TOPMAN Design has been a mainstay of the London Men’s Collections since its first season, when it launched in 2012. Since then, the high-end offering of the high street behemoth has consistently pushed out forward-thinking, trend driven collections, season after season.
Topman Design SS18
SS18 was no different. The Modern Romantics collection harks back to an era of ‘80s glitter punks, when the New Romantics reigned supreme. Biker motifs came up in the form of side-zip jackets, with exaggerated shoulder pads and motor racing black and white. Traditional suiting was subverted into biker jacket shapes also, whilst the faintest hint of acid wash gave us a gentle reminder that, no, the 90s still aren’t out of the zeitgeist.
Striped kimono-style coats paired with parachute pants in sumptuous soft grey cottons continued to blur gender-lines, while cropped jackets proved to be a recurring theme, seen before in previous collections.
Topman Design SS18
In terms of grooming, the team chose to smash gender boundaries – swipes of brightly coloured eyeshadow lit up the lids and under-eyes of the boys, whilst hair was gelled into a wet look style, or, my personal favourite, entirely covered in glitter.
It felt punky and showy and spectacular, and more interesting than a lot of the supposedly less mainstream collections showing at LFWM this season. Topman Design provides a fast-hit of fun and frivolity that London desperately needs in trying times such as these.
by Thomas Marrington
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