London Spring 2014 Men’s Wear Highlight: Richard James

Photos: Filippo Fior / InDigital / GoRunway. Click to enlarge.

At my age, my reaction to fashion week is to sift out the fashion and zero in on the real clothes. If there are ten men’s shows, there are probably only two (maybe three) designer shows that really grab my interest. The rest of them seem to be aimed at costume designers for shows on the SyFy channel or at rich twentysomethings who live in nightclubs. For the rest of us in real life, the clothes that interest me are handsome, wearable, classic and masculine, served straight-up with a twist of modern glamour. The best clothes bear no ostentatious identification of who designed the garment, i.e. no D&G belts or Tom Ford-labeled sunglasses. And I love Tom Ford. (For my thoughts on luxury label/logo whores, click here.)
One of the men’s highlights so far during the recent fashion week in London has been Richard James. Since establishing his bespoke, made-to-measure and ready-to-wear men’s shop on Savile Row in 1992, he has sustained a reputation for modern British tailoring with clean lines, careful attention to detail and a great eye for color, pattern and texture. The silhouettes, shapes and cuts in this new collection fit the handsome, classic and masculine bill, with an added highlight of great spring and summer colors in super light fabrics. The knockout suits might not necessarily be appropriate for the boardroom, but wearable just about anywhere else.
There are only so many ways one can remix the classic men’s suit. In this particular collection, Mr. James loves the slanted pocket. The peak lapels he’s showcased before are nowhere to be seen here, with notch lapels on the structured suit jackets and unstructured blazers. Then there’s the breezy length (or lack thereof) on the trousers, worn sockless with wonderfully whimsical espadrilles. Handsome spring and summer stuff.