London Fashion Week Men’s - the highlight of the men’s fashion calendar. Cast your mind to a space of industrial modernity, dotted with press eager to set the fashion tunes for 2017 as they absorb the newest collections from innovative designers and labels. Picture the scene, Nespresso coffee on tap, prime views overlooking the Thames and a wealth of fashion talent, which all lent to the buzz on every floor at ‘180 The Strand’; the venue to host London Fashion Week. This was our first LFW and we were eager to present to the press what we had up our sleeves - 3 new exciting and colourful collaborations to brighten up dreary January - Primordial by Pedro Veneziano, Tiger Sock by Rick Berklemans and La Isla Bonita sock by Marnau Den Lindon who we were delighted to welcome as our resident artist for a day.
Coupled with our enthusiasm for our own fashion week debut were the exciting events to unfold over the next four days... Vivienne Westwood runway show, visits from GQ editor Dylan Jones and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
Our brand neighbours were like-minded accessory brands showcasing their wares. Each embellished our 4 days as we swapped stories, shared learning curves and mingled with press and buyers. Much like Look Mate they each have an intriguing fabric to their brands, read on for a little behind them and their own stories as well as links to their websites.experience.
Briston Watches encapsulate Paris Chic and English style, Brice Janut is behind the mastery infusion of styles and exercises his wealth of industry experience in his production of timeless pieces. His fervency for watch making stems from not only his ambitious character but so too paying homage to his Grandfather Jacques, co-founder of the NewMan brand in 1967.
Gladstone LDN fuses the eminent craftsmanship of the past with the innovative requisites of the future. Gladstone bags are designed to purpose a host of occasions for leisure, travel and accessories. Founder John O’Sullivan has always appreciated originality in any form and after 30 years experience in luxury goods he has put to practice his unique ambition of resurrecting ‘lost designs’ from the golden era of London Made and transforming them into modern contemporary pieces.
Ettinger specialise in leather goods spanning from bags and cases to wallets purses and accessories, their leather emanates quality and innovation and being a humbling family business since its inception in 1934, they celebrate the authenticity of one of the oldest industries known to man, leather. Through this very ardour they have secured their reputation across the UK and abroad as one of the finest leather goods manufacturers in Britain and admirably it is the same family who oversees production today.
Emily Carter is a London based, British designer specialising in luxury silk scarves and pocket squares which intertwine themes of natural history, flora, fauna and scientific illustration; binding together to birth surreal and idiosyncratic illustrations and prints. Each piece is a detailed original drawing and is printed on high quality silk twill.
Overall, our time at LFW was an exciting, opportunistic experience which provided a valuable platform for Look Mate to extend our brand, our story and our socks to the press. Our four days shared with some impressive brands has only fuelled our enthusiasm for our next fashion week and of course has kick started the creative juices for our next collaborations...
written by Alexandra Stuart / image by Pedro Veneziano
