Non-gendered fashion shows are a big talking point – not just when to show (with women’s or men’s?) but what. Masculine style is an element of many female wardrobes but men in frocks still cause a double take. Vivienne Westwood and her designer husband Andreas Kronthaler have put men in skirts and high platforms in their demi-couture Paris shows for seasons; now she has switched her London-based commercial collection to London Fashion Week Men’s, and very good for both sexes it is. Based on her usual twisted, slightly raggle-taggle but excellent tailoring and knitwear, it includes fabulous oversized suits for women, tailcoats over corset tops for men, knitted flares and full skirts for the boys and great tweeds for both. All surprising believable, with the crystal chandelier earrings worn by two male models already finding an echo in the audience.
Meanwhile, biker-based brand Belstaff now unites men’s and women’s under designer Delphine Ninous, who takes masculine style icons like the trench or the leather biker jacket and makes them equally elegantly feminine or stylishly sporty. Something for everyone then.
By Avril Groom
