Nothing gets one back on the blogging horse like seeing the name of someone you love besmirched (and yes I would like extra ‘kudos points’ for vocabulary use).
The Burberry Prorsum Autumn/Winter show has received such scathing reviews in the blogosphere that I feel it’s time to tap some keys in creative director, Christopher Bailey’s defence. There were pixellated cries of “Bailey has lost his touch”, “What were they thinking?” and way too many comments damning the use of leopard print for men. As the following pictures by Scott Schuman attest, I fail to see what all of the negativity is about.
Here is Christopher Bailey doing what he does best, giving us classic, well-tailored looks for men with something a little bit extra, and this time he’s done it in the fabric department. In a time when men are being more daring than ever in their fashion choices, as society becomes more liberal and fashion becomes even more influenced by the street, it’s great to see shiny purples and leopard done in a way that screams “man” not “mutton dressed as lamb”. This is especially interesting when you consider the inroads that women have been making into traditionally male areas of attire, taking on stereotypically feminine prints and textures, it is the sort of thing that Burberry can do, because of their reputation and silhouettes. It’s about time we saw leopard and zebra print done properly for the male market. There was still enough classic beige, woollen looks to keep the traditionalists happy and the variety of slimmer-cut waists and contrasting wider shouldered garments created a well-balanced show.
It doesn’t take a genius to see that these are wearable, exciting and a great start to the A/W season from the Burberry crew and something that I hope to see more of.
The Lucky Portfolio 