Richard James AW14

For Saville Row veteran Richard James, slicked-back hair and ankle-cropped suits signalled a collection dedicated to the ultimate masters of sartorial subversion, the teddy boys. Although comfortably familiar now, the tailored formulas churned out by the designer paid homage to a youth subculture defined by an unconventional American-British sensibility.

Nowhere was this source of inspiration more articulately conveyed than through a traditionally British Prince of Wales check suit, styled with an open collar and set against a jazz-age cravat with matching pocket-square. Elsewhere, velvet was tailored to a young and reckless agenda; elongated jackets with tapered trousers paraded the runway and scorching coloured accents updated 50’s-style flannel ensembles. An electric blue biker chucked over a pair of straight-leg selvedge jeans was a clear nod to this season’s Americana roots and, easy to visualise on the pages of men’s magazines teamed with ripped jeans and a bad attitude, proof that the established Londoner is more than in touch with a young demographic.

Shape was distorted and convention was uprooted, but in typical Richard James fashion, all remained within the gentrified customs of Saville Row. For a label that was once at the heart of Cool Britannia, the label’s Autumn / Winter presentation was a calling to an equally stubborn time long-forgotten by many but essential to the progression of 20th century menswear.

Robbie Hodges