Monochrome Menswear

Paul Smith issued a statement recently in which the company declared that they were significantly reducing the use of their signature multi-coloured stripe. The official stance is that they do not want the brand to become less important than the fabric design (remember the trouble Burberry had?), but is this just a smokescreen? Has the last bastion of the Modern Dandy finally surrendered to the monochrome madness that has engulfed men’s fashion?

 

Look around the high-street, designer boutiques, and onto the catwalk and you will notice that over the past few seasons the colour has been significantly drained from the world of menswear. Not so long ago we were spoilt for choice when it came to the rainbow of options available to us – multi-coloured striped shirts, or block colours of fuchsia, lime, and lilac. Even tailoring wasn’t exempt, from a pink pinstripe on a black suit to a neon lining that cheekily flashed when you undid your button. Gradually our fixation for all things gaudy evolved into muted pastels that finally whimpered in defeat to the emergence of grey.

So what happened? Why did we so quickly stop expressing ourselves with colour? We were comfortable in pink, so why turn our backs on it so quickly??

 

Something called a “Worldwide Recession” happened a while ago, and completely changed our entire outlook when shopping. Sure, it was great having a new electric blue shirt on a Friday night, but something so noticeable would always be noticeable, and on your 4^th or 5^th attempt it was already looking dated. Gone were the days of the high disposable income, so “statement pieces” had to be scaled back and were replaced by “investment pieces” – non-descript purchases that could stand the test of time over several seasons.

 

This way of thinking isn’t new – there’s that old cliché about everyone in fashion wearing black, but it wasn’t simply to look achingly hip – it was practical. Designers and stylists work on collections up to a year in advance, and it was hard to buy current seasons’ key colours of kingfisher and mauve when you already knew in 6 months time they were going to be replaced by raspberry and teal. Hence the stereotypical caricature of the “fashion dah-link” in oversized sunglasses and head-to-toe black.

 Suddenly no once wanted to be noticed anymore or draw attention to themselves, and colour was seen as vulgar.(How dare you splash out on a new wardrobe when everyone is finding it tough!) The humble pinstripe even gave up the fight and virtually vanished from the world of tailoring, replaced by tiny micro-structures and subtle weave effects – all in various tones of grey. The striped shirt virtually disappeared, and block colours were only available in black, white, or grey.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though, as designers have had to work harder to differentiate their product in the marketplace – silhouettes have become more severe, proportions have dramatically reduced, and gaudiness has been replaced by understated detail. A garment now relies a lot heavier on its design features, quality, and cut to make a sale as opposed to being bang on whatever trend is highlighted that week in the Sunday Times supplement.

When colour comes back, as it undoubtedly will (Camel for Autumn 2011, Navy for Spring 2012) we should be in for some exciting times. Those involved in garment construction and engineering are already at the top of their game – once the fabric designers become confident in their palettes again who knows what we’ll be wearing…………………………

By Keith Huston

Contact – menswear@fashioncapital.co.uk