Selfridges Showcase In Association With GQ Essentials

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Selfridges Spring/Summer 2011 Showcase

A couple of weeks ago I managed to find myself in Manchester. Not only that, I found myself in a flood of fashion bloggers/editors/writers/blaggers as well. I’d been invited to the Exchange Square for the Selfridges tour of their Spring/Summer 2011 menswear and the variety of clothes and trends that were about to become available was truly staggering.

Now Selfridges is a shop that we all hope to one day have the money to shop at. They cover all the bases when it comes to designers – the good, the bad and the ugly – and they generally try to make shopping as much fun as possible. It was H. Gordon Selfridge himself who coined the term “the customer is always right” so what else would expect from his self-titled retail shop?

The preview ran for about 30 minutes, sandwiched between two wonderful bar breaks where pretty much everyone I spoke to was chatting away about the ideas and inspiration they had for their planned S/S wardrobe. In case you were wondering; coloured chinos, double denim and soft tailoring were the three topics that tended to come up the most and cause nodding of heads in agreement.

Event Pictures

Selfridges Menswear Event Manchester 2011

Selfridges Spring/Summer Trends

But what had Selfridges decided on as its key trends for the coming months? Well, here are my three favourites that were on display:

Embrace Colour

Something I’ve really taken to heart for the coming months and have been covering in my recent men’s basics articles. The key here is going with a statement piece in a bold colour and then using the rest of the outfit to anchor that colour. That can be done using a neutral colour such as black or grey but it is equally as easy to achieve with a complimenting colour.

For example, if you are wearing a bright yellow polo shirt why not try anchoring it with some navy blue chino shorts? Blue is a complimenting colour to yellow but by using it in a darker shade it helps to reign in the bold yellow.

Must reads:

At Selfridges:

Example Outfit From Online Retailers:

The Riveria Rocks

This was a big one last time around and there are plenty of articles on the subject all over fashionbeans already [see below]. The main feature of this look to remember is tailoring. Whether that be blazers, chinos, shirts or shorts make sure everything is of a slim silhouette that is close to the body.

Must Reads:

Life’s A Beach

Bold prints are the word! The same rule applies here for bold colours though. Make sure the rest of your outfit is in plain colours so as not to distract from the pattern you are wearing. Look for thin line shirts in Hawaiian, floral and puzzle patterns and maybe even find yourself a thin cotton scarf to accessorise with.

Good Reads:

Best Of The Rest

Other looks on display were drawing inspiration from all over the place. There were 70s holiday outfits that were inspired by Dries Van Noten’s contemporary sportswear line as well as Marc Jacobs recent playful mixing of colour. Looks clearly inspired by the TV programme Rainbow were also available. I’ll admit I was sceptical at first with all that colour but I think the pieces being put forward by Jil Sander and Prada show that once you understand how to use colour, you can be the master of colour.

And finally, it was also confirmed that there would be exclusive launches from designers such as E.Tautz, Richard Chai for Penguin and Zegna Sport.

All I need to do now is find the money to justify buying all the clothes that were so tauntingly flaunted in front of me on that day.

Matt

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