Image via Complex Original
If it's cool and popping, it's probably coming out of London. The resurgence of the "London look" is leading to another British invasion—except this time it's in your closet. Who hasn't seen the Palace impossible triangle-inspired logo on American skaters and cool guys alike? Or Nasir Mazhar's block lettering on the bodies of fashion heads everywhere?
With London Collections: Men, kicking off this week, the fashion world looks from Victoria House, to the streets of South Bank to see the best looks coming out of the British Isles. With unfortunate footballer fashions and bootleg Burberry caps, England can get saddled with a terrible sartorial rep. But as one of the most diverse cities on Earth, the mix of cultures and looks makes it one of the most vibrant (and albeit occasionally weird) fashion scenes.
With mind to the city's big names that keep London in the spotlight and the eccentric young labels providing the pulsing scene's heartbeat, these are The Coolest English Men's Brands Right Now.
Christopher Raeburn
If you like military-inspired gear that outperforms the urban jungle, there's none better than Christopher Raeburn. This is a man who turns parachutes into handcrafted parkas, or spends nearly $11,000 apiece on Royal Navy life rafts to build a collection out of everything from the rubber to the survival rations. His outerwear is his signature, and for good reason. Much of his inventiveness is hidden in plain sight—via inflatable puffer jackets; breathable, parachute mackintosh raincoats; and rubberized wool sweaters, all of which work as perfectly as they sound conceptually. As Vogue mentioned in an editorial on sustainable fashion: “Remember the 4 R's: reduce, reuse, recycle, and Raeburn.”
Palace
When Lev Tanju started the brand in 2009, it began as a comedic riff on the state of skating in London by way of lo-fi production values, and VHS tapes. Eventually the brand evolved from the “Palace Wayward Boys Choir” into Palace, the brand that you've undoubtedly seen on everyone from skate fiends to rap fiends. It's drawn comparisons to similar skate-centric brand Supreme, but while the connections are there, Palace is most definitely its own animal.
Smart graphic designs and the brand's ability to sell out of its most coveted items in minutes have led to multiple collaborations (Umbro and adidas to name two), and a variety of supporters ranging from the Tate Britain museum, A$AP Rocky, and the legions of streetwear heads and real, actual skaters proudly rocking their shit.
Craig Green
Craig Green grew up in North London with a super working class upbringing—his dad was a plumber, his mom was a nurse, and his uncle was a carpenter. He credits that for fostering his love of craftsmanship. Green's clothes push the envelope through a jarring juxtaposition of aggressive silhouettes and traditional menswear materials and patterns. Think cable-tied wide leg pants, long denim cocoon coats that fit like a breezy sleeping bag, and padded pinstripe vests that look like something a sartorially-conscious samurai would wear.
Sure, Green's designs venture into the "fashion with a capital F" category, but with just two seasons of his eponymous line under his belt, the Central Saint Martins graduate has already proven himself as one to watch. It takes a certain type of talent to not only leave O.G. fashion critics like Tim Blanks moved, but also have your clothes stocked at retailers like Matchesfashion and Opening Ceremony from the get-go.
Thames
A relatively new kid on the block, Thames is a line by South Bank skater Blondey McCoy (peep a dope edit of him here) that's currently carried in two shops with serious cred: Slam City Skates and Dover Street Market. Say what you will about DSM's tendency to pick up buzzy skate brands as a means of providing a lower price point, but it does give Thames a certain cachet that the label would be deemed cool enough to grace the hallowed hangers of Rei Kawakubo's retail spaces.
Thames' graphic tendencies play on tropes like logo flips, as depicted in a T-shirt showing Peter Pan and Mary Poppins beating the shit out of each other, but it also skews eclectic. One tee features South Bank theatre producer and director Jude Kelly, while another limited-edition crewneck sweater is embroidered with a subtle tonal pattern. If Thames keeps it up, the label could be as iconically London as the river that shares its name.
Topman
There's something charming about Topman. Maybe it's the distinct “Englishness” that comes packaged with every piece from the global megastore; or perhaps it's that the global fast-fashion heavyweight has firm established itself among it's other, more visible contemporaries. There's no question that every guy of every style has found a piece or two among its racks. Your crew can enter and leave looking as eclectically stylish as One Direction or the average NBA starting five lineup en route to the pre-game locker room.
What really makes Topman stand out however, has to be its runway offerings. Sure, H&M and Zara may define “fast-fashion” to many, but Topman has found a way to both play to casual consumers wallets while cultivating one of the flagship shows of London Collections: Men. Their "Topman Design" imprint provides equal parts aspiration and inspiration—if you can't afford the premium runway version, you can bet there'll be a lower-priced iteration in Topman's main line.
Astrid Andersen
Even though she's a graduate of the Royal College of Art, Astrid Andersen's designs are anything but stuffy and posh. With a high-low sportswear aesthetic that rings out like London's answer to Hood By Air, Andersen's clothes are clearly inspired by basketball, tech fabrics, and exaggerated silhouettes—hallmarks of a contemporary style that's only getting bigger and more diverse. Her Fall 2015 menswear show dabbled with the feminine (in the form of glittery badges, and bright pink accents), but simultaneously drew from masculine, seen in military berets and tweaked out Air Maxes (no doubt acquired through her role as a Nike consultant). If today's menswear is stretching out of the confines of the gray flannel suit, then Andersen is proof that change is good.
Harris Wharf London
The whole unstructured suiting thing has become a menswear niche-within-a-niche. It's a tailored sweet spot where guys who feel more comfortable in a T-shirt and guys who run errands in a sport coat and wingtips meet in the middle. Harris Wharf London excels at the kind of pragmatic style staples that reticent menswear herbs and envelope-pushing risk takers can appreciate, like a boiled wool motorcycle jacket with double zips or a navy soft shoulder blazer that will hold its shape forever and will never wrinkle. It's the kind of credible fashion brand that doesn't scream "fashion," and for most guys—that's a great thing.
J.W. Anderson
Androgyny is a word that gets thrown around in modern menswear parlance, and J.W. Anderson is one of the most relevant designers in the conversation. When contemporaries like Hood By Air's Shayne Oliver give you props, you know you've gotta be at least decent at your job.
Designer Jonathan Anderson (don't call him J.W.) went to the London College of Fashion and worked for a time as a window dresser at Prada before launching his menswear label in 2008. He followed it up with a stint at British basics manufacturer Sunspel as creative director in 2010, then a collaboration with Topman in 2012. Anderson's designs can be as accessible as a denim motorcycle jacket or graphic sweatshirt to more avant garde pieces like a navy wool pinstripe top that melds a tank and a button-down shirt into a strangely attractive hybrid, or a gradient golf jacket made of crepe, a precious fabric more common in womenswear like skirts than men's outerwear.
Margaret Howell
Margaret Howell is the GOAT in menswear minimalism. Say what you will about your Martin Margielas, Jil Sanders, and Jean Touitous, but Howell has made a successful career in menswear by balancing consistent collections with an enduring appeal you can't quite put your finger on. To the uninformed, you could look at her clothes and think "Oh, I could get this at so-and-so store for half the price," but you'd really only be fooling yourself. Once you try on her gear or see the way it's presented in her stores, you instantly get it. Fashion sort of skews between two poles, the stuff that's so weird you have to have it, and the stuff that's so perfect you never knew you needed it until you found out it existed. Howell has mastered how to make the latter.
Nasir Mazhar
Rising from the garage music scene, as Style.com puts it, “Nasir Mazhar is the very definition of a local fashion hero.” His bread and butter is his hats and headgear; time studying apprenticing in a salon and producing hats for the 2012 London Olympic Opening Ceremony is proof enough of that. But now, his brand has grown rapidly—seen not only at London Fashion Week, but on the runway of the Victoria's Secret fashion show as well (being shortlisted for the LVMH prize doesn't hurt either). Like the music scene that raised him, Mazhar is into the heavily branded, luxe sportswear, that's as off-kilter and varied as the description sounds. While many luxury names reach for sportswear in what sometimes comes across as an empty attempt to stay trendy, Mazhar's sportswear is authentic in its practicality, but intelligent by fabric and design. Sure, Mazhar's brand is still in its relative infancy, but don't be surprised if you see his name on more than a few waistbands.