Block Paving

In more than a handful of shows this season have we seen solid blocks of colour paving the way in the fashion stakes. The current trend adds interesting shape and form to the human figure and really breaks up the silhouette and serving to highlight particular sections of the male form.

As a loftier fellow, having horizontal blocks of colour running across my body certainly helps break up my frame, subconsciously making me look broader (never a bad thing) and dare I even say it, less ‘lanky’ as I am often titled.

It has been used in many forms across the season, some choosing to have only two colours with one predominant darker shade covering the whole body over several pieces and then one block of colour highlighting a stark contrast to the rest of the outfit as seen at Raf Simons (above). Look how it highlights the model’s shoulders and arms, oh to wear a garment that made my arms so bulked and empowered! What I really love is how it detracts from the less flattering areas and highlights a man’s natural ‘V’ , with the clever use of a belt to aid the effect. Giving a modern day herculean physique all in one coat! How clever! The white is made of neoprene, a fabric becoming more and more common in high-fashion after ‘those’ neoprene trenches by Burberry a few seasons ago.

Elsewhere, the outlandish use of fabrics and bright colours really broke up the block muted tones of other shows. Christopher Shannon, a fine exponent of fabrics and colours, used many different hues stacked all the way down the torso. Snatching my attention on the catwalk with such vivid eye-catching blocks. What a delight it would be to parade so bright and loud down the street, drawing the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahhs’ that he received during his show.

One of my favourite examples of block colouring came again from Raf Simons but this time under the guise of Jil Sander’s name. The coat (as seen below) is a thing of such beauty that it leaps straight to the top of my wish-list (Winter Wardrobe). The use of different shape instead of blocks adds such intrigue and reminds me of joyous times by the seaside filling those tiny bottles with different coloured sands, this is a suggestion and memory I long to wrap around my torso and warm me against the winter chill.

(NB I know, as the more eagle-eyed of you will have no doubt noticed I've mentioned the above coat and Jil Sander's and Raf Simons collections twice in as many posts, but trust me, their work and collections make it OK! But I will avoid such blatant endorsements of one man in such a short space of time again!)