Military style invades Men's London Fashion Week
Vivienne Westwood, Craig Green and Charles Jeffrey all use uniform motifs in striking new collections
Which army would you prefer to join? One headed up by a stuffy old Field Marshall, or one overseen by the British designer, Vivienne Westwood?
Westwood certainly came out on top at London Fashion Men's Week, with a show dominated by military motifs. The designer and her collaborators styled themselves as Westwood’s army, while the collection worked in classic military motifs, such as traditional British red Melton felt into the trousers, fabrics dyed Mountbatten pink, an antiquated naval camouflage colour, and even sandbags and marching drums.
Westwood wasn’t alone in her admiration for uniforms. The celebrated young Scottish designer Charles Jeffrey included 19th century style military coats in a collection, which was inspired by US psychologist Alan Downs’ 2005 book, The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World; Jeffrey says the jackets serve as a “shield to protect oneself from predators”.
Meanwhile, fellow bright young designer Craig Green has dug deep into army history to create his collection using military gig seams and pleats, in a process he describes as “like you’d taken your mum’s old curtains and tried to make them into a jet ski."
It certainly looks better than that though! For the armed forces’ enduring influence over fashion, order a copy of Military Style Invades Fashion here.