images shot by JEJ for FACADES

It’s a mistake to think Crombie would only produce boxy, unchanging classics following a template which was ‘good in the 50’s, why change it now’. The Crombie presentation showed the depth of imagination behind this label with some beautifully masculine and impressive garments being proudly shown. A black leather, double breasted coat complete with sheepskin collar, a cropped navy pea-coat with rabbit fur shawl collar…these items are not what I would associate with this classic, staple diet label – but hats off to them, I am deeply impressed. The garments reek of confident, sophistication and excellent construction. Some military lapels and clean silhouettes on the leather overcoats give the new range an Armani meets Belstaff kind of sex-appeal which has perhaps been lacking in the past from this company.

23 images shot by JEJ for FACADES

Delhi based Manish Arora vividly brings to us the colours of India for this season. Prolific ideas on product development from little trinkets, to wallets, hand bags, chunky jewelry, cups and saucers, dresses in beads & chains, to ipad & iphone case & holders.
And moreover, 'spiritua toys' hand painted by local artisans, taking 5-7 days to finish 1 medium size idol.
A fusion of Art & Culture with Fashion. Yet again, well done to you Manish Arora.

filmed by JEJ for FACADES

Checks, whether the smaller Prince of Wales varietal, or the bigger, bolder window pane type dominate across RJ’s new Savile Row range. There’s a more Italian feel to these new releases as jackets appear to finish shorter, and a are slimmer through the sleeve and leg. A couple of pleasant surprises lurk in amongst the predictable, such as the use of the Texan tie (think, sartorial Colonel Sanders) and some beautiful olive green in ties and dinner 

images by Francois-Xavier Watine 

Paris – Danish designer Ole Yde dubbed his collection Lady Day paying tribute to the “grand lady of jazz” Billie Holiday and the jazz scene of the Fifties’ and Sixties’. He took inspiration from the time when stars-of-the-scene Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon and Ben Webster lived in Copenhagen frequenting the famed Jazzhus Montmartre. The looks were youthful by dint of the shortness of the hemlines and flippy skirts and a hint of cobalt but still enveloped in nostalgia by sheer and ruffles. A black floor length cocktail dress, for example, was veiled in a sheer ruffled cape as if it were a puff of smoke from a piano bar. Gold trousers sparkled beneath a transparent cream shirt and fur jacket - worn with a casual insouciance - a short wine asymmetric velour dress with red sequin sleeves and bodice skimmed the hips and glittering black trousers were paired with a brocade fronted jacket. The collection was a snappy, graceful homage to the jazz greats via a languorous, instantly recognisable, set of references that perfectly set the tone for the clothes yet brought it up short to snap to fit today. A standout look was the dazzling vision of green paillette short dress – it doesn’t get more jazzy than that.

filmed by JEJ for FACADES

I couldn’t help but be reminded of surreal golfing attire at the Moncler show in a trendy warehouse in Milan. The brand employed the use of argyle-sock-esque diamond patterns across the huge majority of their items. The three-quarter length plus four trousers also contributed to this aesthetic. The runway was processed a very steady pace, which added to the slightly dream-like feeling of the show – unfortunately more variety across the new releases would not have gone amiss as the diamond patterning, so religiously used across the range, meant that many of the items had a ‘camouflage effect’ and would blend into each other. Moncler’s strong colour scheme was never missed as all the footwear was proudly embossed with the very recognisable red, white and blue which is now so associated with the brand. 

filmed by JEJ for FACADES

The ‘paint flecked’ look, which adorned Hackett trousers last season seems to have been re-cycled by Hunter Gatherer. However, this trendy brand pushes the boat out just a little further by pulling that design into an all-in-one…with white brogues. H.G. also employs the asymmetrical use of zips over their jumpers, and then brings it back to the main stream by pairing this sweater with a classic blue blazer and pocket handkerchief. A bit of an eclectic collection, but will certainly have individual items which have decent, main-stream, commercial appeal.

images shot by JEJ for FACADES

My guess is that the ‘druid’ element emanates from Hedges’, use of lid-less eyes and pseudo-pagan imagery on some of his accessories for the new range. This is a fun gimmick, and does make an impression when offset against a futuristic and urban background which mixes shiny PVC textures and softer cotton canvas – all on the same jacket. The end result is aesthetically pleasing, if not ground-breaking. Hedges does adhere to the trending fad of the baseball jacket’s flat collar which gives the new collection some commercial flexibility.

images shot by JEJ for FACADES

Admittedly, the only item to my taste by Farhi in the Autumn/Winter Collection is a beautiful contrast sleeve leather bomber jacket which has already been done by APC, but there are plenty of other items in there to interest someone whose tastes stray away from the accepted classics. Most notably there are some interesting dabbles in the chunky knitwear arena, including one particularly striking thick-knit, crew neck that follows a patch-work design and uses 1970’s textured, tan and taupe colours.