Jacket Required SS15 Review

A couple of weeks ago I headed down to the capital to attend the menswear tradeshow, Jacket Required, which was previewing the SS15 season. Last summer was the first time I'd attended the show, and a year on things have certainly grown in scale. They've upgraded their location from Bloomsbury House (see Jacket Required SS14 here + here) to The Truman Brewery on Brick Lane, giving much more space showcase menswear and accessories brands from around the world.

This time I asked Nik to tag along - willing he stepped up with the promise of free beer and great chat.

SS14 Style with Citizen

Trends hey, they're tricky things. It's been quite a while since I shopped exclusively on the high street - with each shop offering its own interpretation on this season's "popular" pieces. As I get older these predetermined trends matter less and less, but no matter what level of brand you sway towards you can still spot themes within those collections; be that in the way of prints, colours, fits or materials. Printed bucket hats a-plenty this year right?

I buy most of my clothes online; for ease and the sheer amount of choice. Twitter has became my favourite tool to discover new products, recommendations and gain opinions from friends. You'd be surprised how much interest one pair of trainers can get at 11 p.m! So for today's post I've teamed up with Citizen, to show you the styles I'll be wearing this Spring/Summer season; accompanied by a selection of watches from their brand new DRIVE Collection.

Wearing - YMC Coach Jacket, c/o Reiss Sweatshirt, Supremebeing Sweatpants, Uniqlo Socks, Nike Flyknit, c/o Citizen Eco-Drive Watch, Ray-Ban Wayfarers.

My day-to-day look usually consists of Sports + Streetwear, mixed with American classics and British casual brands. This first outfit has to be the comfiest I've ever worn - Sportwear is a big deal these days, and I've been on the hunt for a pair of sweatpants that don't make me look like a hungover student or sweaty gym-rat. This dark green pair by Supremebeing tick all the boxes - heavyweight, fleece-lined and well constructed. Check the added silicon-dipped cord too, nice touch. 

The Reiss sweatshirt works nicely with the pants, along with the YMC Giraffe print Coach Jacket and the Nike Flyknit Lunar 1+.  Worn here is the Citizen Eco-Drive AR, my favourite design out of the collection.

 

Wearing - J.Crew Shirt, Levi's T-Shirt, Dickies Shorts, TRiCKETT x Ebbets Baseball Cap, Northern Goods Co. Key Clip, Vans Slip, c/o Citizen Eco-Drive Watch (Rhodia Notepad, Lamy Pen).

It's been warm enough for shorts up in Lancashire recently, so I took the opportunity to get down to the beach + local park to shoot the second outfit. This look is my nod to American Sportswear, which I've been a collector of for a few years. The baseball cap is not just any old baseball cap; it's a custom-made design for TRiCKETT by Ebbets Field Flannels. TRiCKETT is based just down the road from me in Accrington, Lancashire, so I wear their team colours with pride!

Not so much a trend but chambray shirts are something of a staple for me, this J.Crew version is top of the playing card for me. Along with Dickies fresh take on camo, classic Vans Slip and the Citizen BRT watch, it makes it the perfect look for summer.

Wearing - Carharrt Shirt, Levi's T-Shirt, Universal Works Trousers, Uniqlo Socks, Converse 70's First String,
Crumpler Camera Bag, c/o Citizen Eco-Drive Watch

I've always had affinity towards bold colours and patterns, although I'm not quite ready for the co-ords like Kristabel yet. In fact, I've got a decent collection Hawaiian shirts, remember this Levi's one from last year? Some would say they're better left to the beach but I've never had that problem, again I think in comes from my obsession of Americana and having spent a lot of time in Florida.

This Carharrt button-down has more of a palm tree vibe that your classic Hawaiian, which I'm really digging. To carry on the American theme I decided to wear it with these red Converse, which are a 1970's reissue; featuring a bunch of original details. To add a bit of British interest I chose these regular fit navy trousers by another of my favourite brands Universal Works. The Perfect baguette smuggling partner.

As a bit of a treat we're giving one of these watches away very soon, thanks to our friends at Citizen! Look out for that one shortly. Is there any trends that you're getting into for this SS or are you more like me and tend to stick with what you know?

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The Polarity Paradox - LS:N Global Trend Briefing SS14

                                                                 Where Panama City's 'Red Devil' buses go to die.

It’s the job of some people to think of the future. What will people buy, what will people wear, and what will people eat? The only way to do this is to look at the rise of current phenomena and try and establish which, if any, will become more relevant in the future. This is what the guys at TheFuture Laboratory do - and in doing so they throw up some very interesting things.

I was fortunate enough to have a ticket to their Global Trend Briefing in London, which focused on…

- The ‘Convergence Economy’ - that ‘silos’ in our lives are collapsing, that the difference between shopping, entertainment, products, and hospitality is no longer clear.

- The ‘Flat Age Society’ - that increasingly people don’t look, act, or feel old.

- The ‘Polarity Paradox’ - that people are abandoning the middle ground and instead living and moving between temporary extremes.

...and the impact that these trends have on the world of fashion, design, technology, food, and retail.

An alcohol free 'mocktail' bar, Redemption, Notting Hill, London.

Aside from a few statements out of kilter with reality - cows are in fact indirectly fed on petrol, it’s not just a terrifying vision of the future; and I’m not sure how many OAPs actually holiday in Burma - the majority of the ideas they presented were spellbinding and a real insight into what the reality of tomorrow is likely to hold.

 Predicting the future of personal device design, from Dor Design.

For many in the audience, the interest will have been in the fusion of technology and fashion. With their FuelBand, Nike are clearly leading the way, but it won’t be long before brands like Apple and Samsung shower us with items we want to use for their function and wear for their style. Google’s recently announced tie-upwith Ray-Ban is proof of that idea.

 Jun Takahashi designed Nike running gear.

For me, there was a particular interest in the concepts surrounding the future of food: Wolvesmouth in LA with their roadkill dinners looked unbelievable, but true; while Redemption Bar in Notting Hill - a no alcohol bar - is firmly on the ‘to visit’ list.

I’m sure Mat, with his love of travel will be really interested in Jungles in Paris and War Zone Tours. Incredible companies that offer an insight - virtual or actual - in to amazing parts of the world, untouched by tourists due to conflict, negative publicity, or purely remoteness.

The number of brands attending was staggering and I’m excited to see if/when they begin to develop products, clothes, and meals that match the ideas on show here. - Nik.

You can find Nik on his blog,  Twitter + Instagram.

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Kitchen Design Trends For 2014

If you’re looking to renovate your kitchen in the New Year, it may be difficult knowing where to start as it’s such a key room of any home. That’s why we’ve gone behind the scenes and scoured the top interior design trends that are set to appear in the coolest of kitchens in 2014. Some of them are also surprisingly easy to achieve, too.

Open shelving systems

Gone are the days of hiding away your kitchen tableware in disorganised, messy cupboards. A new idea that seems to be everywhere at the moment involves banishing the cupboards completely, and displaying your things on shelves. Or, if you’re not quite feeling that brave, investing in some cabinets with glass doors is a good alternative, like this one from IKEA.

A dark colour palette

The perfect way to bring your kitchen bang up to date is to update the colouring. Monochrome kitchens are as relevant and stylish as they always have been, with an extra emphasis on black and grey set to distinguish it into 2014. Keep things fresh and airy in an otherwise dark room with a good source of natural light, so perhaps consider renovating your windows with companies like www.anglianhome.co.uk/windows

Casual dining islands

Islands are an additional, interesting modern feature of any multipurpose kitchen. They’re increasing in popularity rapidly due to providing an extra dining space, or simply just extra worktop space. However, avoid installing an island if your kitchen is small as it can make the room feel cluttered and smaller than it is.

Hardwood flooring

Classic flooring will accentuate any room, and designers have really used this element to improve the kitchen for 2014. Don’t be afraid to team dark solid wood flooring with dark cabinets and walls – it just means you have to keep things airy and modern with light fittings. Although good wooden flooring can be quite expensive, it’s worth thinking about the fact that it has timeless appeal and will last for decades.

Black appliances

The great thing about black appliances is that they will never feel dated, unlike their more ‘out-there’ coloured rivals. Whilst red, orange or purple kettles, toasters and microwaves might seem light a great idea at the time, sticking to a sensible black option doesn’t mean that it’s boring – it means that it will stand the test of time and keep your kitchen looking modern for much longer. Display your attractive appliances too, instead of storing them away, to add an element of homeliness to the room as well as interior design points.

Colour pop tiles

If the dark colours of 2014 don’t fill you will enthusiasm, it’s not all doom and gloom. Why not invest in a few colour popping, contrasting tiles for main focal points of the room? They look great above sinks and ovens for example. Colours to go for to stay on trend include green, blue and yellow. Be sure to not overdo it though, and only use it in a couple of ways to avoid losing the clean cut style of the darker room. 

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This post is in collaboration with Anglian Home.

Thinking About Colour

 I was somewhat inspired by Carl Kleiner's work this morning and decided to mess around with some colour combinations. Nothing ground breaking of course but I thought it was quite a nice idea, it makes it easier to see good (and bad) colour combos. I'm think about painting the outside of our house you see, not that I'm going to go crazy but I wouldn't mind trying two different colours.

The warm weather screws up my wardrobe, I'm more of a cool weather kind of guy. I usually end up wearing a plain coloured t-shirt or shirt and jeans/trousers but I guess that's what works for me. It does leave my feeling pretty frustrated though.

How do you guys still manage to feel good about summery outfits? I'm probably thinking too much about it.

Inspiration - Andrew Kuo

I'm not the best at organising my life, I'm quite scattered but I hide it well. If only I could organise my thoughts as well as Andrew Kuo. I mentioned that I bought his book last week and for anything who is into graphics, colour, interesting social commentary or if you have a fondness towards graphs I seriously recommend his work. His book Worry Me What is seriously creative and witty, two thumbs up.

Sunday: 2 Pictures

The Pleasure Beach at 11:14pm

Power Plant near Nottingham

I only took two decent photos last week as I didn't really have much spare time. It's quite weird that you don't really take much notice of things on your door step. I have lived at the seaside all my life and been to the Pleasure Beach tones of times but the place is so damn interesting, especially at night time. Plus it brings so much money into my home town, the area is on the rise. The whole seafront has been regenerated and now I hear that contractors are planning on restoring the Victoria entertainment theatre, the Winter Gardens.

The other image is cold and ugly but I can't help like harsh buildings and architecture, do you know what I mean? I took that when I was on a uni trip to see the Trend Briefing by The Future Laboratory, which was amazing. We were presented with new and emerging social/media/technology trends and happenings for the next 10 years, it was pretty epic.

A Chilling Spring / Summer 10

We're not even into our proper Autumn yet here, it's getting colder but not really enough to pull the scarf and gloves out(though I have bought several new items in preparation). Not that I want it to hurry up to get warmer but it's nice to look ahead and see what trends will be trickling down to the high street. Looking through a few collections it's plain to see that coppers, metallics, icy sheers, silvers/golds and iridescent are dominating. Fashion156 have done a round up of all the emerging trend here.

Strong collections featuring these qualities are James Long, Katie Eary, Mark Jacobs, Fendi and Hugo by Hugo Boss:

Hugo by Hugo Boss s/s 2010 offerings. The icy blues with white is one of my favourite looks of the season.

Perfectly fitting tailored trousers, striped blazers and long vests are paired with some wicked looking sandals.

Icy whites and deep navys are matched with unexpected gold coin embellished sections and trims (lets call the exaggerated trimmings).

How brilliant are the gold sections, I just know if I tried something like this at home it would turn out terrible, and I guess that's why I'm not a machinist! I can see the theme coming through in some of the high street shops but not so much the shiny golds for me, well maybe some questionable attempts in Zara.

Images from Vogue.uk