TEXT : HOLLY KNOWLES . PHOTOGRAPHY : MATTHEW ANDERSON & JESSICA CALDERWOOD
GENTLEMANAESTHETIC
WHAT DOES THE POWER SUIT REALLY MEAN TO THE UNTAPPED MODERN MAN OF TODAYS GENERATION ? HOLLY KNOWLES DELVES INTO OUR GENTLEMAN ’ S GENERATION .
Deploying a gentlemanly look may have been a thing of the past five years ago but this is not to say that it is an understated industry . Designers on Savile Row are never outrightly disturbed by the recession , the custom merely shifts from business to business and that in itself shows the aptitude of the tailoring industry . Perhaps the next generation of mens fashion will encapsulate the untapped modern man . the last decades what made Britain so British was the anti-establishment stance of it ’ s youth . The teenage rebel has been a central part of culture and has dictated , given birth to and pushed creativity and eventually the mass market . But where are they today ? I set out in search for individuals who stand for their intrepid view of the world and against the social and political hierarchy .
Within the aristocracy of male fashion we can note that a gentleman ’ s charm is an effortless ideal to publicise his status ; but what is charm without a well tailored suit ? A suit can tell a story , it can be a powerful expression of wealth , style and ultimately gain him those much strived for man points . Take James Bond , who ’ s English accent and well tailored suits teamed with an uncontrollable sexiness - fazed not even by Goldfinger himself - shows the innate meaning of the power suit . But the real creator of the gentlemanly aesthetic derived from the pioneer himself , englishman Beau Brummell . He is a arbiter of mens fashion and confidently changed a flamboyant look of male wigs and white powder for the face which were once to be seen as the norm . Brummells exuberant confidence in his taste is what gave him the stance to change the face of male fashion ; he depicted what the classic Englishman is seen to be , sarcastic yet witty , slightly reserved but graceful and a recognisable taste in fashion , a Gentleman of standards .
The suit was considered perhaps , an elitist accessory . Savile Row played homage to the high brow clientele offering a personal made to measure service which trickled through the grape vine and provided Savile Row with an ever expanding client base , while America encapsulated the Ivy leagues by offering a youthful yet authoritative look . Elitist or not this iconic power look has stemmed through generation after generation with an ever changing purpose . It is inevitable in our knowledge that fashion is on a turn wheel which is constantly reinventing the past in some form or another . Menswear has seemingly been pushed to the back of everyones watch list in recent years of the fashion week epidemics ; womenswear is in the prime of its life and although we all try and convince each other that we follow menswear as religiously as women ’ s , we don ’ t . Men were once the adjudicator of style , it only takes a glimpse back into history to understand the forceful nature that these men have had on current dress . Henry V ||| took his style so seriously that he ordered his own army to dress a certain way , and that is the passion that ultimately shaped style . An abundance of layering was seen throughout the rein of Henry V ||| and when this is compared to current fashion , it simply takes a recent Haider Ackermann show providing shiny renaissance jacquard , or a 4minute video on youtube to show Kanye West layered up in the latest Givenchy to show the similarities ; and yes , he might be head to toe in black and yes , he may be wearing a skirt , but this still doesn ’ t excuse the undercurrent referencing from the historic style seekers within the renaissance period .
WILLIAM HUNT , SAVILE ROW
Britain once was considered an island of class , filled with high sobriety and snobbery ; was this true ? Perhaps not , an illusion caused by our undeniable knowledge and confidence in knowing how to dress , somewhat similar to the Parisians . The 1920 ’ s saw the end of World War 1 when men started to employ a relaxed form of tailoring , skimming down from the three piece suit which the Edwardian era embodied . The 20 ’ s exuded the coolest jazz and in-turn , the coolest suit . What did this suit represent ? The suit was a representation of the cultural influences of the time , music , film and theatre ; it embodied relaxed fun . Spencer Hart is a designer in which music openly inspires , stroll into the store located on Savile Row which exudes fluid lines and curved dark wooden walls with relaxing yet fun jazz playing in the background allows men to shop for the suit with the same mindset as the designer himself . And further to music , we can note that film is an exposition of the ultimate force that the character wearing a power suit can have ; Marcello in the timeless film , La Dolce Vita is first introduced dressed in a chic and lavish suit , this provides the backbone to his persona ; he held gracious power and a sexually alluring