A pack of models suited, booted, carrying umbrellas and sporting bowler hats. Skateboards, neoprene shorts and arty prints. Ronnie Wood sitting in the front row front row. Actor Benedict Cumberbatch taking to the catwalk clutching a cigar and a glass of whisky. Day one of the first British menswear fashion week got off to a strong start on Friday.
Cumberbatch, best known for playing Sherlock in the BBC's hit drama, was turning out for the British luxury tailor Spencer Hart, known for dressing some of the world's best known actors and musicians, including Robbie Williams and Jay-Z.
The diversity of this three-day event, in which established brands and high-street trendsetters appeared on one schedule with effortless ease, was immediately apparent. Emerging design talent Lou Dalton cited Taxi Driver among other late 1970s film references for her collection of polished sports tailoring.
Hackett's show notes namechecked The Great Gatsby – canny timing given that the buzz blockbuster remake starring Leonardo DiCaprio will be in cinemas just before this spring/summer 2013 collection hits stores.
Topman Design mixed the work of the artist Basquiat with the surf and skate culture of the 1980s. These three labels underscored the strength of London as a fashion capital with its unique and diverse mix. It could only have happened here.
Topman's show turned the volume up loud with an opening series of looks mixing classic Prince of Wales checks cut into modern shapes – loose pleat shorts worn with a suit jacket, for example – mixed with high-energy prints.
Neoprene cycling shorts appeared under loose patterned short styles, numbered American baseball-like cropped tops, patterned parachute silk parkas, laser cut polka dot jackets and skateboards with rucksacks added a youthful edge.
This was a strong and lively offering from the high street label. Gordon Richardson, the design director, said that with this collection they had "wanted to take a few risks and the timing of London Collections: Men just seemed the right time to do it."
The Hackett show played up to the Britishness that international visitors from more than 20 countries might have been expecting. It began with the sound of Big Ben chiming and ended with a parade of perfectly groomed models carrying umbrellas and wearing bowlers.
For spring/summer 2013 the Hackett man will be dressing in cream suits with neat waistcoats, pocket squares and a dash of seersucker.
True to form there were lots of colourful trousers, fancy cricket jumpers and a smattering of summer scarves.
The first show of the day, by Lou Dalton, was a polished and tight collection of sports tailoring. She sent out neat suiting with mesh sections on jackets, on-trend bomber jackets and the odd blast of bold neon.
Dalton said she wanted this collection to be "light and airy with a sports feel," but added it was nothing to do with the Olympics.
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