As the seemingly endless images, videos, tweets, instagrams, and blog posts rapidly begin to accumulate from the International menswear showings, we thought it might be fun to cut through all the noise and list our favorites from London. Continue reading for our take on the stand-outs from the London collections…

First Impressions at Xander Zhou
It was made glaringly evident when Xander Zhou made his London runway debut last week in London that the designer understands the importance of making a good first impression. Initial opinions are often the most unyielding and ours of Zhou couldn’t be more favorable.

Entitled “Fleurdelism,” the designer’s vision for spring consisted of an understated and practically genderless luxury. Outerwear pieces were flanked on either side by voluminous sleeves which sometimes wrapped around the models bodies to double as scarves, and the otherwise classic footwear was elevated (literally) with a tough military-inspired ripple sole.

Our must-have look from the presentation also closed the show; a slouchy suit paired with a matching trench coat and scarf. Zhou proposed a new kind of suiting for the modern man; fully put-together, yet effortless. This is how we want to look next summer.

Katie Eary Does Glamorous Streetwear
If we were to line up the respective signature looks from each showing last week in London, without question, Katie Eary’s contribution would be one of the first to catch your eye. With her bold digital prints expertly walking the line between pattern and optical illusion, flashiness was not in particularly short supply.

But never one to rely solely on the ability of her clothing to attract attention, Eary’s directive for spring 2013 had the designer turning to the sea for inspiration. From the silk shirt printed with a water motif, to a hoodie adorned with octopus tentacles, each look screamed “summer!” at the top of its inanimate lungs.

The trappings of literal interpretation are often enough to deter the more cautious designers from taking the risk; however, Eary’s attempt couldn’t have been more successful. There was a requisite luxury in many of the pieces which featured lustrous pops of a baroque gold motif framing the underwater elements. With big risk comes a proportionately large gain, and in this case, coming out on top means getting our hands on at least one piece!

Nicole Farhi Takes to the Sea
With the aid of her menswear designer Massimo Nicosia, Nicole Farhi tackled seaside resort culture head-on with a collection inspired by a trip to Brighton she took six months earlier. Each look was inexplicably more perfect for the boardwalk than the next, with the designer’s subdued palette reminiscent of those glorious final summer days in September.

The silhouettes were distinctly designed for warm weather. But what we really liked was Farhi and Nicosia’s ability to winterize the slouchy t-shirts, high-cut shorts and trousers through textile. Garments were re-imagined in everything from knitwear and almost luminescent chambrays to transparent underwear fabrics.

The designers’ exploration of textiles originally intended for undergarment constructions comes as no surprise considering their collaboration with English heritage underwear brand, Sunspel. Printed boxer short fabrics were cut into a traditional trouser or a button-up collarless shirt absolutely ideal for sharp but easy dressing – and it’s safe to say the collection was an easy favorite of attendees in London as well!

What have been some of your SS2013 Menswear favorites so far? Comment below…

- James Lavapie