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Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Ken's Eye View: Fall/Winter 2016 Menswear Trends-Part 1

The guys are back! This time around, I'm presenting the menswear trend reports in slightly different fashion. Instead of providing a look at each men's fashion week as they occur (six months in advance), I decided to simplify everything by sharing a general summary of all four cities over two posts. And, I'm running this trend report to coincide with the season that is before us. In part one, I focus on "urbanwear" and more "off-the-beaten-track" clothes. This is the type of casual gear best suited for the lifestyles and aesthetics of younger men. Don't worry if none of this appeals to you (or your dolls) because the next post is menswear for "the rest of us." If you have male fashion dolls, I'm assuming yours, like mine, have a variety of different tastes.

Color Me Cool
The first thing you'll notice with most of the clothes on this page is how large everything is. From T-shirts and jackets to trousers and coats, everything is supersized, loose and easy, allowing for freedom of movement in a fast paced world where young men skate board, bicycle, hover board and ninja hop, skip and jump to their start-up workplaces. The look is young at heart and not afraid of color or standing out in a crowd. With this generation of young menswear, you can go crazy with graphics, customized painted effects, even color blocking! Have fun. Go crazy. Life is just a comic book!!!

Livin' Large
There's always a time and place for neutrals. You'll likely to find them in outerwear cut in generous proportions that easily slide over super-sized casual wear. Extra large coats, parkas and quilted ponchos will be BIG!!!
Below, Renaud was immediately attracted to a supersized wool coat, cut so large, it's practically a cocoon!

Tough and Tattered
Size is not the only thing that matters. Rough cut texture is the key to urban warrior chic. Cover a jacket with ripped strips. Fray the edges of an unlined wool coat. Nothing is polished. Nothing is finished. The look is brutally ripped, shattered, raw, tough!
 
Here's Marcus is a shaggy edged coat with a fur-trimmed hood. Again, the key to this look is that it is cut large and long and has plenty of texture. The pattern is based on the straight basic coat with a hood attached.


My Way
Wide and narrow, short and long.....extremes are incorporated within the same look. These is the new aesthetics for the 21st century. Everything is chunky, slick, slightly off-kilter, super-original. In other words....Mr. Diva ignores the rules and does it his way!

Off the Beaten Track
With no rules in place, you can have just as much fun with Ken as you do with Barbie...without reserve. Translation: feel free to paint flowers on a suit, create a coat in the image of a giant checkerboard or add a dash of embroider to a classic jacket in a non-classic color! Get creative. Do your own thing. Have fun. Anything goes!

Midnight in Manhattan
A basic black theme...here designers explore the thick and thin of styles.  We liked how a soft overcoat is cut from a classic pinstriped wool fabric. We also like the chunkier look of great big pleats that tumble from the shoulders of a priest's coat. And we like everything in between including the layering of a straight jacket over a sweater over a narrow pair of rolled up jeans....all with a touch of fringe!

Yeezy
I will be perfectly honest. When looking through all of New York's fashion shows, I ignored Kanye West because at first glimpse, I was not impressed. There was so much hoopla over this show (by Mr. West) which was presented at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Critics applauded the music but panned the clothing, calling it nothing more than hype used to promote Kanye's real talent...music. Whether it's my taste or not...whether I understand it or not, I believe fashion is about change....for the better or worse. I will often choose garments I don't necessary like, as a way to try and understand the thought process behind the design. Given the aesthetics of today's "streetwear," Yeezy is as valid as anything else we see on today's market. But is it true design? West says everyone will be dressed like this in 5 years. West says he's the greatest thing since Hermes. He says his wife Kim Kardashian is as talented as Chanel!  Does he really have a voice in the evolution of design? I have my opinion. I will let you form your own.

Here I've put Yeezy within the context of similar looks by two world class fashion houses. All looks are wide, flat and street smart. Below, Loic wears a version of the Yeezy sweater made from a man's sweat sock!

Coming up next: Menswear Trends Part 2.

All photos and images, property of Fashion Doll Stylist. 2016.


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18 comments:

  1. Moda męska, którą pokazałaś, jest naprawdę świetna! Szerokie, luźne, duże, niekrępujące ruchów, ubrania - to jest to! Każdy chłopak byłby zadowolony! Czarny i biały kolor jest tu obowiązkowy!
    Rewelacyjne pomysły, doskonały post!
    Pozdrawiam serdecznie!

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    1. Olla wrote: Men's fashion is really great! Wide, loose, large... non-binding motions, clothes - that's it! Every boy would be happy! Black and white and color is a must !
      Excellent ideas, excellent post!
      Best wishes!
      Thank you, Olla. We are so used to form fitted clothes for the girls, it is a bit of a challenge to cut these great, big shapes for the guys. But that's what makes these clothes so masculine. Glad you enjoyed!

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  2. Love all the longer coats - not so much the sweaters, but maybe they'll grow on me - that coat length is a favourite though, so I love seeing those staying on trend! :)

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    1. Hi jSarie. I also love the coats. As each generation comes into their own, they bring their own style aesthetics that, for me, becomes harder and harder to comprehend. Like full beards on guys, skinny trousers rolled up above the ankles and the lot. The good thing is that whatever I think looks strange, surprisingly, it looks okay on the doll! Part 2 will have more stuff I can relate to, but Part 1 was fun!

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  3. Who's the first gentleman in the Off the Beaten Track collage? I have only one male doll so I don't need many clothes for it but it was a fun read! The Kanye West stuff looks like pyjamas in my opinion.

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    1. BlackKitty, that gentleman is Finnick Ken from the Hunger Games series of dolls. Most Ken dolls I don't like, but the Hunger Games series put out a couple of handsome dude dolls. The Kanye West stuff on the doll looks the same as the human. I wished I had not spent the time doing it, but somehow I thought it might look better on the 1/6 scale. Sadly, it was not the case. Since there is a part 2 to this fashion story, I decided not to do more from these groups and put more energy into the next report.

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  4. I like the longer look for weekends and hanging out at night. Wouldn't work in the office. Then again, I thought you wouldn't see leather at the office but that has change too.

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    1. These groups I don't really see for the office...except for young start-up companies (which has changed the landscape of "business attire." Part 2 will have more looks including items for slightly "more mature" dolls.

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  5. I don't want to even think about coat and such, lol. Yeezy is unique.

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    1. Brini, imagine me.....my sewing machine is in a room without air conditioning and we are having another heat wave with temps in the high 90's for four days now! Working with wool was hot and itchy. But...in a couple weeks September will be here and the guys reminded me that it's been awhile since they've had something new to wear!!!

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  6. C'est vraiment très beau et toujours très inspirant. Il manque plus qu'à nous montrer comment tu as fait !!! ...

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    1. Merci Shasarignis. Pour ces models, j'ai cree les patrons directment sur mes mannequins poupees. Les patrons sont tres facile, en effet. Mais j'avoue que je dois faire plus de tutorials sur la mode masculine!

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  7. Your boys look so handsome in their new outfits ;-) These outfits are better than original :-)

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    1. Thank you Aya. It's always a surprise to see how the outfits will look on the doll. Most of the time, it is a pleasant surprise and it helps me understand the vision of the designer and gives me an appreciation of the design.

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  8. Personally, I don't understand fashion nowadays either, specially mens fashion. Specially, I dislike that hair style that consists in half shaved hair and a tiny ponytail on top. My boyfriend has been rocking the same style, which I would define as a smooth version of grunge, for more or less the last 20 years, and it looks atemporal to me.

    I like the fact that you've dedicated this post to boys, fashion is not only for women!

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    1. To be honest, I don't always understand today's fashions either. I HATE what they call the "man bun" (the hairstyle you've described). Nonetheless, true fashionista that I am, I do make an effort to understand or at least acknowledge the work of today's designers. Part 2 will probably have more looks you can appreciate. At first I wasn't going to do menswear on my blog. But there is much going on in this area and I feel I should feature it. After all, my girls need guys on their arms and they want them to be somewhat stylist too!!!

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  9. LOVE LOVE LOVE the styling of the boys :D

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    1. Thank you AiS Toy Museum. Part 1 is for fun. Part 2 will have more "serious" trends for our favorite dude dolls!

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