How To Spot A Fashion Week Faker

Many moons ago, fashion week was an event hosted simply to showcase fashion and the talent of some of the worlds finest designers, it has now become a spectacle, a circus of sorts, for the people not the clothes themselves.  For one week, Somerset House becomes the stomping ground for nobodies pretending to be somebodies. How do you spot these fakers you ask? It’s easy just look out for these four tell tale signs.

Extensive Loitering

These people live in hope that they’ll be “discovered” or land themselves a place on a high-flying street style blog, ambitious huh. They’re nowhere near important enough to be invited to any shows, so the likelihood is they will spend their entire day/week stumbling around the infamous cobbles, so if you spot a couple of faces you recognize but can’t put your finger on where you know them from its probably because you don’t, you just saw them doing the same thing 2 days prior.

'Comical' Fashion Tees

The rise of the ‘ironic’ fashion tee has, believe it or not, had one advantage; it makes these nobodies stand out like crazy. “Too bad I can’t afford a real Celine tee, instead I’ll wear this comical ‘Feline’ tee to make people think I’m hip and don’t give a fuck”. See also; ‘Comme Des Fuckdown’ and ‘Aint Laurent Without Yves’ or perhaps most tragic ‘Ballinciaga’, totes hilar babe.

An Outfit Consisting Of Every Garment They Own

A sure fire way to get spotted at fashion week? Wear anything and everything in your wardrobe.  People go out of their way to dress as outlandishly as humanely possible, which causes a few raised eyebrows, a few “oh so chic” ’s but ultimately begs the question, do you seriously dress like this on a daily basis? Like you’ve rolled in superglue and ran through Susie Bubbles (and the entire neighborhoods for that matter) wardrobe? Well, each to their own I guess.

Non-stop Mentioning of Their Blog
Lastly, they’ll be swaning around in ridiculously dark sunglasses thinking they’re the next Anna Wintour. In fact, they just spend their evenings copying news stories from vogue.com on to blogger.com in hope one day they’ll find themselves tucked front row between their new BFF’s Alexa Chung and Pixie Geldof. If (god help you) you have the misfortune of conversing with the fashion week nobodies, I suggest you mentally tally how many times they mention their awesome fashion blog or perhaps countdown how long it takes them to mention it, you never know it could make the conversation slightly entertaining.

Hello, My Name Is Paul Smith

If you're visiting London between now and March be sure to stop by the Design Museum to check out the new Paul Smith exhibition. The massive exhibition finally opened last week and is already receiving rave reviews. Curated by Donna Loveday, the museum is hoping that the exhibit will rival its previous (and record breaking) Louboutin exhibition for popularity. 

It is said to give an immersive insight in to the world of all things Paul Smith, Loveday stated that it has been curated to appeal to a wide audience and is confident it will be a success, especially with Paul Smiths stellar reputation however they're promising that even new fans will find out something they don't know about the menswear designer.

You'll have to opportunity to delve in to all things Paul Smith as you take a journey through every chapter of Smith's lengthy career starting at his very first store. A tiny 3 x 3 metre boutique first opened in Nottingham in 1970, well a recreation obviously. Then you can take a look in to the makeshift dupe of the designers office and all the wonderful things you'd find in their, collected over the years from his many travels around the globe. 

Paul Smith and Donna Loveday worked very closely to create the showcase to take you inside the mind of one of Britain's most famous designers. So whether you're a Paul Smith fan or not, if you're looking to be inspired or just fancy a nice day out, get yourself to the Design Museum!

Do Your Bit: Small Business Saturday 7th December

In recent years, the British high street has been slaughtered by the ongoing recession, we've lost an array of British manufacturers from Woolworths to Republic, the Great British high street is soon becoming a thing of the past with consumers looking to spend more on luxury goods, luxury and economy (Primark etc) are two of the most successful markets at the moment. 

Small, independent, local business are also being hit hard, which is why American Express came up with the 'Small Business Saturday' initiative which has now made its way over the pond to the UK. It basically encourages the public to, just for the one day, support their local stores and shun the massive chain supermarkets and restaurants. The idea started three years ago in the US to help small firms survive competitions from mainstream rivals, it boosted the turnover of small business by £3.5 billion.

It only makes sense that this idea would work wonders in the UK, MP Chuka Umunna agreed and so decided to start one up over here. The initiative has been supported by a host of high profile names such as Dragons Den's James Caan, Mary Portas and Made in Chelsea's Proudlock.
December 7th will be 'Small Business Saturday', so make sure to support your local butcher, restaurant, corner shop or vintage store next Saturday!

Karl Lagerfeld Comes to London

Karl Lagerfeld will open a flagship store on London's Regent Street for his self titled label Karl Lagerfeld in March 2014, it has been announced.
The store will be his largest in Europe to date, spanning an impressive 2,700 square feet and will sell both and mens and womens ready to wear and accessories. Karl Lagerfeld's CEO has said that opening in Regent Street is an excellent opportunity as its the perfect position for this important market. 

The store is set to incorporate impressive technology heavily, from the dressing rooms which will apparently contain photo booths with instagram like filters to a digital guestbook for customers to leave special comments for the designer. Its been said that luxury consumers are all about the experience and not the products now, it looks like Karl got the message.  Keep your eyes peeled for more info!

Is Street Wear Still A Thing?

Topshop Oxford Street (aka HELL) is home to hundreds of underground brands on its bottom floor, from Motel to Sister Jane they have it all. When I was wondering around the colossal store this Saturday I spotted a large section of Stussy sweatshirts and t-shirts merged in with the brands own lines on its first floor. My little knowledge of Stussy stems from my past relationship, he was one of them skinny white boys who listens to hip hop and says he loves skating but can't actually do it. 

So hip it hurts

Stussy is a clothing brand that started in California in the 80's and has now been adopted by street wearing, hip hop listening, tumblr lovin, Supreme types. It seems that Stussy has finally hit the mainstream, but doesn't everything after a while. I thought street wear was a thing of 2011 that disappeared with Tyler the Creator and the rest of Odd Future (minus Frank we love him) but with all the Air Jordans, Snapbacks and beanies all over the place it would seem that isn't the case. The popularity of street wear seemed to grow simultaneously with the popularity of street style, but it seems to me that a lot of people are well over street style so perhaps street wear is heading in the same direction soon. 

Interesting..

Santa Baby..

It's christmas wish list time again, much to the dismay of my mother. I remember being a kid and making lists on Microsoft Word that were around 4 to 5 pages long and expecting to receive everything on the list (I was a horrid child), as I've grown I've come to accept less however as I've matured so has my love for expensive goods, sorry mom, obviously the majority is what I would get in my dreams but ah well. Since I've moved away from home Christmas seems slightly different to me now, it sounds like philosophical bs but hang on, less about the presents and more about getting the see my fam and my cat and to finally eat a decent meal. But like I said, we can all dream, so heres my wishwishwish list for xmas 2013. Just thinking of what this all adds up to makes me feel quesy, as I say all very aspirational I don't expect an Antigona (a girl can dream) and the Larsson and Jennings watch is quite steep, perhaps I'll wait till my next loan goes in. Joking of course. Whats on your wish list this christmas?

1. Silk Angora Jumper from COS / 2. Leather Clutch from & Other Stories / 3. Black Suede Courts from Office / 4. iPad Mini from Apple

 5. Snake Print Wrap Skirt from Topshop / 6. See by Chloé perfume / 7. Leather Heel Lace Up Boot from Zara 

8. YSL Le Tient Touche Eclat Foundation by YSL / 9. Svart Limited Edition Watch by Larsson and Jennings / 10. Black Antigona by Givency

Who Says Fashion Doesn't Care?

Many people think of the fashion industry as a bunch of snobs deciding whats cool and whats not but now and again fashion likes to show its generous caring side. In the midst of the dreadful typhoon that hit the Philippines the Beckhams did their bit for charity buy putting loads of their designer clothes for sale with all proceeds going toward those in the Philippines.
Mac cosmetics have been helping for years, their limited edition Viva Glam lipsticks have been a huge success with campaigns fronted by the likes of Nicki Minaj and Ricky Marting with all profits going to charities helping HIV/AIDS sufferers. With the fashion industry being quite dominated by homosexual males, HIV is a big issue among most.

Also focusing on HIV is Maison Martin Margiela, who started a line of printed t-shirts with French charity 'Aides' available from LN-CC. Its €75 a pop but its all in the name of charity eh.
Again helping AIDS, Swedish retailer H&M are in their fifth year of collaboration with Fashion Against Aids, with 25% of profits going towards AIDs awareness organisations.

Its not just AIDs however, over the years we've seen Jeans for Genes, Pink Ribbon and most recently Alexander Wang collaborated with Samsung and Art Start, a charity that aims to nurture the creative talents of at-risk kids. Wang and some of his creative pals used the Samsung Galaxy to create doodles that Wang then printed on to a lambskin backpack. Its not cheap at $550 a bag but from a designer such as Alexander Wang you can't expect it for much less and hey its for a good cause!

Lady Gaga Channels Donatella for Versace

Earlier this month it was rumoured that Lady Gaga was collaborating with Versace but at the time the Italian brand refused to comment on the rumours, until now when these images were released proving the rumours to be true.

The campaign shot by Mert and Marcus features Gaga looking unnervingly like Donatella herself, in a tight lilac Versace dress with poker straight platinum blonde hair. The campaign says Lady Gaga for Versace which assumes she's had more to do with the campaign than just featuring in it. 

When speaking of the collaboration Donatella said  "I am honoured that my friend Lady Gaga is the face of our new Versace campaign, I wanted to capture her true beauty and spirit in images that are elegant and alluring. She is like family to me, the embodiment of the Versace DNA."

Lady Gaga's recent album 'Artpop' even features a track named after Donatella, which Gaga described as a love letter to the designer, cute. 

Mulberry Backs Out Of LFW 2014

Bruno Guillon, Lana Del Rey and Emma Hill

Mulberry was rocked this summer when it was announced that Emma Hill would be quitting her position as creative director for the British handbag specialist. After creating the Alexa and Del Rey bags which proved to be a huge success, questions were asked about her departure, it was announced that she left after "disagreements with management over creative and operational strategy". For the six years whilst Hill was the the helm of Mulberry, the houses popularity greatly increased and they filled the whimsical, girly gap left by Luella. Hill also introduced entry-level price points which appealed to the younger Mulberry women with less cash to burn, this seems to be where the differences begun. In 2012 Bruno Guillon (previously of Hermes) was appointed chief executive of Mulberry and his sole intention seems to be to re-emphasise the luxury nature of Mulberry. For example in autumn 2012 oversaw a substantial increase in Mulberry's prices across the board.

It seems Mulberry's troubles don't stop there. It was announced today that Mulberry will be backing out of Februarys Fashion Week, Mulberry was always one of the most anticipated shows with an a list packed front row so to see it go is sad. It seems that Mulberry is having trouble filling its creative director vacancy after Emma Hill left in June, rumoured successors have ranged from Erdem to Mary Katrantzou. Its been announced however that Mulberry will still feature in the LFW schedule but we'll have to wait till nearer the time for more info!

LFW starts 13th - 17th February.

The Everlasting Love of Fashion and Music

For many years, fashion and music have gone together hand in hand, both creative industries have helped each other thrive and progress through massive collaborations. Fashion has used music as a source of inspiration for years and vice versa, from the drug induced UK rave culture of the 1980’s, where fashion quickly spilled over from the clubs to the catwalks, to subcultures, which are hugely dictated by the music they listen to. Designers have decided to step up and go directly to the musicians for collaborations which has pushed both industries to creative highs, its gone on and beyond. Even the likes of film makers such as Nick Knight who has collaborated with creatives from Alexander McQueen to Kanye West, have got involved. Bridging the two has resulted in the creation of great art.

In recent years the trend has flourished, Burberry hold live events showcasing some of Christopher Baileys favorite acts such as British indie band White Lies, its even got to the point where the models turn to the musicians. We all know models and rock stars go together like ring and yang, Agyness Deyn (circa 2008) offered her vocals to unknown indie band Five O Clock Heroes and Kate Moss featured on past boyfriend Pete Dohertys album for Babyshambles.

Here are my seven picks of perhaps not the best, but the biggest fashion/music collabs:

Rihanna x River Island

Pop/Illuminati (sorry, I had to) Princess Rihanna took the high street by storm last year when she unveiled a collection designed exclusively by her (we’re led to believe) for high street retailer River Island. She even showed at London Fashion Week, surprisingly. Unless you haven’t seen the collection you can easily imagine it was an array of bomber jackets, camo, and mid riff bearing crop tops all of which you could imagine Rihanna to wear herself. It was commercial and with her massive following it was bound to be a massive success and has carried on over a couple of season. It’s all wearable but each to their own I guess!

A.P.C x Kanye

Unusually modest for a collaboration featuring Kanye, this collection consisted of mainly denim jeans, hoodies and t-shirts, staple items for most men. We all (unfortunately) remember the previous debacle when Yeezy last attempted to break in to the industry much to the distain of Anna Wintour, after that Kanye seeked advice from Jean Touitou, head of French brand A.P.C which developed in to a beautiful friendship and resulted in this basic but successful collab.

Vivienne Westwood x Sex Pistols

Although not classed as an official collaboration it is probably one of the most influential. In the 80’s Vivienne Westwood began designing clothes for Malcolm McLarens shop ‘Sex’ who also happened to be the manager of punk band the Sex Pistols, the two styled the band that helped develop the punk style which continued throughout the 70’s.

Riccardo Tisci x Watch The Throne

Bringing two musical geniuses together simply wasn’t enough for Jay Z and Kanye West when they collaborated to create Watch The Throne in 2011. West bought in good friend (and rumored ex boyf) to create the duos album and single covers and even merchandise for their world tour. As you can imagine from Jay Z, the biggest name in the industry, and Yeezy, the biggest ego in the industry, the creative direction was ridiculously extravagant, with lashings of gold and images of the duos faces merged with cheetahs.

Saint Laurent x Daft Punk

Although Daft Punk were initially introduced to the fashion world in 2007 by Louis Vuitton, it was Hedi Slimane who has really given the Dj duo a push in recent years. His debut collection for Saint Laurent was underlined by Daft Punk’s take on David “Junior” Kimbrough’s music. He then designed a jacket for the Parisian duo who also featured in the houses 2013 campaign.

Alexander McQueen x Björk

In 1997, Alexander McQueen collaborated with Björk to create the artwork for the cover of her game changing ‘Homogenic’ album. He even directed the video for one of the albums singles. Their mutual love for technology and nature made them the perfect creative duo.

Converse x Pharell, Santigold and Julian Casablancas

Back when Santigold was Santogold (ah 2008) she collaborated with Pharell and The Strokes front man Julian Casablancas to create a campaign and single for Converse. The campaign featured various musicians both dead and alive as it’s been the shoe favored by musicians for years, and the song was even my MySpace song, that’s nostalgia for you.

Graduate Fashion Week New Venue Announced!

When it was announced that Earls Court was set to be demolished one of the big questions was, so where will Graduate Fashion Week be hosted? As one of the most important events of the year for fashion graduates up and down the country this was the question on most students minds. Well we can finally reveal the answer! It has been announced that GFW 2014 will be hosted at the Truman Brewery, East London!

The Truman Brewery was the rumoured location for the event and now its finally been confirmed what do you think? We had a discussion in class, is Shoreditch still considered edgy and cool? Apparently so I imagine thats one of the main reasons this venue was selected, GFW describe it as 'Londons buzzing creative district'. What do you think of the chosen venue? How do you feel about having your work showcased there? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

All Walks: Caryn Franklin Lecture at Ravensbourne

Image is a touchy subject when it comes to women and fashion, over the years we've had sickly thin, caucasian 5 foot 10 models shoved down our throats thanks to fashion imagery and runways all over the world. But do these images really illustrate the women who buy the clothes and what affect is it having on us and our perceptions of beauty.
All Walks Beyond the Catwalk is an initiative created by Caryn Franklin that challenges the industry and the idea of 'perfect' that it has inscribed on our brains. Today Caryn came and spoke to us (fashion promotion) to give us more information on All Walks and to help us all think a little more about the pressing subject.

Fashion or gang rape?

Caryn has worked within the industry for around thirty years working at style title iD magazine and on The Clothes Show on the BBC, which means she's seen first hand how much fashion has changed over recent years. All Walks aims to inspire those in industry to use a more diverse range of models, diverse in race, size and age, as the constant use of stick thin caucasian models seriously affects young minds and implies to them that that is perfect and they are not.
Its also the imagery that can affect our future generations, images that are overtly sexual or imply drug use can be found on the new stands daily.

Caryn pointed out that you can't just do one successful campaign and hope the message sticks, you must reinforce it as often as you can. For example All Walks had a very successful campaign which starred models of all ages and sizes which featured in iD and at London Fashion Week. The campaign was a huge success and Caryn has worked hard to keep All Walks going strong.
It has been proven that women are more likely to buy a product if its advertised on a life size model, the average dress size in the UK is a 16, so how can we constantly advertise to consumers on size 0 models? For example, the recent M&S campaign featuring stars such as Tracey Emin and Helen Mirren has been a hit and the dress worn by Helen Mirren sold out almost immediately, proving the point that if the target consumer sees the product on someone more like themselves it really does sell better.
It really struck a chord with me, when Caryn mentioned about air brushing in beauty products, how they make you feel guilty if the product doesn't have the same affect on you as it does on the model in the advert and I really related, plenty of times I've tried mascaras and creams that haven't made a bit of difference and assumed it was my eyelashes or skin that was the problem.

Rhianna: Role model to your children?

Its not just fashion that will have a lasting effect on girls everywhere look at the like of Miley Cyrus and Rihanna, these two are posed as role models for young girls everywhere. Both often talk about drugs and both promote being dominated and make it look like the only way to success is to act like a slut. The images we see daily show women like a 12 year old boys sexual fantasy, as though women are nothing more than cliché objects of lust or degredation. And with the likes of Terry Richardson, the known sex pest, contributing to magazines such as Vogue will it ever end? Heres a quote from Richardson himself that particularly disgusted me; "I was a shy kid," he has said, "and now I'm this powerful guy with a boner, dominating all these girls." Is this right? Should agencies allow models to have to go through this as the only way to have a successful career? Emotional blackmail at its seediest

Miley Cyrus by Terry Richardson

The talk from Caryn really opened my eyes to look more closely at fashion imagery and also going in to advertising and being a future creative we can really make a difference. I will be creating a short promotional film with The Gibson Diaries for All Walks in a week or two so keep your eyes peeled for more info!

Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

You'd hardly believe it (its still November!) but it's that time of year again. Yep, itssss Chriiiistmaaaaas (as Noddy would say). Since moving away for uni Christmas has become about going home seeing my family, central heating and proper food as opposed to gifts gifts gifts, for the likes of John Lewis and Marks and Spencers Christmas means money money money.

Maybe its just me, but every year it seems to start earlier its always the question who's going to have the biggest ad? Who's going to show them first? Christmas ads seem to of become a huge part of the festive season and take up the majority of the , extremely frequent, X Factor adverts every saturday on the lead up to Christmas. 

This years offerings are all quite strong but the hype surrounding John Lewis' christmas ads often overshadows everyone else and this year they've pulled out all the stops.
You've probably seen it but if you haven't heres the video. The advert features a hare and his best friend a bear, the bear misses Christmas much to the dismay of the hare so he buys his good friend an alarm clock for Christmas so he doesn't miss it. Its beautifully animated, the characters look fresh out of a Disney film (before they went all crappy and CGI) and it definitely tugs at the heart strings, mostly because of the delicate theme tune; a cover of Keanes Somewhere Only We Know by Lily Allen which will no doubt be a hit in the UK charts. It does beg the question though of what it is to do with John Lewis? Who knows but its certainly got the publicity it wanted.
Marks and Spencers haven't been doing too well recently so they must of been anxious about drawing in customers with their Christmas ad. The ad features a host of stars from David Gandy (we all love a bit of the Gandy) to Helena Bonham Carter. It has a fairytale feel starting with Rosie Huntington Whitely (swoon) as Alice falling in to wonderland and losing her clothes as she does it. It references movies such as Wizard of Oz and Aladdin. Its sweet and dainty and gives Marks and Spencer a young feel. Unfortunately it didn't compel me to visit M&S, it did however make me feel the need to starve myself till I look like Rosie in my underwear, nice one M&S no trimmings for me.
These ads are big deals to the high street, gaining publicity and consumers around this time of year is fundamental as currently the high street has the smallest customer share, do you think these ads will do the job? What do you think of them or have you seen any better ones? Let me know, I'd love to check them out as I am a such a Christmas whore its insane! 

Ravensbourne Graduate Kit Neale Recognised by NEWGEN

One of Ravensbournes very own graduates, Kit Neale has gone on to receive funding from the BFC's NewGen initiative! NEWGEN was first founded in 1993 as an initiative to support up and coming designers and have been picking up on some of Britains hottest talents for years. Kit Neale is just one of the three designers who have been selected to be supported by NEWGEN at London Collections: Men this coming January, the others are Common and Deigo Vanassibara.

Menswear has never had as much a push as womens so its exciting to see the British Fashion Council giving budding menswear designers a helping hand. Kit Neale focuses on graphic printed menswear with a cool vibe, heres some of his pieces check out his website for more info and make sure to keep your eyes open for him at LC:M!

Menswear Online: Where to Shop

Trunk

trunkclothier.com

Trunk is a small cosy menswear boutique situated on Marleybones Chiltern Street. Trunk features a carefully curated collaction of mens modern classics from Japan, Italy, Sweden, the UK and US and all over the globe. Trunk aims to become one of the go to destinations in Europe for sharply cut blazers, crisp shirts and elegant knitwear amongst a wide range of beautiful accessories. Trunk is for the sophisticated gentleman looking to adorn himself with top of the range garments, the cheapest garment being a £50 t shirt its not for those on a budget. The online shop features a wide range from clothing to accessories from brands such as Barbour and Comme Des Garcon Homme to lesser-known brands Aspesi and Zanone.

Mr Porter

mrporter.co.uk

Mr Porter is a purely online retailer of luxury brands such as Givenchy, Burberry and Lanvin and the cooler brother of womenswear online retailer net-a-porter. Mr Porter was launched in 2011 and since has 22 million page views monthly and stocks over 170 brands. Any male looking for stylish on trend clothing online should visit Mr Porter as they stock everything from Savile Row tailoring to Hunter willies. Note that this site is a directory for luxury brands so the cheapest item you may find is a pair of Calvin Klein boxers or a pair of Converse, so keep that in mind if you’re after a bargain.

Drakes

drakes-london.com

Drakes London has a lot of heritage behind it, founded by Michal Drake in 1977 and specializes in the little things that make a big difference to a mans outfit. With a wide range of handmade ties, pocket squares and bow ties it’s a must visit for the sophisticated gentleman looking for the perfect accessories to a tailored look. The online store also offers tailored jackets and shirts. This stuff doesn’t come cheap and the store is in the centre of Mayfair so you get an idea of whom the Drakes customer would be.

Edwin Europe

edwin-europe.com

Edwin specializes in catering to the need for casual clothing; known for their denim Edwin was established in 1947 in Japan. Their style is simple and understated and the website has a lot to offer. Although being a denim brand (the name Edwin comes from denim with the M turned round) they offer a wide range of T-shirts, knitwear, outerwear and accessories to name a few. The prices are middle of the road, nowhere near as expensive as Mr Porter but nowhere near as cheap as Primark, the expected price for a quality product. If you live in denim and love simple staple pieces check them out!

Matches

matchesfashion.com

Similar to Mr Porter, Matches is jam packed with on trend luxury brands. Matches opened their first store in 1990 and have since gone on to become one of the biggest names in luxury fashion retail. Again similar to Mr Porter if you’re looking for a £50 blazer you’ve come to the wrong place. However if you want a beautiful wool-silk printed Dolce and Gabana jacket and have the £2, 750 to pay for it this is the site for you. With some of the biggest names in fashion at your fingertips and everything from clothing to bags and shoes to accessories Matches is the ideal site to feed your luxury cravings.

Foot Asylum

footasylum.com

When I personally think of Foot Asylum I wouldn’t so much call it menswear more ‘boyswear’. Most of you probably have heard of Foot Asylum as they grace British shopping centres and high streets up and down the country. Aimed at a more adolescent demographic, Foot Asylum specialized mainly in trainers and footwear as the name suggests. They do however have quite an extensive range of clothing from street brands such as Hype and Sik Silk. Trainers are mostly Nike Air Max and canvas pumps such as Converse and Vans, Air Max don’t come cheap at £95 quid a pair and probably the most expensive items on the site. I’d say if you’re ages 16-18 and Gaz from Geordie Shore is your fashion icon get yourself on to Foot Asylum otherwise this site isn’t for you.

Oi Polloi

http://www.oipolloi.com

Oi Polloi is a store in Manchester, which first opened in 2002, catering for the cooler male Oi Polloi features a range of contemporary classics with a street feel. They claim to stock garments that remain relevant regardless of the time, which means there are lots of simplistic staples for a men’s wardrobe. Stocking brands such as APC, Penfield, New Balance and Norse Projects they sell clothing, shoes and accessories.  Prices vary depending on the brand but nowhere near in the range of matches.com Oi Polloi is a must visit for any lover of street brands.

End Clothing

http://www.endclothing.co.uk

Just like Oi Polloi, End Clothing started as a store up North stocking street wear brands. End started in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2005. End showcases the best in contemporary menswear and stock street wear, high – end sportswear and casual and outdoor clothing. The brands stocked are similar to Oi Polloi although there seems to be a great deal more products. Stussy, Fred Perry, Carhartt and Moncler are just a few of the brands available from End, as you know a Moncler jacket can set you back a grand or two whereas Fred Perry can be much cheaper so again it depends what you buy.

Oki-Ni

http://www.oki-ni.com

Oki-ni was founded in 2001 and is a sort of fusion between Oi Polloi and Mr Porter. Offering cool, streat clothing but with a more conceptual luxury edge. They pride themselves in discovering some of the most innovative and inspiring new designers. You’ll find a wide range of brands from Raf Simons, Rick Owens, Christopher Kane and Carven to more street brands such as New Balance, North Face and Eastpak. Undeniably cool and minimal oki-ni is for the male who teams his luxury fashion pieces with a good pair of New Balance runners.

LN-CC

http://www.ln-cc.com

LN-CC is a step up from oki-ni offering the same luxury brands but without the street edge. LN-CC stands for Late Night Chameleon Café (beats me) and is a store in Dalston, the store is very contemporary and conceptual and just to stand out from the crowd the store operates on an appointment-only basis.  The products are all minimalistic chic pieces, some with quite hefty price tags. Brands include Balenciaga, Lanvin and Dries Van Noten. LN-CC is full of chic minimalistic pieces, a store for the true individual with a keen eye for fashion.