While the catwalks of menswear fashion week are luxurious, extravagant and sometimes downright weird, the concurrent trade show Pitti Immagine Uomo reveals the direction of high-street fashion for men - and menswear, it seems, is getting more particular. A decade ago it was the norm for most men's clothing to have been produced by brand giants - fashion's household names. Now the market is becoming increasingly niche, with a label for every taste.
Fashion: The National dresses
Last Updated: 22 June, 2011 UAE
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Fashion
It speaks volumes that this season's Pitti Immagine Uomo, the international menswear trade's spring/summer 2012 pow-wow held last week, had as is guest designer Band of Outsiders, an obscure, cultish New York company making preppyish classics named after an even more obscure 1960s Jean-Luc Goddard movie. Or that new brands - the likes of Victor Dzenk, New Order, Gilda Midani - are as likely to come from Brazil (Pitti's "guest nation" this season) as the US, UK or Italy.
This trend for more insider choice is one major companies are following too, with the likes of, for example, Filson and Woolrich - both long-established American outdoors clothing manufacturers - pushing their underground Filson Black and Woolrich Woolen Mills lines; underground, that is, despite working with name designers such as Mark McNairy (for Woolrich), Adam Kimmel (for Carhartt) and Neil Barrett (for the print-loving T-shirts and shorts line Sundek). But it is with the lesser known and younger - or rediscovered - companies that interest really lies.
Their emphasis on a smaller scale, both in terms of collections and production, and focused appeal is capturing the attention of a consumer increasingly keen to wear brands whose status lies more in their not having been heard of than everyone having done so. That is allowing independent retailers - among the 20,000 to visit Pitti this time - truly to develop destination shops through distinctive buying. That could mean picking up the growing clutch of so-called heritage brands; the more progressive - new label 10A, for example, with its knitted cuff or brace-button trousers, Camo, with its short, big button cardigans, or avant-garde shoemaker Louis Leeman; the artisanal, such as Venice's Barena, with its unstructured, workwear-inspired jackets; or the reinvented, such as British designer Christopher Raeburn's new Remade in Switzerland collection for the Swiss army knife-maker Victorinox.
There is also a degree of specialisation from which menswear is benefiting, both in terms of design and innovation. The Hill-side, for example, is a new US brand focused solely on handkerchiefs, bandannas and ties (with bold florals and blanket weaves among them). Meanwhile, Arc'teryx Veilance (from Canada), Esemplare (from Italy) and Namamica (from Japan) each work with technical fabrics, particularly in blending them with natural fibres - as Namamica now has with denim - to retain their functionality without that sci-fi look, one key trend of the show. Arguably it is these brands, collectively, that are taking over from the catwalk kings in shaping the trends that men will actually wear, rather than simply raise a quizzical eyebrow at.
If Pitti is a gauge of that, expect next spring/summer to be wearing: variations on naval uniforms (updated blazers, braiding and trims) and military pieces, from field jackets to cargo trousers; ultra-light materials made into deconstructed jackets, jerseys and relaxed trousers; West Coast US vintage style; some variant on the sneaker, from the bright to the rainproof, the luxe to the high-tech; and more of the Bohemian and crafted, be that a hand-embroidered shirt or a hand-knitted tie. In other words, clothes that work and that, refreshingly, any man can carry off.
* Josh Sims
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Everything Now
Arcade Fire
(Columbia Records)
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
More on Quran memorisation:
Brief scores:
Manchester United 4
Young 13', Mata 28', Lukaku 42', Rashford 82'
Fulham 1
Kamara 67' (pen),
Red card: Anguissa (68')
Man of the match: Juan Mata (Man Utd)
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The bio:
Favourite holiday destination: I really enjoyed Sri Lanka and Vietnam but my dream destination is the Maldives.
Favourite food: My mum’s Chinese cooking.
Favourite film: Robocop, followed by The Terminator.
Hobbies: Off-roading, scuba diving, playing squash and going to the gym.
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
RESULT
Chelsea 2
Willian 13'
Ross Barkley 64'
Liverpool 0
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
Steps: 3.78 million
Calories: 220,000
Floors climbed: 2,000
Donations: GPB37,300
Prostate checks: 5
Blisters: 15
Bumps on the head: 2
Dog bites: 1
The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5