Gloverall AW15 at London Collections:Men

Gloverall is a truly British company making its products in the UK, many in London. I intend to cover them at a future date, so will just show some images here. Well known for their duffel coats and other outer wear, they also produce casual wear in the form of jackets and knitwear.

The favourite piece for me in their AW15 collection was the quilted grey herringbone check Abraham Moon & Sons tweed jacket (above and detail immediately below) that would be ideal for those chillier days when you don't want to carry a coat. More to come. See Gloverall.

London Collections:Men SS15 - Grey Fox's picks

I didn't get to any big shows at London Collections:Men, so was able to spend some time delving into the brands on display in the Designer Showrooms, both ready to wear and accessories. I find it very exciting seeing the creativity and enterprise on display among the smaller labels; some new, some not; some made in the UK, some not - all with great ideas.

There were many labels that caught my eye; here is a quick pick of their SS15 collections. I hope to write about many in more detail in future. Where possible, I have given the brand's website so you can contact them to find out more.

TOBEFRANK of England

A young brand priding itself on the traditions of British menswear. I met the founder, Frank Phillips, and a lady who knits her knitwear from wool from her own flock of Jacob sheep - what a great story, and one I'd like to cover in more detail soon. See Tobefrank's website.

INDEFINITELY WILD

This collection of British-made men's shirts will not appear until SS15, but the quality and design are superb. Again, I hope to tell you more soon. Meanwhile see the Indefinitely Wild website here.

JAEWAN PARK

I've spoken about this designer before - his beautifully tailored jackets, with clever and humorous twists on conventional designs, are a joy to behold. Look carefully at the lapel of this pinstripe jacket... 

UNIVERSAL WORKS

Well-established now, but a firm favourite of mine. See Universal Works.

GLOVERALL

An established British-made brand making a comeback - I hope to cover Gloverall in a future post.

MR START

I liked the clean lines and beautiful fabrics of this collection, about which I know little. I will remedy that and write more about them on the blog soon. I loved this wool and silk summer jacket (with matching trousers) in this rather poor iPhone shot, but hope you get the idea - it could have been made for me. See Mr Start.

MAKE YOUR ODYSSEY

An interesting young brand with some lovely beach/summer wear. I'm waiting to hear from them with more information and images, meanwhile, here's one from my iPhone that will give an idea. Website here, but seemed not to work when I last tried. 

MARWOOD

A favourite of mine and I've talked about them before. Outstanding design and British manufacture. See Marwood's website.

ALICE MADE THIS

Alice makes beautiful men's accessories, in particular cuff links and pins, like the exquisite example below, in England using traditional techniques and her product design experience. See Alice Made This website.

CAMPBELL COLE

Campbell Cole's leather bags and accessories are objects of design and manufacturing perfection; beautifully-made and presented. A young brand that we will hear much more of. For more information, see Campbell Cole's website.

John Lewis AW13 - a preview - in a word, WOW!

John Lewis's Autumn/Winter 2013

Being a blogger has helped me work out what I like and don't like. British, tweedy, heritage, quality - all work for me. I recently had a preview of John Lewis's Autumn/Winter 2013 ranges (due in the shops later in the year) and, for me, they hit the spot.

I came away feeling very excited. Classics like this suit any age - and are ideal for the middle-aged man of style - I'd love some of them for myself.

British-made heritage and classics

The John Lewis & Co range continues to develop each year and includes British-made garments and fabrics from Abraham Moon and Harris tweed. For AW13 it's inspired by twentieth century explorers and contains and some beautiful chunky knitwear. There are also waxed fabrics and workmanlike shirts, including one whose pattern is based on a pack of cards found in Scott of the Antarctic's base camp (see below). 

Joe Casely-Hayford, Private White VC, Barbour, Gloverall

There are some really mouthwatering designer collaborations. Unfortunately, Autumn sees JL's last with Joe Casely-Hayford, but they have worked with Private White VC, Barbour and Gloverall to produce very tempting products. One of my favourites is a shearling and butter-soft leather flying jacket from Goodwood by Belstaff (pictured below. Chocks away! This one will fly off the shelves). 

Another favourite is Gloverall's union jack-lined duffel coat. Having owned a vintage Royal Navy duffel coat, I immediately recognised the pattern that Gloverall has used for this - taped reinforcing seams and rough cord loops for buttoning up the wooden toggles. The feeling of quality and heritage is reinforced by a union flag lining; not printed, but strongly stitched from individual red, white and blue pieces - outstanding. This coat accompanies a tweed jacket with a similar lining. I just hope there is one of these left for me when they hit the shops.

There's also the remarkable Manchester-made pieces from Private White VC. Quite honestly, I was like a kid in a sweet shop - when they come up for sale I won't know what to go for.

I'll be writing more nearer the time (we don't really want to think about next winter when this one is only just releasing its grip), so will leave you with some images to tickle your taste buds. The John Lewis and Co products come first, followed by collaborations (images below by Grey Fox).