Marni And Me

H&M's recent collaboration with Marni has equipped me with a wealth of inspiration. Versace was the jazzy Jamaican obsession last year, but this turn of high fashion is a much fresher and modern cut. The shirts have a stroke of minimalism about them, where ice pastel colours meet sharp and static collars. The parka jacket recruitment is a particular attention grabber, with oversized construction and strong colours meeting with postman shorts. The perfect tease and introduction to the Spring for me. I've put together a charity shop collage in the Marni mindframe, with a warm yellow countryside jacket on top of a ribbed green jumper.

LFW Menswear, Misfits and Mr Gandy's

This seasons menswear immersion was one of the strongest signs of style innovation I've seen to date in London. Where I personally found a lot of the womenswear touching on dull and lost in repetition, the men were all about the future, adventure, and wherever the f**k they wanted to take their aesthetics! James Long took aran knits to arctic animalistic knots and levels, with jumpers and scarfs inextricably linked. The 'inside out' appeal was on show again in his collection, with nettle firecracker texture and intricate gold shirt designs that looked like scientific experiments. Christopher Shannon took his urban sport persona to a heavier industrial but equally romantic level, where rucksacks looked like a thunderstorm of metal, prints were a black and white tapestry, and 'factory worker' slouched style came into play with dangling cardigans surgically stitched to the statement jumper for double trouble. Oliver Spencer then offered the sophistication of the day with earthy suits mixed up with unconventional cardigans and bright colours darting behind a rusty waistcoat. I was at Somerset House proudly representing the Citizens of Farah campaign, and the Oliver Spencer collection certainly reminded me of the Farah swagger. The teasing half opened lumberjack shirts, the pastel and playful shirts, and not to mention the east-end beards all made for a heavy dosage of 'the Farah man' in my opinion. And of course the crowd were just as cutting edge and delicious, from David Gandy to a cheeky member of The Misfits.

Make sure you head to Citizen of Farah's facebook page to enter yourself into the search for the next faces of their upcoming campaign. It's too good to miss! And check out my Twitter awakening by following me HERE!

Sweeney Todd

One of my favourite collections from New York Fashion Week was Robert Geller. I absolutely loved the cable knit countryside gent with a devilish and sinister side. The way patent and leather creeps out under the sweaters has something intimidating and attractive about it, with a sophisticated schizophrenic coming to mind! Taking a touch of inspiration from this, my look plays around with patent, tough studs and drop crotch tux trousers. I also wanted to share a video of my friends recent collection. Her presentation at London Fashion Week was last night and I can't heighten enough how she's destined to be the Demeulemeester of the UK!

CHARLIE MAY AW12 from Polymath films on Vimeo.

The Tuck Shop

It's valentines, so I've decided to fix up and look sharp for this post. Tucking in shirts has become a little tuck-shop addiction recently; maybe it's because I buy vintage prints that are XL in size, but I like giving an air of sophistication to these offbeat designs. Below is a copper burnt shirt with egyptian myths and Gucci-ism about it, and a Liberty shirt with misty clouds that look to be moving when the material crinkles and twists. This might just be the vibe I abide by at London Fashion Week in a few days...

Also, be sure to click on the Stylegun link on the right, as they're offering a rather fancy £50 off voucher to you readers! Call it my valentine treat!

Given To The Wild

I've got quite a busy month in the mix which I'm looking forward to. A Bafta event hosted by Hackett, a photoshoot and interview for a future issue of The Metro, my birthday, oh, and fashion week of course! London is being bullied by snow at the moment though, so last week I headed back to the countryside for the little luxuries in life such as a fire! Throwing on layers resulted in a trial and error vibe that looked like Glastonbury in the winter season. An oversized farmer parka, torn apart jeans with tough blood doc martens made for rainbow appeal that could conquer the cold and grey tones I usually abide by. I've also included a little editorial with rusty countryside charm. To get the winter festival grunge-get-up, there's a few must-haves of mine from Scotts. Scotts sell a Duffer of St George jacket which has colour blocking parka intensity, a Nicholas Deakins quilted jacket looks earthy and industrial at the same time, a Penguin cable knit jumper always pops when in a rich and bright blue, and my method with rust red chinos these days is to reconstruct them in a high waisted way.

Feel To Follow

This post is a marriage of trends and tastes. First up is an in-your-face jumper from the graphic masters at YourEyesLie. The simple but loud design has been the comfiest jumper friend of mine while the ice city air stings the heart. With punk patchwork jeans and a patent coat, the look is an aggressive way of keeping toasty until Spring kicks in. In other outfit news, I've popped home for a couple of days to tie in with my upcoming birthday, and my Dad charmed me with a vintage ceremonial blazer. A slim fitting version is still on my wish-list, but I've always got time for an oversized grunge-war vibe. And finally, while a little belated seeing as menswear fashion week has passed, my love for the recent eclectic Comme Des Garcons collection is still just as strong. The conceptual pirate hats, erratic tapestry blazers, sharp structure skirts and teasing textures made for something seriously unique!

An Atlas & A Backpack

One of my favourite reinvention trends to hit the high street was the rucksack. Gone are the days of the bulky bag that claws uncomfortably, as the modern man accessory is now an eccentric and luxe must that calls for a sense of atlas adventure. From gritty military tones featured in my Men's Health gallery, to Aztek prints and indulging in strong crayon colours, there's a rucksack for every taste and outfit these days. I'm on the lookout for an androgynous black one like the b store example below, but for now my tapestry rucksack has a youthful spice of bohemian fun to bring colour into the occasion. P.S I also wanted to wish a happy birthday to my wonderful mum!