When I went to London Fashion Week, I loved it. It was exhilarating and fun and everything I’d hoped it to be, though the ‘peacocking‘ was rather unsettling – it’s something I struggle to understand. Men and women, prancing around, all trussed up, for the sole purpose of hoping to be photographed? It’s the self-gratification of social media (which we’re all guilty of, in some form) in real, actual life.
I do believe that peacocking is generally on the decrease (fashion still loves minimalism) but I don’t doubt for a second that it still goes on, particularly at fashion week. Personally, I can’t imagine going somewhere to ‘peacock’. I mean, even shooting a style post for the blog is stressful enough. I’m super self-conscious and passers-by make me anxious to the point of annoyance – I just want to choose the outfit, do the shoot, and go get cake, before the fun of actually blogging the look. I’m not a model – not by any stretch – and I guess I don’t want anyone to think that I think I am. I know I shouldn’t care what other people think of me (to a certain extent anyway – I always hope that I leave a good impression of being polite and well mannered), but as far back as I can remember I’ve cared… So peacocking really does instil The Fear in me.
Anyway, I digress. What I’m trying to say is that I prefer a less-is-more approach. In the last 12-18 months I’ve found myself drawn to the menswear shows as opposed to womenswear. Of course, I still enjoy the thrill of the new season collections, watching the shows online, and marvelling at the frivolity of womenswear, but also at the detail and incredible craftsmanship that the UK is home to. But, these days, I would rather attend the less-of-a-spectacle that is London Collections Men (LCM), where there seems to be less of a distraction; considerably fewer peacocks and rather more authentically stylish people (who are, I admit, all in the one place at the one time), leaving more room to focus on the designers and their work.
Both on and off the runway LCM intrigues me; I want to know more about what men wear and why, what is it that attracts them to a certain designer or piece of clothing? I get excited at how an expertly cut trouser can shorten or lengthen the leg, the way the curve of a jacket sleeve will sharpen a sloped shoulder (or, indeed, slope a strong shoulder), how the seemingly simple choice of footwear can take an everyday look from the intensity of the dog-eat-dog world of the boardroom to the relaxed, but equally as cut-throat, street. Yes, I adore womenswear and the women who wear the clothes, but the subtlety of menswear attracts my eye and, in turn, there’s something appealing about how discreet LCM is, that the masses are yet to discover it (though, thanks to social media, it is swiftly becoming the place to see and be seen).
As LCM, a long weekend full of shows and street style dedicated to menswear and the dapper chaps that surround it, enters its fourth year today, the shows and street style will undoubtedly infiltrate your Instagram feed for the next week or more. And so, naturally, I wanted to share with you my favourite menswear Instagrammers and reporters to make sure you too, are hooked.
British Fashion Council @britishfashioncouncil
Photographer, Jonathan Daniel Pryce @garconjon
Photographer, Tommy Ton @tommyton
Blogger and photographer, Scott Schuman @thesartorialist
Blogger, Bryan Boy @bryanboycom
Editor, Dylan Jones @dylanjonesgq
Musician, Tinie Tempah @tiniegram
Model, Oliver Cheshire @olivercheshire1
Editor, Luke Day @luke_jefferson_day
Illustrator, Scott W Mason @scottwmason
GQ (@britishgq)
The New York Times (@nytimesfashion)
Ladies, what’s your favourite look on a man? And men, what’s your go-to style? Tell me in the comments below or get in touch via Twitter @the_daydreamer_.
Image: Agi&Sam SS16, Dan Sims, London Collections Men, British Fashion Council.
