Chris Gill

Posts Tagged ‘heritage trend’

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The Return of the Gentleman

In Arts & Culture, Fashion on October 21, 2012 at 2:17 pm

Menswear Gentleman Trend AW12

Menswear has paid tribute to its past in recent seasons, but can the same be said for men’s values?

Over the past year or so, I have really begun to notice a shift in the way men are dressing. Guys are trading their standard jeans and t-shirts for sharp tailoring, even in casual environments. Could this be the start of a resurgence of the gentleman?

Of course, working in the fashion industry allowed me to see signs of this sartorial restoration quite a few seasons ago. However as we all know, what’s being sent down the runways doesn’t always translate to the high street; this is particularly the case when it comes to menswear.

This trend is different from many others though, in the sense that it goes beyond being just a trend altogether. The dandy approach to dressing harks back to simpler days gone by when men were well-mannered, witty, intelligent, well groomed and culturally aware.

I’m not saying that I fully support the whole “when men were men” notion. I would always consider myself a feminist, and feel that chivalry is something that should work both ways. However, there are definitely situations where we could learn a lot from our history.

What seemed to happen, both in and outside of fashion, is men lost sight of how far they had evolved as a gender. Whether it’s through primitive aggression, ignorant view points or taking no interest in their appearance, men are often stereotyped in society for all the wrong reasons.

So how did this happen? How is it that our forefathers often overshadow our generation of men when it comes to being well-respected members of society? Perhaps we’ve got so caught up in desperately trying to prove ourselves and our masculinity to one another that all these values have been made redundant. Surely a gentleman knows himself well enough to not care what other people think?

Fearing the Femme Fatale

Around the same time the gentleman disappeared from society, women experienced a revolution. No longer just the objects of their husbands, the feminist movement in all its many shapes and forms allowed women to fight against the hands of patriarchy so they could finally have their voices heard.

This process, although incredibly overdue and necessary, undoubtedly had a huge affect on the male ego. Perhaps the entire lad culture is a form of retaliation against the liberation women have continued to experience throughout the years.

Although patriarchy is still more than present in modern day society, one area in which women have always managed to enjoy freedom is fashion. Looking back in time, men once donned everything from top hats to tail coats, as well as all sorts of accessories. Today, the limitations seem to only allow a shirt and tie for formal occasions and a hoodie and jeans for the weekend.

Metro Man

In November 1994, the term metrosexual was coined in an article by English journalist Mark Simpson, who wrote:

“In the Eighties he [the metrosexual man] was only to be found inside fashion magazines such as GQ, in television advertisements for Levi’s jeans or in gay bars. In the Nineties, he’s everywhere and he’s going shopping.”

And so was born the metrosexual, a straight man with gay attributes who normally lives in an urban environment and who cares a lot about his grooming and appearance. The description seemed to portray a type of man who was defying the lad culture that went on to become popularised throughout the 90s.

More recently in 2011, Simpson spoke again about metrosexuality in his eBook Metrosexy – A 21st Century Self-Love Story. In this he argues the enormous impact of metrosexuality on our ideas of masculinity and femininity:

“Contrary to what you have been told, metrosexuality is not about flip-flops and facials, man-bags or manscara. Or about men becoming ‘girlie’ or ‘gay’. It’s about men becoming everything. To themselves. In much the way that women have been for some time. It’s the end of the sexual division of bathroom and bedroom labour. It’s the end of sexuality as we’ve known it.”

Although this concept might sound liberating to many, there’s no denying that metrosexuality has negative connotations within society. With everyone from footballers such as David Beckham to the male cast of reality TV show The Only Way is Essex falling into the metrosexual stereotype, the look seems a million light-years away from the classic gentleman.

Suave Spirit

Whether you allow yourself to be pigeonholed or not, the way we act and present ourselves at any age has a huge effect on the other people that surround us in society. Perhaps a return to the classic gentleman look, and some of his values with contemporary updates, can only be a good thing.

We need to reach a point in society where no matter your sex or sexuality, anyone can hold the door open for anyone else. Label it dandyism or metrosexuality; I just call it good manners.

So whether you apply the tailoring trend to your wardrobe or not, the spirit of the gentleman (or gentlewoman) can be channelled by us all; and will never go out of style.

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A New Leaf

In Fashion, Personal on October 25, 2011 at 6:21 pm

Lavenham

As summer faded and the leaves shed from their trees like skin, I recently found myself in a similar stage of transcendence. After spending a year moving in a career direction that clashed with my genuine goals, I guess you could say I was feeling more than a little jaded. After countless complications and setbacks, things have finally taken a turn in the right direction.

I began working as a junior menswear copywriter at fashion website Cocosa three months ago, and have been enjoying every minute of it. The company is still young and going through fast changes, which perfectly coincide with my own professional journey. I’m extremely excited to see how we will both grow.

Of course, what I’m happiest about is the fact that I finally have a day job where I get to write. It may be commercially led, but it’s a lifetime away from selling magazine advertising space to rude clients down the phone. Ultimately, I feel lucky to finally have a job where I get to use my imagination.

The role itself has got me thinking about the concept of fashion and my true feelings towards it. I’ve always had an interest in clothes, but there’s always been something holding me back from delving too far into that dimension. Perhaps in the creative pyramid of music, art and poetry, I have always seen fashion relatively low in the hierarchy. The fashion world felt so oversaturated and overcrowded. It just felt so superficial.

So taking on my role at Cocosa has really opened my eyes to what fashion is, and why it has such significance in the creative universe. When you put the all of the brands and marketing aside, fashion is a form of art.

I’ve delved back into the history of couture to gain a deeper understanding of its origins. I‘ve found a whole new respect not only for designers, but for garment technologists and pattern cutters too. My eyes have been opened to fashion as an industry where skilful people dedicate their lives to something they adore.

This was made even clearer when Cocosa sent me to Suffolk at the beginning of September, to visit the factory of heritage-clothing brand Lavenham. I remember reading about the Lavenham factory and its values during Drapers’ Save Our Skills campaign at the beginning of the year, so I was excited to take a look around myself. I was not disappointed.

Last month, I left the steely greys of the city to be met by the green hues of the country as my train pulled into Sudbury.  Here I was escorted by a friendly old taxi driver, eager to tell me the history of Lavenham before I had even been officially shown around. Once I arrived at the factory, I was met by Lavenham’s UK sales manager Nicky Santomauro who then gave me the famous tour that was once given to Princess Anne.

After tea and biscuits in the quaint visitor’s room, complete with patriotic British flags and an equestrian vibe, I was shown the steps taken to produce a quilted Lavenham jacket. Here I learnt it takes fifteen members of staff fifty-five minutes to make a single jacket, and 2060 are made in just one week.

As I was shown around I was taught more about every step of this process by speaking with individual staff members. I learnt how the quilting machine works, how the jackets are cut, how the pockets are sewn on and how the button-holing machines work.

I also saw that vigorous quality checks are carried out throughout the whole of this process. If something goes wrong and the garment does not meet its standard, the process will start again.  All of my hostile feelings towards the superficial side of fashion started to fade away when faced with such a ruthless procedure. Blood, sweat and tears really go into this labour and the proof is in the high-quality of the results.

Once my tour around the factory had ended I began my interview with Nicky, which got me thinking in depth about clothing manufacturing in the UK. She spoke passionately about the severe shortage of skills and the long-term effects this will have on the industry.

We then spoke about menswear, in particular the country heritage trend and the fantastic impact it has had on the brand. It’s no surprise that Nicky and the rest of the team at Lavenham want the heritage trend to be one that doesn’t quickly go out of vogue.

I left the prettiness of Suffolk to head back to the insanity of London with a warm feeling of pride and enthusiasm in my heart. Fashion, an industry I had once tried to steer clear of to avoid cliché, now has a whole new layer of meaning to it. I see it in a whole new light, like a whole new leaf has been turned.

Behind the gloss and pretence there are hard-working people in the fashion industry with passion and vision. This is what has got me excited again. This is what has got me writing again.

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