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Prince Charles opens London menswear week Prince Charles opens London menswear week
(about 9 hours later)
He may not be monarch for a while yet, but for the next four days he is undisputed king of the front row. With the first ever week of men's catwalk shows in London falling hot on the heels of the jubilee, Prince Charles is the man charged with leading the British menswear industry into battle with the titans of France and Italy.
Tonight Prince Charles will host several hundred representatives from the fashion industry at a reception at St James's Palace, in celebration of the menswear shows that begin tomorrow. He may not become monarch for a while yet, but for the next four days he is undisputed king of the front row.
Whether the prince will adopt Anna Wintour's trademark sunglasses for the duration is not known; what is certain is that the lure of a gold-embossed palace invitation is a significant coup for the British Fashion Council as they strive to fill the London front rows with the world's most powerful buyers and editors. With London's first ever week of men's catwalk shows hot on the heels of the jubilee, the Prince of Wales has become the man charged with leading the British menswear industry into battle with the titans of France and Italy.
Despite stiff competition from parties hosted by Tinie Tempah (featuring crazy golf on the roof of Selfridges) and retailer Mr Porter (with DJ Alexa Chung), the St James's Palace invite the week's hot ticket. Menswear by Margaret Howell and Claire Malcolm of Hardy Amies on display during the reception, alongside designs by Christopher Raeburn, the winner of the emerging talent in menswear award at the most recent British Fashion Awards. On Thursday night Prince Charles hosted several hundred fashion industry representatives at a reception at St James's Palace to herald the start of the menswear shows on Friday.
But the prominence of Prince Charles signifies more than simply a wish to capitalise on jubilee fever. The rich Savile Row tradition of British tailoring and a drive to promote quality British craftsmanship are a key part of the message of this fashion week. Those steering the event are keen to move the image of British designer menswear on from the creative-but-crazy label and into more commercial territory. The lure of a gold-embossed palace invitation was a significant coup for the British Fashion Council in its battle to attract the world's most powerful buyers and editors to London.
This is a shift which has been successfully made in womenswear, where the London collections are now a slick and respected element of the global industry rather than the eccentric afterthought they once were. Despite stiff competition from parties hosted by Tinie Tempah (featuring crazy golf on the roof of Selfridges) and retailer Mr Porter (with DJ Alexa Chung), the St James's Palace invite was the week's hot ticket.
Writing in Vogue two years ago, Prince Charles demurred from being labelled "fashionable", but acknowledged that "there have been those generous enough to call me 'well dressed'". The Prince is a longtime customer of the shirtmakers Turnbull & Asser, whose shirts are made in a small factory in Gloucestershire, and the distinguished Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard. Prince Charles told those assembled at the reception that the suggestion he was known for his good dress sense had come as a surprise: "I am finding it very hard, ladies and gentlemen, to live with myself after I discovered that somebody has suggested I might even be an icon of fashion. It has taken 64 bleeding years."
"Clothes have to combine style with sustainability," writes the prince in the current issue of GQ magazine, "and I find British-made tailoring more than meets that challenge – much to the amusement of my staff, who are sometimes surprised to find that what I am wearing turns out to be as old as or even older than they are". He added: "I have gone on in my old way, like a stopped clock – I tell the right time every 25 years."
On Thursday night, among this most fashionable of crowds, there was a noticeable bias towards the Savile Row tailoring favoured by the Prince. Silk pocket squares outnumbered ironic baseball caps by around 12 to one. Starch and cologne lingered in the air; waistcoats were de rigeur.
Tinie Tempah was elegant in a white dress shirt and black evening suit by Spencer Hart, while David Walliams wore a bespoke three-piece suit by Tom Ford.
Menswear by Margaret Howell and Claire Malcolm of Hardy Amies will be on display at the reception, alongside designs by Christopher Raeburn, the winner of the emerging talent in menswear award at the most recent British Fashion Awards.
Prince Charles's role was a sign of more than just a wish to capitalise on jubilee fever. The Savile Row tailoring tradition and a drive to promote British craftsmanship are a key part of the message of this fashion week. Those steering the event are keen to move the image of British designer menswear on from the creative-but-crazy label and into more commercial territory.
This is a shift which has been successfully made in womenswear, where the London collections are now a slick and respected element of the global industry rather than an eccentric afterthought.
Writing in Vogue two years ago, Prince Charles demurred from being labelled "fashionable", but acknowledged "there have been those generous enough to call me well dressed". The prince is a longtime customer of the shirtmakers Turnbull & Asser, whose shirts are made in a small factory in Gloucestershire, and the distinguished Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard.
"Clothes have to combine style with sustainability," writes the prince in the current issue of GQ magazine, "and I find British-made tailoring more than meets that challenge – much to the amusement of my staff, who are sometimes surprised to find that what I am wearing turns out to be as old as or even older than they are."
This week's showcase for British designer menswear hopes to capitalise on new findings which show that while women are cutting back on luxury fashion and spending more on high street purchases, men are prioritising luxury purchases.This week's showcase for British designer menswear hopes to capitalise on new findings which show that while women are cutting back on luxury fashion and spending more on high street purchases, men are prioritising luxury purchases.
Research by American Express shows that in 2011, men's year-on-year spending on luxury fashion grew slightly by 1%, while spending on mainstream fashion fell by 1.2%. In contrast, women cut back slightly (0.7%) on luxury fashion spending, while increasing spending on mainstream fashion by 5.2%. Research by American Express shows men's year-on-year spending on luxury fashion grew by 1% in 2011, while mainstream fashion spending fell by 1.2%. In contrast, women cut back slightly (0.7%) on luxury fashion, while increasing spending on mainstream fashion by 5.2%.