Men’s Spring/Summer 12 Fashion Trends
Think summer, then think summer fashion. Bright colours, holidays, warmth, patterns and light materials, this is your Spring/Summer 2012 menswear breakdown captured in a sentence.
Here is a breakdown of what you’ll be wearing this coming S/S 2012.
Standard: Bright Colours
We can’t blame any fashion house for adding some bright coloured inspiration to the high street each spring/summer, helping brighten up our wardrobes and adding a bit of excitement to our duller winter wardrobe.
Moving away from the ever masculine blue, other bright colours lit up the catwalk at 2011’s Milan/Paris catwalks. This is an easy trend to wear and its adaptability to any male makes this a popular trend from all fashion houses.
Designer Richard Chai revealed an array of eye-catching colours including a combination of tangerine and turquoise. His more familiar patterned styles still made their appearance, though the tropical prints were a welcome departure.
Stick with Parrot greens, oranges and highlighter yellow contrasted with warm hues of berry for the best of the brightest this Spring/Summer.
Tailoring
In keeping with summers laid back attitude, soft tailoring made an appearance on the runways. Perfect for both keeping and looking cool, soft silhouettes, unlined jackets and low rise trousers make up this trend. In keeping with the seasons bright colours, Number: Lab have created a number of suits in a range of colours from royal and navy blues, orange, white and grey mixing bold geometric patterns and stripes. The designers behind the brand ,launched in 2007, Luis Fernandez and co- founder Greg Lawrence are well known for their fusing of athletic inspired bright clothing with tailored pieces.
As recently seen in womenswear in recent seasons, men’s tailoring has undergone its own transformation, turning traditional proportions on its head. Shorter blazers and trousers with dropped crotches are what tailoring is all about this Spring/Summer.
Join the Tribal trend
This doesn’t have to mean pulling out the Peter Stringfellow leopard print! Ethnic touches are enough to pull of this trend as are tribal details, not specific to a particular item of clothing but seen everywhere. Burberry incorporated tribal detail using beads on their t shirts and their jackets and trousers stood out with batik-like prints. Similar designs were used in Mark McNairy’s collection for Woolrich Woollen Mills, where spicy colours livened up casual sportswear.
It was Milan more than Paris where this trend was more dominant on the runways. Where Paris was more focused on technical details, impeccable tailoring and monochromatic looks, Milan was bringing tribal to the runway. Not necessarily in an obvious way, or with no real origins, the tribal look was definitely visible even just with ethnic undertones.
Nautical
This trend really is for the boys, and it’s a trend which always seems to appear when the spring/summer season appears. Originating from the navy/sailing guys, this trend has taken on many forms and can be worn as subtly or as obviously as possible. From belts, to boat shoes to stripes, this trend is a great way for any man to be able to incorporate the trend into wardrobe.
Designer Chris Cox’s Spring/Summer collection introduces nautical tailored pieces. Inspired by his Californian road trip and the beach towns he saw along the way, nautical blues and stripes are used, as are bright colours making bold statements yet still reflecting the nautical theme. Wearing a block of colour is a great way to add a more subtle statement piece to still reflect the nautical theme. Either keep it bright or wear traditional blues, whites and reds to keep the nautical theme more obvious.
Remember trends should be used for inspiration, and shouldn’t be imitated. Implement specific features you like within a trend into your style, rather than completely copying the whole trend. Trends are a great source of inspiration, and these are going to be some of the most popular mens summer trends in 2012.
By Clare Maguire
