Marc by Marc Jacobs SS14

Marc by Marc Jacobs drafts in grunge styled models complete with flesh tunnel earrings, tattoos and leather wristbands for the brand’s SS14 menswear lookbook. Far from enunciating a rockstar image, the stars of the campaign don slicked back hair and sophisticated suits. This is attire for the classic gentleman with a twist. Shot on a beach, the lookbook shows off a spring/summer collection composed of lightweight suiting, swimwear, floral print shirts, melange knitwear and paisley prints. Two-piece suits stripped naked of shirts make for a casual reinterpretation of polished apparel whilst a pair of suit trousers is thrown together with a nautical striped t-shirt in a fusion which shouldn’t work but just does. Such images affirm a collection influenced by times gone by, when man was rarely seen without his suit and modern swimwear and beach attire was yet to be conceived. We can’t help but take the select pairing of a bank robber striped top and shorts as a tongue-in-cheek reference to 1920s all-in-one bathing suits for men. Proliferating fashion’s recent obsession with pattern clashing (think Givenchy and Versus Versace), the line combines disparate patterns that are united only by colour. Meanwhile, Hawaiian patterning is diluted with a muted colour palette to distance high fashion from the typical embarrassing-dad-by-the-sea image evoked by such attire. As for the colours and cuts, garments are fitted yet breathable and unrestricting. Shorts are crisp yet lightweight and tailored, maintaining a sense of relaxed sophistication, whilst colour strays from monochromatic greyscale outfits to confident orange pieces. An ideal way to showcase an eclectic and versatile collection, the SS14 lookbook from Marc by Marc Jacobs is confident in its own directorial simplicity.

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