A Formal Statement

It’s not breaking news that prints, colours and patterns are making their presence felt within current menswear collections. Although regularly embraced during the spring/summer months, as we transition into autumn you may be fooled into thinking that bold hues and vivid motifs would give way to the safety of dark, neutral colours – especially when it comes to more conservative pieces such as tailoring and suits. However, it seems that menswear is not ready to let go of its infatuation with print and pattern just yet – and as a result, one developing new trend for AW14 is the statement suit. Not something that is appropriate for true formal occasions, designers have applied everything from checks and stripes to spots and graphics to this bastion of menswear, clearly with one eye on party season…

Checked Suiting

The most popular take on the statement suit this year saw the continuation of a popular cold-weather pattern trend: checks. Checked tailoring is hardly revolutionary, after trending for the past two autumn/winter seasons, but these types of suits are undoubtedly more adventurous than banal, neutral versions that can be spotted in any financial district during the working week. The good thing about check suiting is that it’s completely timeless, and there is a huge array of designs available to the modern gent – from traditional Prince of Wales checks to oversized windowpane squares, men can choose to make as much or as little of a statement as they feel comfortable with. One of the biggest supporters of the statement check trend for AW14 was Etro, with its Great Gatsby-inspired collection. Here, classic three-piece suiting came in a number of different check patterns, in various shades of cream, brown and beige – a palette typically associated with spring/summer collections rather than autumn/winter. The first look set the scene well: a three-piece cream suit with accompanying coat, gloves, tote bag, shoes and tie, all in the same windowpane check – head-to-toe dressing in the extreme. Similar checked suits followed in various hues and tones, again with matching accessories. Other looks made use of larger checked patterns in darker, autumnal shades of orange and mustard, as well as a muted houndstooth check in beige-brown. The overall aesthetic was a little overbearing due to the matching accessories, but Etro managed to demonstrate that bold checked tailoring is able to make a strong yet sophisticated statement: