The Best AW19 Menswear Trends To Wear Right Now
Duffel Coats
Time to go the full Monty – Field Marshal Montgomery, that is, who was a major wearer. Spelt thusly because its fabric originated in the Belgian town of the same name, although that might just be internet legend, the duffel – seen at Valentino, Kent & Curwen and Band of Outsiders – is oft maligned because of its Paddington Bear associations. But like the trench, it’s a practical and versatile style that can toggle between smart and casual, and has seen extensive military action. With its connotations of students dating back to the 50s and 60s (because they were cheap and plentiful what with the surplus after World War II), it also ties – or rather fastens – into the preppy rejuvenation.
Double Denim
Not so much “double” as doppelgänger, both halves of this season’s denim ensembles from the lookalikes of Off-White, Jil Sander, E Tautz, Bobby Abley and Wooyoungmi matched identically, in flagrant contravention of the general convention to always contrast your shades if you’re wearing double denim. The overall effect however was less a Texas tuxedo – or a Justin Timberlake-tastic two-piece – though than a sort of workwear suit, with the traditional trucker often replaced by a chore jacket, building on fashion’s fascination with utilitarian (and usually affordable) blue-collar staples. And as sociocultural appropriation goes, it’s less egregious than fancy-dressing in high-viz gear or a £2,000 designer fireman’s coat.
Leather Coats
You take the blue pill: this story ends, you wake up staring at your phone and you wear whatever you want to wear. You take the red pill, you stay in Fashion Land and we show you just how deep the 90s resurgence goes – to long, black leather coats that, coming on the back of last year’s small sunglasses renaissance, will have you wondering if you’ve re-entered The Matrix. Louis Vuitton, Celine, Paul Smith, Dunhill, Prada, Fendi, Marni… Scarcely less 90s-tastic were the black leather blazers visible at many of the same shows, plus Tom Ford and Off-White. Do not try and bend the style rules, for that is impossible. Instead, only to realize the truth: there are no style rules.
