MAN Spring/Summer 12: Shaun Samson, Martine Rose, Matthew Miller

Since the inception in 2005, Fashion East / Topman's MAN showcase has certainly marked its strength on the London Fashion Week schedule, proving the turning point for such emerging Menswear visionaries as Cassette Playa, JW Anderson, Christopher Shannon, and Katie Eary. Now comfortably in its 13th season, Hidden Agency has produced a series of short films to coincide with the SS12 show, showcasing garments and highlighting inspirations behind each designers' collection. Check them out below.

Californian born Shaun Samson went back to his roots for SS12, with the vibrancy of the 90's grunge and surf era channeled into a heady mix of psychedelic stripes and weighty hand-loomed Mexican blankets - there's no denying this is modern streetwear at its utmost finest. View the SS12 show here.

Returning for a third season at MAN, Martine Rose also harks inspiration from the west coast through the 70's Californian skate and surf scene, resonating with its carefree and rebellious nature via sheer shirts layered over neon brights and tropical prints worn with wide cropped bottoms. View the SS12 show here.

With a succinct focus in the technicality of aesthetics, it's hard to fault Matthew Miller's enigmatic entry into MAN. Sharply formed silhouettes crafted from 3D computer-aided-design and pioneering materials take prominence in this collection, presenting a statement product that is interestingly both understated and dramatic. View the SS12 Show here.

On The Cobbles: Cos Foamy T-shirt

Three seasons in, and London Fashion Week is just as daring/unashamed/pioneering as the last time I left it. I headed into the scrum last Friday for another go-around on the cobbles, and whilst I was officially there clocking up time, it was really a chance for another bi-annual schooling in the art of style from people who undeniably get it. Top marks go to this gent for incorporating (what I strongly suspect is, please correct otherwise) the Foamy T-shirt from Cos. The garment's technical attributes act as a striking counter to the patterned shirt underneath - and is certainly typical of what I've come to love about Cos; a strict minimal aesthetic with a playful approach to texture, in turn upholding an admirable design ethos that is both timely and timeless.

Photo taken by my colleague David
Available now at Cos

Scenes From London Fashion Week AW11

London Fashion Week is undoubtably one of the strangest events to visit, where stopping to ask a complete stranger to photograph their shoes is considered common practice, and people watching isn't just a passing hobby - it's a sport. True, some of the outfits that grace the cobbles down at Somerset House would cause even the most liberal to raise an eyebrow, but casting all pretences aside, there's no denying that it attracts some of the most interesting, sartorially minded, detail driven people this city has to offer.

Tim Soar Spring/Summer 2011

Apologies for the silence around here the past week, a combination of manic days, lazy nights and one boozy weekend in Sweden has resulted in, well, a neglected blog. The following are some photos I took of the Tim Soar SS11 show on Menswear day at London Fashion Week. Proving a refined craft for immaculate and contemporary tailoring, Tim Soar's latest collection takes inspiration from David Bowie's character 'Mr Newton' in the seventies film The Man Who Fell To Earth. Without screaming an archaic ode to the era, wide lapels, long lines and big flares take prominence within the collection, described by the man himself as 'the New Wave utilitarian aesthetic'. A bold statement perhaps, but the beauty of the collection lies in his penchant for technicality - utilising an eclectic fabric palette that samples knit, welded PU, new and recycled denim, and Tyvek to present selected iconic styles of the disco decade with a delicate, understated, and updated twist.

The full set follows.