The week in men’s fashion | Fashion
A presidentially approved hairdo?
Barack Obama and David Beckham’s Bromance. Now that’s something of wonderment, isn’t it? The fact that the US president is up to speed on celebrity pant lines shows, once again, that he is a man of thoroughly modern stock. Beckham, meanwhile, has a new hairdo both on his head and on his face. Head bit first: I love it. I’m thinking of printing out the pictures and taking them to the hairdresser. Razor short on the side, longer and taller on the top. It’s like the perfect middle youth haircut. The Daily Mail compared the facial do to Frans Hals’ painting The Laughing Cavalier. Personally, it’s a bit too gappy around the chin area for my tastes and there’s something Brad Pitt-ish about it that I don’t enjoy
More hair at Cannes
So first things first at this year’s fancy French film fest: there’s a definite hair-off going on between Ewan McGregor and Tilda Swinton. Both are sporting a look that is not a million miles away from Beckham’s: it’s all neat and brushed back on the top with some height, though neither has gone as severely shorn on the sides.
McGregor has taken his role as a festival judge quite seriously, judging by his fashion. He wore leftfield label Marni, including a snappy monochrome houndstooth print tie to the opening ceremony. Meanwhile at the premiere of Moonrise Kingdom he pulled off an uber polished one-button tux while a double-breasted jacket with black trousers, complete with leather sections, was a smart-casual hit (though perhaps the tucking-into-boots was borderline mutton ).
In other Cannes men’s fashion news: Wes Anderson has swapped corduroy for velvet this year. He also wore a red gingham shirt with a bow tie on the red carpet, which is indie gold, non? And if that’s not enough from Camp Moonrise, lets talk about Bill Murray. He’s not holding back on the curveballs this Cannes season is he? With his three different checks. In one outfit. Count them: madras-style check jacket, contrast check shirt, contrast check trousers. Check. Check. Check. Plus, deck shoes. Heavens, Bill, I know it’s all wrong but I love it.
Designer watering cans vs designer binoculars
This week, a posh-accessory-off of global proportions. As part of Chanel’s Cruise show, actor and model Jon Kortajarena (the one who appeared in a carpark in a white T-shirt in Tom Ford’s A Single Man) carried a quilted watering can. It comes with a pocket. It rebranded gardening in about three seconds. Meanwhile you should have a spare 10,000 euros knocking about then Louis Vuitton, for the very first time ever, has designed some very smart binoculars. The brand has collaborated with Carl Zeiss, a worldwide specialist, and I can tell you all about how clever the vision stabilization system on these binoculars are. Or I could say this: they’re navy, they’re waterproof, they’re Louis Vuitton.
Jumper watch
This week M&S unveiled their fashions for autumn/winter. There was lovely luggage, a short bomber with a whiff of Sandro, some posh Richard James suiting and some very swish looking coats. But best of all were the jumpers. Color block ones in teal/navy or burgundy/navy, textured numbers updated from the M&S archive with a bit of a fisherman dude thing going down, plus fair isle styles. All extremely desirable.
In other knitwear news. Lyle & Scott have also excelled on the jumper front for next season. They’ve got marvelous patterned knits, such as the one below, they’ve got slab color jumpers (that’s a fat chunk of contrasting color at the bottom as opposed to a block of colour) and chunky cardigans, ideal for getting the Tobery Macguire in Great Gatsby look. Plus, menswear designer Carolyn Massey has taken over as designer, so expect even more manly fashions from the brand with the eagles.
And last but not least…
France’s new prime minister François Hollande has, sadly, given little on the sartorial front so far. I realize it’s all about weariness right now, but a little splash of Vuitton briefcase wouldn’t go a miss. His wardrobe is currently a bit too David Cameron for comfort – and frankly nobody wants that comparison in their first week in office, do they?