There were many undeniably eccentric and elegant traits that made the presentation of Hackett’s menswear collection for Autumn/Winter 2013 a very British affair. The decision to host the runway show in the crypt of St Paul’s cathedral, a much loved British monument located in the City of London (the financial centre of the United Kingdom, if not of Europe) was the perfect setting for a collection that evoked manifold representations of British sartorial taste.
The collection featured traditional shades of grey and navy (as befits conventional business garb), as well as prints such as checks, stripes and polka dots in colours and dimensions that have been ubiquitous in male tailoring for decades. However, the slim cut could not be more modern, and neither could the range of accessories such as weekend bags and totes made from tweed that matched coats and suits. Furthermore, a rich plethora of colours suggested a subtle invasion of casual dressing codes as a way to question the sobriety of traditional formal clothing, particularly with hues that stood out and enriched the collection, such as a rich caramel brown (in knitwear) and a vivid eggshell blue (in evening wear).

The diversity of rich wools and patterns was beguiling, particularly as the pieces were adroitly styled through a melange of checks in different scales with fairisle knits, and colours were combined in elegant and unexpected contrasts. In addition, the very skilful cropping of coats and slim trousers at just the right level between experimental and formal made the Hackett menswear collection for Autumn/Winter 2013 one of the most outstanding of the three days of London Collections: Men in January 2013.