London Collections Men AW16 Part 2

I woke up this morning to the news of David Bowie's passing - if you've been following this blog for a while you will know how much of who I am today I owe to him, and so can probably imagine how empty the world now feels for me knowing he is no longer with us. The sadness has seemed to sweep over London today - shops, fashion shows, everyone paying some sort of tribute to the man everyone seems to have some sort of personal connection to. He touched so many lives across the world and helped many (including myself) become who they are and have the confidence to stand out and try to make something of themselves. I can't begin to express how big a hole he will leave in our world and my thoughts and prayers are with his friends, family, beautiful wife and children.
I had a show this morning as part of LCM, and although I nearly switched my outfit to black in respect I decided to stick to my original outfit of bold red - it is because of Bowie that I dress the way I do, and so I thought that instead of hiding that in dark colours, it would be more appropriate for me to pay tribute to him through fashion as this is one of the ways he inspired me the most. I wore a shirt from Lazy Oaf, jumper from Beyond Retro, Skirt from Rokit, and roll neck from Urban Outfitters. I didn't get the chance to take full outfit photographs due to the weather.

 I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the Sean Suen show, presented by GQ China. Through GQ, talented Chinese designers such as Sean Suen are enabled to showcase their work on a worldwide scale, bringing the growing force of Chinese menswear to the global stage. This collection really channelled this east-meets-west feel, through playing with opposites reminiscent of Chinese chess. Facial piercings and safety-pin jewellery, combined with cropped skinny trousers and platform loafers, give the initial impression of 80's British punk and post-punk, while wide legged, flowing trousers, oversized structured coats and long patterned jackets show a distinct link to ancient and traditional Chinese fashion and silhouettes. The contrast of messy hair meets sleek suits, blazers revealing bare chests, and the general idea of tattoo-like body paint at a high fashion show really promoted the idea of opposites, suggesting a new era of style and a break away from what you would normally expect to see at a menswear show. Garments were intricately layered, with mixed fabrics and contrasting cuts, that really emphasised Suen's concept even more. A personal, and very fitting, touch was added by the addition of 'RIP David Bowie' in body paint on the back of one model.

I was fascinated by the use of safety pin piercings - not only are they linked to punk culture, but also featured in yesterday's incredible Alexander McQueen show (see image below, from here). I am intrigued as to whether this might be the start of a new wave of punk style - most other subcultures have come back into fruition over the last decade (80s new wave, 90s grunge etc) and so I wouldn't be surprised if this sort of jewellery and accessorising becomes more widespread over the course of the year.

 (All inspiration photos from Tumblr or here)
I hope you all have a lovely week - after the excitement of LCM I now have to get back to the usual daily grind, especially as I have my mock exams later this week. It's weird how fashion events make you feel so separate from the real world - for those few, precious days a year you live in this weird but wonderful world of eccentric outfits, nothing but coffee and the occasional bag of free popcorn, endless inspiration and many friendly faces. You forget that there is a world outside of LCM or LFW. I should probably try and revise for my exams now, though!