Just when it seemed that fashion has successfully taken the image of the modern man and warped it into an emasculated, unshaven Indie groupie fully clad in muted hues of black; a determined group of onlookers decided to create a revolution against the new culture of fashion without style. We knew our savoir needed the strength of a superhero, the alluring charisma of a movie star, and most importantly: A style that was classic and fresh all at once.
The consensus was clear: Re-enter the gentleman onto the Vancouver street scene. He's the cliché all men wish they could be, but would need more fashion sense to get away with. With lines of casual going fashionable, such as the Gap's new focus on dress shirts for the fall it seems as Vancouver's majority become more and more interested in fashion, everyone's getting on board, and this season it seems like the Gentleman is the man to be.
Everything classy has popped up even into the most Indie fashion lines of today. Even Energie got on board with new elements of elegance on the runway. Moving away from their more typical rock and roll appearance and into something a little more clean cut, the rock star label gets a tune up by introducing bow ties and tuxedo shirts to their fall/winter collection and even including a waistcoat on their runway show! Kudos to Energie for not lagging behind the wave of class its older brother Diesel, who continues to do what it has done for years: make jeans. However, after the huge Indie movement of black jeans, can suit pants and other alternatives really be too far behind?
Leading the charge on its noble steed of course is Burberry, whose new line of high fashion necessities is ahead of the times in its usually gentlemanly standard. Clean, concise, and beautiful forms grace Burberry's new collection of ladies and men's wear for fall/winter 2008, such as new (and very popular) winter coats as well as their traditional scarves and beautifully cut suits. This season is sure to see the introduction to even more Burberry scarves and winter wear, if not those horrible chequered diaper bags that I personally am so tired of seeing.
So with fall and winter so dominated by class and elegance, perhaps it is time to re-analyze Vancouver and its fashions. Moving more towards European inspired designs now more then ever means that Vancouver is finally moving up the chain of fashion and may one day even be recognized as one of the most fashionable Canadian cities: so here's to hoping.
It appears that this season belongs to the gentleman, and in this writer's opinion it is about time. With the move of most industrious designers moving into this area, Vancouver's fashion IQ will hopefully improve. It looks like good news for the gurus of style on the streets.
