Leading British high-street men’s label TopMan’s autumn/winter collection celebrates individuality and draws inspiration from trendy youth culture. CHEONG PHIN writes.

Richardson showing us a new cardigan design from the Autumn 2008 collection.

50s rockability meets London’s underground clubbing scene in Shambles collection.

The intellectual and preppy look of Writers Block theme.

YOUTH subcultures are often defined or distinguished by elements such as fashion and certain behavioural traits that are reflected in specific music genre and what is popularly known as street-dressing styles.

Punk, grunge and gothic scenes are just some of the myriad subcultures that have emerged and are major influences on popular culture today, inspiring fashion designers and retailers in their relentless search for ideas in creating their seasonal collections.

Leading British high-street men’s label TopMan caters to a growing market of “young consumers” or “Generation Y” and as a result, the pulsating spirit and self-expression of youth culture bear significant influences in its seasonal Autumn/Winter 2008 collection that was shown to the media at the Royal Academy of Arts in London earlier this year.

“Our core customers are young lads and mainly students and they are the reason why our printed T-shirts are always our bestsellers,” said Gordon Richardson, design director of TopMan at the launch.
“We design with them in mind but that does not necessarily mean that the older man does not wear our clothes. Age group is no barrier here. Our brand simply represents what’s going on in fashion”.

The latest collection that celebrates individuality and youth with a contrasting mix of looser and slimmer silhouettes focuses on four distinct themes — Writers Block, Shambles, Block Heads and Fall Out.

Ranging from preppy to working class looks, each theme draws its inspiration from the diverse youth cultures of music, art, intellect and dissent to define some stimulating looks for the cool season.

Accessories in the form of textured scarves in various fabrics, oversized hats, bags and edgy footwear complete the look of each theme.

Writers Block is an eclectic trend mixed with themes of simplicity that borders on a matured and refined feel of the intellectuals.

The American beat generation of artists and novelists of the 1950s bebop era like Jack Kerouac are strong references for their preppy look of twin sets in the shape of either jacquard polos and birdseye knits or matching polo necks and updated cardigans.

The layering look continues with stab-stitch shirting worn underneath long line nylon macs and a choice of textured wool and linen mix scarves.

Together with oversized coloured beanie hats and twin pleat chinos that end on the ankle to reveal sharp footwear, they capture the season’s key “intellectual” look perfectly.

Music and its generated clubbing scenes are major forces in youth culture, prompting the Shambles theme to turn to the London’s current club scene as a source of inspiration for its collection.

Taking a lead from rock bands such as Babyshambles, Man Like Me and CSS, the look fuses 50’s rockability with underground band styling.

Look out for oversized ginghams and an attack of checks in flashes of colour worn with a predominantly black and white collection.

T-shirts are inspired by old album artwork such as Helter Skelter and Safe Attitude.

Faux shearling and fur lined denim jackets; double breasted hooded tops and check bomber jackets are matched with check shirts and straight leg jeans that are turned up at the ankle to highlight the heavy industrial boots. Easy-to-wear scarves and stud braces give an edgy finish to this range of teddy-boy-meets-underground-clubber looks.

As the cooler season sets in towards the end of the year, Blockheads takes on a more autumnal trend with influences from the American deep south.

With a colour palette of muted and rustic tones, the outer coats are longer while a narrow and elongated silhouette is created with lengthy bib front T-shirts worn underneath waistcoats and double breasted hand knit look cardigans.

A working class Dickensian gypsy look comes to mind when work-wear denim or painted canvas jeans are mixed with worn blanket check shirting and washed wool A-line coats or black padded donkey jackets (a typical British manual worker’s coat).

The trend is accentuated with a warm selection of fur hats and scarves, grey marl scarves and a mixture of tweed trainers.

In the 1970s, a group of musicians determined to create their individualistic musical environment cultivated punk. It was intrinsically a rebellion-through-music and emerged as a powerful subculture that has influenced music till today.

Fall Out, the final theme of this fashion collection, reflects a rebellion-through-dressing by looking back to an age where introverted individuals expressed their discontent and emotions of anger through their clothing.

The result is a heavy influence of military apparel and off-key details on smart and casual looks where variations of double breasted military coats are worn over simple shirting and asymmetrical hooded tops.

An element of protection is augmented with the introduction of jersey macs and bond edge long line coats twinned with coated skinny denim trousers and further enhanced with knitted balaclavas or oversized cable-knit scarves.

According to Sharene Chuah, senior buyer for TopMan merchandise here, “Writers Block” and “Shambles” are already rolling into the stores, with new items appearing almost every week.

Two new additions also debut in the accessories section this season — TopMan jewellery and shoes. The latter include easy-to-wear plimsoles which are ideal for our tropical climate.

In an effort to promote the key looks of the season and to create a trendy atmosphere in the store, all the sales promoters on the shop floor wear the latest seasonal items from the TopMan collection.

“They help portray the brand image effectively and are also a good source of inspiration to our customers,” explained Chuah.