalist, being from a place where Howell is stocked only in select boutiques, Barneys New York being the highest profile. While her designs lack the leanness and sportiness of U.S. stylistic proclivities (hence the small representation domestically), they are worth a scan for their considered blend of London boyishness and Tokyo eccentricity.

The entire fashion world is trying to figure out how to deal with speed—multiple concurrent collections demanding a multitude of garments. Some designers are desperately trying to put on the brakes.

“Comfort and Horror” was Christopher Shannon’s theme for Fall. Pretty weighty words.

By Sibling’s unique standards, though, tonight’s show began gingerly, almost meekly, with black-backed blue or red jacquard blow-ups of a Sid Bryan doodle inspired by Basquiat and Grace Jones covers, on cardigans and blankets that were wrapped around the models like sarongs.