‘Code London’

I am blown away by the avenue Duchamp has gone down for Autumn 2016.

The ‘Code London’ collection focuses on five different dress codes
for the contemporary London man: Winter Florals, Creative Business,
Tonal Layers, Innovative Textures and Artistic Features.

Hosted once again at The Rosewood Hotel in Holborn, that greeted us with
fabulous Gin cocktails, fits the well-dressed London man that Duchamp
pride themselves in creating for their brand. During the presentation,
the models left, then made a grand re-entrance down the luxurious marble
staircase. It gave you that ‘oh my god, who is that guy?’ moment.

The Winter Florals section showcased in this collection were worn with
woolen suits for daytime and black woven cocktail jackets for the
evening. Creative Business flaunted a two-tone single breasted jacket
that any young creative professional would rock a meeting in. 

The Tonal Layers portion played with the use of textures when wearing a suit, that eloquently introduced Innovative Textures. This section was about clean, minimal cotton shirts under wool jackets, which were given that ‘cosmopolitan flare’ with brushed
jacquard scarves with floral prints and bold graphic prints. Finally, Artistic Features was all about the use of accessorising; this was carried out using paint effects, and chess game motifs on the trim.

This was a well-executed collection by Duchamp that has completely changes the dynamic of Duchamp. The people in the presentation seemed so pleased by this seasons garments; this established brand has given the men of today something we want.

Photography by Luke Huston-Flynn

It was a pleasure this London Collections Men to have a chat with designer, Rachel
James in the designer showrooms about her new collection this season.

The collection is based on James’ annoyance that her computer, filled
with her ideas, glitches a lot. The whole collection was bursting with
prints, knit and exciting fabrics all made to look like computer
glitches.

One of the pieces was a giant scarf made out of seven sections, then
stitched together to make a unique piece that has a wonderful effect
when wrapped around yourself.

Last season and this season as well, James’ dares to use an almost
day glow green in her collection, which she confesses to be one of her
favourite colours. Normally it would be shied away from, but James’ use
of print over the top of the long coat in this season, and the knit that
was used on the jumper this colour in last season, makes it work
incredibly well. It is nice to see a designer that experiments with knit doing well
and I look forward to the next collection. I think we need more knit in
the world.

This European-African fusion of colours and techniques make a bold statement in the LCM AW16 Designer Showrooms.

Inspired by Flemish primitive paintings by Van Eyck, Petrus Christus,
Van der Weyden and their contemporaries, MAI GIDAH’s new collection has
a practical and artistic edge. Coats with built-in backpacks and
dungaree jackets portray workmen to counter the elitism in the Flemish
paintings. The panels show soft flowing lines like the drapery of the
fabrics in the Van Eyck paintings. To blend in the Ghanaian influences,
he looked at The Dagombe tribe and used their protective amulets to
investigate his use of pocketing.

An item that stuck out as were
the shoes that Mai Gaidah collaborated with designer George Cox on. The
use of the burgundy in the collection and the patent panel on the top of
the shoe, go incredibly well with the sleekness and structure of the
rest of the collection.

Photography by Luke Hutson-Flynn