For the past few seasons I've slowly started to fall out of love with fashion week. Not only do "seasons" feel somewhat antiquated but there's seems to be an increasing level of pomp and circumstance and more of focus on sales rather than artistry, resulting in a drought of talent or as André Leon Talley would call it, "A famine of beauty!".
While many new creative directors are still easing themselves into their roles, we're still waiting for a big bang moment, which may well come next season when some of them debut their collections.
That aside, designers seem to be phoning it in a little. Not only is artistry suffering but also quality and above all - fantasy! Regardless of what you might think of their work, when it comes to the big names, designers Alessandro Michele, Jeremy Scott, Marc Jacobs and Thom Browne seem to be the only ones having fun. When did fashion become so serious?! Mens fashion in particular is in dire need of cheering up. Models are stick thin, ghostly pale and draped in ill-fitting, dark clothing, stomping down the runway looking positively mortified at what their mates down the pub would say if they saw them dressed like this.
Take for example this image which was tweeted by Vogue UK, promising some "#LFWM highlights":
Where's the joy? Where's the imagination? For those of us interested in fashion, we turn to clothing to feel something. We wear bright colours to cheer us up or a sharply tailored blazer to boost our confidence. Perhaps designers are reflecting on what a dire year 2016 was and channelling that into their work, but I've always felt that fashion should be ever looking forward, providing escapism in times of global woe.
Moving on and wanting to focus on the positives (and not on naming-and-shaming the monotonous menswear designers who are seemingly everywhere and do nothing to push things forward) I want to highlight Thom Browne's Spring 2017 Menswear collection, which completely passed me by and I've only very recently stumbled upon images from his presentation on the Thom Browne Facebook page.
The collection brought such a smile to my face and though the model looks rather solemn and though it may not be to everyone's taste, I wanted to share some of my favourite looks here in the vain hope that someone, somewhere, will look at them and remember that dressing up is meant to be F-U-N.
Thom Browne Spring 2017 Men's Collection shot by Kim Reenberg, photos taken from Thom Browne's Facebook page.
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