As London Collections: Men wraps it’s fourth season closure to overwhelming success, chairman to the event and GQ editor, Dylan Jones praises the talent and emerging talent introduced through the 3 day event.
Reflecting upon previous seasons, Jones praises this years subtleties, revealing “In previous seasons we had a tent pole of a personality to head it up – from the Prince of Wales to David Cameron to Boris Johnson,” he says. “This season we wanted to take a step back and see if it ran with its own momentum, and it really was the best season ever: great buyers, great press, fantastic parties.”
Attributing a large contribution of the show’s success to the addition of Burberry in the third season, Jones emphasises that “missing a Burberry show just isn’t done. But it’s not just about having it here, it’s about the scale and ambition of what they’ve done with the show – it’s as good as any show that you’d see anywhere in the world.”
Adding a refreshing number of upcoming designers to the spotlight, the London Collections: Men show presented a refined repertoire of classic designer and new faces, including Tom Ford, McQueen, Lou Dalton, Katie Eary, Rake and Richard James. A stressful task bringing together such a distinguished selection of designers, Jones retains the organisation wasn’t easy, stating,
“We were inviting people to an event they’d never been asked to consider before, so we had to make it fun, as well as making good business sense to designers and all the ancillary people – car companies, productions companies, make-up artists, models,” says Jones.
Nevertheless, the event was praised for it’s precision for timing, organisation, and all-round efficiency, with Jones affirming “there was a sense of competition, which was brilliant.” though he admits, “The difficult season was the second one,” says Jones.
“There is always that worry that, rather like raising money for charity, people will feel ‘I’ve done that – I’ve given.’ But this week has proved that we exist now. We’ve been proud of every season, but this one felt like we’re really going strong. Of course there are problems – there is the discussion about dates coinciding with Pitti, but it’s not an insurmountable problem, it’s certainly one we can fix.”
For more coverage of London Collections: Men, visit GQ.com.
