Style Stalking (Snapshot).... Kit Neale at LC:M

I will shortly be working on an in depth feature on the sights seen inside Fashion East's Installations during London Collections: Men but to help whet your appetite here's one of the highlight designer's Kit Neale modelling his sartorial take on the eccentric British seaside. As I long for a weekend jaunt filled with sunshine, 99s and sand between my toes, it is impossible note to love the combination the traditional stripes with the much talked about Rockney Lobster print...

Inspired... Matthew Miller SS13

Having spent the last seven days quarantined from the world today's trip to the second day of London Collections: Men was particularly overwhelming. What a day. Every designer on the schedule delivered a heart quickening collection whilst the buzz and enthusiasm spread far and wide across the capital. As I bounced from show to presentation to installation with a proud smile omnipresent on my mug, knowing that there's a tasty final course to follow tomorrow, it just goes to show how much London menswear has grown over the life of this blog. Now, countless posts of this blog will be dedicated to the sights seen and to be seen but on my first day playing with the BFC's new platform I have to start with Matthew Miller.

Ever since this design talent first came to our attention with his standout RCA MA graduate collection which explored notions of masculinity with a somewhat jovial approach to the macabre, we have kept an ever interested on Matthew Miller's continued development and deserved rise to prominence. With his SS13 collection entitled Citations, the designer declares that "to create authenticity, beauty has to be destroyed." These strong words echo throughout and cannot be ignored. From inviting the wearer to be part of his process - with pre-folded t-shirts that have to be torn to be worn, elbow patches that are outlined by laser only to be revealed with a polite pull to tailoring adorned with the names of previous lineups in the various incarnations of Menswear Day. In this collection Miller explores the oft overlooked, the functional and the taken for granted. Citations is a strong take on utility with the use of surprising materials including fire blankets transformed in to bomber jackets and metallic silver insulation reimagined in accessories. It was a delight and proved to be a fitting reminder of the evolution of the industry. Before I share a few backstage shots with you I'd like to share the fruits of a recent visit to the designer's base in Hackney Wick. Below the designer himself introduces the collection and talks us through his mood board.

"This collection is more of a spiritual collection for me. On being asked about it, I'm finding myself choking up about it, it's much deeper than previous collections. It's just more philosophical. It's basically the fact that for me, London menswear has come full circle. It has been driven by designers and their ideas since 2005, before even. Now, an idea is a beautiful things and so many ideas have been destroyed almost to get it to where it is now and that's quite sad. The list of designers that have played their part is a long one, some of whom have fallen away and moved on to other things. With London Collections: Men, I wanted to help people remember them. One of my suits has all designer's names lasercut in to it, from MAN to NewGen to Fashion Forward. It's celebratory in a sense but it's also darker than that. To create authenticity a beautiful thing has to die and that's what I think this represents.  It's an epitaph almost. I wanted to contain this idea within tailoring because after all tailoring is a modern man's armour. I think people need to be reminded that London menswear hasn't just existed for one season, so much has gone in to it and so much more will be needed to keep pushing it forward. I've taken this idea of having to destroy something to make something beautiful and applied it to the t-shirts. The t-shirt has to be ripped from the foil packaging which will then become a part of it. This philosophy is also applied with the need to 'pull to tear' and functional transformation seen throughout the collection. Each item is an experience. I've really tried to think about the collection holistically, from catwalk right through to purchase. 

I wanted to look at everyday objects, materials and processes, things that tend to go unnoticed but are functional components of everyday life. For example, I am making all of the bags out of insulation which is this silver bubble wrap that is a necessity but no one appreciates it because it is hidden. Another is fire blankets which I'm using to making bombers. The fabric itself is made from glass and it looks like a luxe fabric. The collection is made out of things that don't get the attention they deserve, it's about the beauty in everyday and in ideas that aren't appreciated."

Miller talks us through Citations.

The studio wall was decorated in Miller's research. From technical diagrams to safety information, German instructions to August Sander's documentary photographs, the designer's mood board was a real celebration of the everyday...

A look at Miller's mood board and artefacts of the everyday.

ci·ta·tion   [sahy-tey-shuhn] noun
1. mention of a soldier or a unit in orders, usually for gallantry.
2. any award or commendation, as for outstanding service, hard work, or devotion to duty, especially a formal letter or statement recounting a person's achievements.

The term manifests itself in the suit laser cut with the records of all the lineups of MAN and NEWGEN MEN. During my studio visit I was treated to the first peek of this extraordinary piece of tailoring taking shape.

So many names. Some familiar, some almost forgotten.

"Whilst researching previous lineups I encountered names I've not heard in years or not even heard of at all. Names like Siv Stodal, Deryck Walker, Patrick Soderstam and Lotta. Every time that something dies out, another wave of designers come through and pushes it that bit further and we've seen that throughout the various incarnations of London menswear. There should be an appreciation of everyone that has taken part. In some ways it is like the front line, designers rushing out over in to no man's land to gain territory."
Miller on his laser cut Citations.

Having had this peek and early insight I've been desperate to take my seat at the show. Ever eager, I couldn't resist popping backstage shots to watch the finishing touches applied to the collection...

My look backstage. The final shot above shares the fruits of Miller's latest collaboration with Oliver Sweeney.

Throughout Citations Mathew Miller explores the minutiae of both his life and the world around him. It is a product of the past and our technology age. I'm not surprised that the designer himself struggles to talk about the collection. It is undoubtedly emotional. I cannot imagine a more fitting collection to mark the launch of London Collections: Men and it was a pleasure to be able to document its evolution.

Inspired... E. Tautz SS13

Today marked the start of London Collections: Men and unfortunately I had to watch and cheer on from the discomfort of my sick bed as the mouth watering lineup of Lou Dalton, Topman Design, Martine Rose, Spencer Hart and Oliver Spencer dazzled. Thank to the BFC's live steams and speedy coverage I didn't miss much but it's not the same as seeing it in person. Oh well. Having spent the last week bedridden I've not had a chance to update the 'Inspired' series but thankfully I do have a couple more SS13 studio visits to post. Given that E. Tautz start tomorrow's busy schedule, it makes sense to reveal the sights seen inside Patrick Grant's stunning Wapping based studio.

At the very heart of the House of E. Tautz is Savile Row cutting, elegant shoulders, suppressed waist, well proportioned, well balanced and unfussy in keeping with its sporting and military traditions but the opportunity to inject a bit of humour along with tasteful flag waving is rarely missed. Each season Patrick Grant and his design team explore different facets of what it means to be British. For SS13 the collection celebrates the amazing life of the truly great British explorer Wilfred Thesiger. Against the backdrop of a grey and damp June afternoon in Wapping, the collection samples positively glowed thanks to its vibrant hues as Patrick Grant excitedly talked through his inspirations. Following the varied and absorbing life of a truly exceptional British gentleman who had found his home abroad right through to a more contemporary look at Ethiopia, Grant's mood boards were a riotous mix of black and white photographs  and kaleidoscopic celebrations of the native palette...

"Thesiger was someone who I had first found out about through a friend of mine who is obsessed with obituaries. He read all about Thesiger and put me on to him back in 2003. I read a couple of the obituaries that appeared at the time and he sounded like the man I wanted to be. He was a truly fascinating character, an extreme man who almost completely turned his back on the modern world and sought to live in a way that was simple and very hard. He enjoyed nothing better than putting himself through enormous difficult to achieve something. The more suffering, the greater the sense of achievement. In almost all of his travels he dealt with nothing but the simplest of means, aside from rifles which he enjoyed using. I completely understand that. I personally love the time that I spend in northern Scotland, away from it all, carrying my tent and pitching it up at the top of a mountain, away from it all. It is something that I personally enjoy enormously, I like those moments. There was that side of him that was instantly appealing. He's appeared in various collages that we've put together, he's been a character that I often go back to because I could never get bored of him. There was an exhibition at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford last year of his photographs which rekindled my awareness of him. There were some great photographs that I hadn't seen before, so I re-read his biography and just thought that this guy is just so cool on so many different levels and felt that it..."

"The more I researched the more amazing I discovered he was. Not only was he a pretty amazing man in all that he did but he was an incredible looking human being, incredibly tall with an incredible nose, bone structure and he was a wry, athletic man. The way he wore his clothes were breathtaking. Although born in Abyssinia, he started his life being schooled in England, he went to Eton and Magdalene College Oxford, at this time he was pure establishment and British aristocracy. Insert family. From this beginning he ended up living his life living in the clothes of the desert people that he lived with. He just looked absolutely amazing. We'd look at pictures of him and of those around him and was captivated by this world. We then really explored his time in Abyssinia, we looked at more contemporary photography and there's just this vibrancy of colour in Ethiopia, from the robes of priests in striking hues of pink and yellow. There are so many colour references and we wanted to take these extreme colours but we didn't want to make the collection feel ethnic because that's not our style so instead used these colours in quite chunky blocks and taken the military theme of Thesiger's early life - he served in the Sudan during the liberation of Abyssinia, he randomly bumped in to David Sterling and was invited to join the SAS, he personally fought Rommel - so the uniform and clothes of this period appear but in lightweight fabrics and in this fabulous colours. The shape, length, layering and volume of the native costume is worked in to the clothes and on top we've got this vibrant palette. It currently looks great against the grey backdrop of the Wapping sky that we're treated to today. When you put all of these things together, I'm hoping that you get a collection that is visually strong with quirky accents and one jolly print, it should be entertaining and cheerful. 

We always try to create collections with an element of Britishness to them, it's nice to think about the way the British are when they're away from home. We have a great way of adopting and enjoying native clothes and customs and Thesinger is a great example - just perfect for a summer collection. There's a nice symmetry with his life and Halie Selassie, his father was a great friend of the Emperor. There's an interesting mirror between the two. Selassie starts his life in true Abyssinian garb and then when the italians take over, he's exiled to Britain and lives in British uniform and at the same time, Thesiger goes in the opposite way. There's this strange mirror. We found a great photo of the two of them standing in almost clothes, North African desert uniform, as they literal cross paths. I always try to anchor the collection in someone or something British and he was just an exceptional Brit."

Patrick Grant talks through E. Tautz SS13

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Having had my sartorial appetite well and truly whet by this studio visit, I'm crossing everything that I'll be able to take my place at the colourful show tomorrow morning.

Details... Tribal Trim

The tribal trim used on the outside seam of these relaxed fit Spring/Summer trousers from Yohji Yamamoto caught my eye in Tokyo.

Inspired... Martine Rose SS13

Having toiled both in and out of the spotlight over the last seven years and more, there's a real sense that London menswear finally has the platform that it deserves in London Collections: Men. The cultural programme of shows, presentations, installations and talks will thrust London menswear so far forward that it now launches the SS13 season. Few designers will have experienced more during this transformation than Martine Rose.

Always smiling, she has seen and played a key part it in all. From the first menswear installation by Fashion East housed in an old embassy building in South Kensington to MAN to NEWGEN MEN sponsorship and her own salon presentations, Rose has helped pave the way for the industry to move forward. A true pioneer of London menswear. Excited to see what the design talent will unveil next week we dropped by her Seven Sisters studio for a cup of tea and a chat. Here she talks us through her wall of sculpture masterpieces, her thoughts on the new platform and the community spirit that exists amongst the designers...

"The collection was sparked by a Bernini sculpture and a real fascination with hands developed. Hands are everywhere in this collection. We've engraved hand prints, mine actually but we've had to change them a little because mine looked too skeletal, and we are bonding them on to fabric. We've had to make our own neoprene for the hand prints to be engraved on first. We've really pushed it this season!

My flatmate was talking me through the wonders of Pinterest and showed me a sculpture by Bernini which she had seen with her mum, I was just blown away by it. The fact it was made out of marble was so surprising to me. This led us to explore this idea of using fabrics that defy their nature. It's all about form, using textiles that appear soft but are in fact hard.

From Bernini, I expanded my inspiration search to other sculptures. Henry Moore's work really influenced the proportion play of the collection. He worked with such a mix of the odd and unexpected. You'll also see Grace Jones pop up in the mood wall. She is just the perfect sportswear reference for me and she even looks like a living sculpture. I recently found myself relistening to Island Life again which I'd not heard in years but found again when I moved to Brixton, so it's not so much a direct influence but more something that was around during this time..."

Martine Rose talks us through the inspirations behind SS13   

From Bernini to Moore, Grace Jones to denim, Rose's wall is a masterpiece of sculpture.

"I always work this way. I just wish I had archived each collections mood wall because I've had some great ones. It can be nerve wracking as they are quite personal. It is that moment when you reveal your thoughts to the team, watching them respond to it can be quite nervy. Everyone's got good vibes about it this season and its great to have you photograph it! Some designers like to keep things quite insular and just direct but its important for me to have everyone on the same page and know what I'm thinking. 

There's a few stories this season; the use of neoprene in trousers, bomber jackets and other outerwear. Then there's the washed, embroidered and at times oversized denim. Knitwear that feels likes it is reassuringly hugging you and a snakeskin story that helps explore texture. As always there is the shirt story that underpins every collection and this season I wanted them to feel quite corporate. Everything else in the show is quite mental so they are quite simple but some will include the neoprene as sleeves.

I'm really, really excited this season. Not just for the show itself. There's just everything to be excited for as it it's what we've all been working towards and waited for. There's been a great deal of effort and investment of money, time and faith. I thought about the early days as I talked to Charlie Porter as part of his Who's Who of London series and boy, were they lonely. It's very different now and there's a real sense of community, everyone is so supportive of each other. It feels great to be part of this. I'm just excited that it is happening." 

Martine Rose on the upcoming season and London menswear
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Now I didn't think I could be any more excited by London Collections: Men but watching the energy of Martine Rose's studio in action, seeing what she has in store for us and hearing her thoughts on the evolution of menswear in the capital, was pure stimulation. Roll on next weekend.