Written by Menswear Style in Events on the 7th January 2014

Day 1 of LC:M 2014 was set to be a great one for us before it started. This season we’re partnered with the ultra-stylish Radisson Blu Edwardian, The Bloomsbury Street Hotel, as the official ‘Blogger in Residence’ and kindly equipped with our very own ‘Menswear Style lounge’ for the team to work from. 

The day started at 5am with ‘Sartorial 7’ filming for Reiss and ended with a ‘Bloggers Create’ party by Tateossian, which saw our recently designed bracelet launch online to the public. 

We were invited backstage to interview Jonathan Saunders and our founder was interviewed himself by Fashion Monitor and Fashion One TV. The MWS team were all out in force at the shows, presentations and evening parties... whilst dodging the rain. Here are our highlights for the first day:

Hardy Amies - with a near 70 year history, to go through their archives would be an amazing experience. The collection for AW14 I feel, did not disappoint. This was a lovely collection of well-cut suits and separates that brought many an outfit together with the simplest of designs, with the brands Savile Row roots clearly evident. In the form of a presentation; always a good idea to see collections Single breasted suits were the main theme with a strong presence of varying shades of grey and royal blue; whilst accessories were simple and of course masculine at the same time.

Louis Leeman - the autumn/winter presentation was a lesson in opulence courtesy of inspiration taken from the Grand Bazaar. Creative directors and designers Louis Leeman and Erica Pelosini didn't hold back on using luxurious fabrics and jewelled embellishments to communicate the message with sumptuous velvet and brocade evening slippers being the stand out pieces. Gilt-tipped loafers and iridescent high tops provided a more casual option, but the message was clear: more is definitely more.

Fashion East - a typically directional offer from the new lineup at Fashion East. Highlights included the dystopian nightmare of monochromatic grunge that is Liam hodges... classic military boots finished with metallic toecaps and a layering of alternative fabrics and statement overcoats. Genius use of duct tape to boot! 

Richard Nicoll - simple sleek collection of bright colour blocked outerwear and frilly prom shirts erred on the commercial side for Nicoll. A subtle yet welcome change in direction! Hero pieces this season would have to be in the teals and hot pinks, particularly the biker jacket and boxy overcoat.

Joseph Turvey - Joseph seems to have taken the collection to a more grown up place this season. Signature print techniques from Turvey have progressed with artful approaches to luxe fabrication. Look out for the baby pink lace bomber jacket and razor sharp tailoring, particularly a print powder blue number. Onwards and upwards Joseph! 

Lou Dalton - Lou's autumn/winter 2014 collection set the bar for contrasts and juxtapositions between fabric, texture and style. The protagonist in her story was a young farmhand, who needed clothing that worked hard, were comfortable, but bore the effects of working with chemicals and nature. Bleach splattered loose painter's trousers were paired with traditional knitted wool jumpers and the over-bleached, pale palette was a nod to a lifestyle that mainly took place under the elements. Overall, Lou Dalton's vision was well-executed, wearable and a great demonstration of versatility.

Xander Zhou - for this show we were covering both backstage with Sassoon and at the front with prime seats. Apart from the weird and creepy “atmospheric” music, the collection had some very strong outerwear pieces. Think classic wool overcoats with a whole new makeover in the shape of bright colours and unusual patterns. A contrast which was surprisingly quite wearable.

For the evening events we were invited to a cocktail party held by Mulberry at its flagship store on New Bond Street London. The event was to showcase Men’s Accessories from their Autumn Winter 2014 Main collection yet the room was surprisingly made up of 80% women. 

We also attended a Thomas Pink showcase and it was refreshing to see models of all ages being used to show-off their new tailoring collections.

LC:M Day 1 Highlights 2014 includes detailed reviews of all the shows and events that we attended on the first day of London Men's Fashion week.