Ken's Eye View: Fall/Winter 2016 Menswear Trends-Part 1

The guys are back! This time around, I'm presenting the menswear trend reports in slightly different fashion. Instead of providing a look at each men's fashion week as they occur (six months in advance), I decided to simplify everything by sharing a general summary of all four cities over two posts. And, I'm running this trend report to coincide with the season that is before us. In part one, I focus on "urbanwear" and more "off-the-beaten-track" clothes. This is the type of casual gear best suited for the lifestyles and aesthetics of younger men. Don't worry if none of this appeals to you (or your dolls) because the next post is menswear for "the rest of us." If you have male fashion dolls, I'm assuming yours, like mine, have a variety of different tastes.

Color Me Cool
The first thing you'll notice with most of the clothes on this page is how large everything is. From T-shirts and jackets to trousers and coats, everything is supersized, loose and easy, allowing for freedom of movement in a fast paced world where young men skate board, bicycle, hover board and ninja hop, skip and jump to their start-up workplaces. The look is young at heart and not afraid of color or standing out in a crowd. With this generation of young menswear, you can go crazy with graphics, customized painted effects, even color blocking! Have fun. Go crazy. Life is just a comic book!!!

Livin' Large
There's always a time and place for neutrals. You'll likely to find them in outerwear cut in generous proportions that easily slide over super-sized casual wear. Extra large coats, parkas and quilted ponchos will be BIG!!!

Below, Renaud was immediately attracted to a supersized wool coat, cut so large, it's practically a cocoon!

Tough and Tattered
Size is not the only thing that matters. Rough cut texture is the key to urban warrior chic. Cover a jacket with ripped strips. Fray the edges of an unlined wool coat. Nothing is polished. Nothing is finished. The look is brutally ripped, shattered, raw, tough!

 

Here's Marcus is a shaggy edged coat with a fur-trimmed hood. Again, the key to this look is that it is cut large and long and has plenty of texture. The pattern is based on the straight basic coat with a hood attached.



My Way

Wide and narrow, short and long.....extremes are incorporated within the same look. These is the new aesthetics for the 21st century. Everything is chunky, slick, slightly off-kilter, super-original. In other words....Mr. Diva ignores the rules and does it his way!

Off the Beaten Track

With no rules in place, you can have just as much fun with Ken as you do with Barbie...without reserve. Translation: feel free to paint flowers on a suit, create a coat in the image of a giant checkerboard or add a dash of embroider to a classic jacket in a non-classic color! Get creative. Do your own thing. Have fun. Anything goes!

Midnight in Manhattan

A basic black theme...here designers explore the thick and thin of styles.  We liked how a soft overcoat is cut from a classic pinstriped wool fabric. We also like the chunkier look of great big pleats that tumble from the shoulders of a priest's coat. And we like everything in between including the layering of a straight jacket over a sweater over a narrow pair of rolled up jeans....all with a touch of fringe!

Yeezy

I will be perfectly honest. When looking through all of New York's fashion shows, I ignored Kanye West because at first glimpse, I was not impressed. There was so much hoopla over this show (by Mr. West) which was presented at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Critics applauded the music but panned the clothing, calling it nothing more than hype used to promote Kanye's real talent...music. Whether it's my taste or not...whether I understand it or not, I believe fashion is about change....for the better or worse. I will often choose garments I don't necessary like, as a way to try and understand the thought process behind the design. Given the aesthetics of today's "streetwear," Yeezy is as valid as anything else we see on today's market. But is it true design? West says everyone will be dressed like this in 5 years. West says he's the greatest thing since Hermes. He says his wife Kim Kardashian is as talented as Chanel!  Does he really have a voice in the evolution of design? I have my opinion. I will let you form your own.

Here I've put Yeezy within the context of similar looks by two world class fashion houses. All looks are wide, flat and street smart. Below, Loic wears a version of the Yeezy sweater made from a man's sweat sock!

Coming up next: Menswear Trends Part 2.

All photos and images, property of Fashion Doll Stylist. 2016.


Follow us on Twitter: @FashDollStylist
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/FashDollStylist
We're also on Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/FashDollStylist
Come show us you stuff on Instagram: www.instagram.com/fashiondollstylist