The fall 2019 men's fashion show circuit just kicked of in London and with the menswear shows happening, you know your going to be seeing a lot of street style. In this video, I'm reacting to some of the best (and worst) London street style as presented in a slideshow from Vogue.com.
I touch on this in the video, but just want to say a quick word about street style and how it has evolved over the years into something very different than it used to be. I'd say about a decade ago, before the ubiquity of social media and the saturation of it we have today, that street style was a very genuine thing. There were a handful of publications that you looked at to give you the picture of what was happening, trends to look out for, and there was a certain mystique and elevated nature to the whole thing.
Nowadays, we are living in a very different time. And with the rise of what I like to call "look at me" culture, thanks in large part to Instagram, street style has morphed into something that resembles a carnival sideshow and, I would also say, has become a lot less interesting. Let me try to explain.
In the past, the people who were going to the shows were the people who were supposed to, or needed to, be there. Fashion editors. Buyers. Designers. Now, there are a bunch of people showing up dressed in costumes trying to get their photo taken so they can feel famous if they happen to end up in a big publication's photo roundup. It's pretty sad and just one of the many reason I try to avoid the whole fashion week "scene" at all costs.
That's not to say that there still isn't some great street style and inspiration out there during these events. There certainly is a lot still to celebrate, as you'll see in this roundup I choose to react to from Vogue.
I don't know where to assign the most blame for what has become of fashion week street style. There is Instagram, for sure, which has bred a generation of narcissists hungry for fame, likes, and outside approval. However, the photographers are also to blame. The photographers are the on-the-ground editors. They're choosing who to shoot. And, of course, they want to make their mark as well. Interesting shots of sometimes questionably interesting people get noticed.
What's up guys, I'm Brian Sacawa, you're watching He Spoke Style, and today I'm going to be reacting
to some of the street style from the London Fall 2019 menswear shows. So the Fall 2019 menswear
show circuit is underway, things started in London, and for me London street style is always
very interesting. You know, you always see a real wide range of looks from super hardcore street
style all the way to very tailored and dapper, which of course is such a huge part of the
heritage of menswear in London. So without further ado, let's get into this, and we are actually
going to be looking at a slideshow of 41 photos from Vogue Online. Here we go. All right,
this is cool. I like this look a lot. It's not something I would wear, but I like the trench
and the beanie cap, and I like the earth tones that are going on there. The sneakers are cool.
Again, not something I would wear, but this is a cool look. There's Richard. I love the suit
and the turtleneck. The beanie is interesting color-wise, as is the jacket. Not super my style
to wear a jacket like that with a suit, but you know, to each his own. I don't know. It's
interesting. The gray color palette is very... it's almost like a blank slate, so you can really put
any colors you want, and those are just some really big pops of color there. Not really feeling
this one. Yeah, I don't really have anything to say about this one. Not for me. Okay, well, I guess I
could give points for creativity, and I mean, if it's cold, you know, that's a very practical
solution. I dig the sunglasses, though. Those are really cool. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know.
Interesting. Again, not for me. Wile E. Coyote. It's classic, I suppose.
Okay, so my reaction to this is colored by the fact that I just got a new puppy.
Robin and I just got a new puppy. So to me, this looks like the dude only had one
jacket, and he had a new puppy too, and the puppy like got a hold of it, and you know,
while it was cold out, and he had to put that jacket on. So yeah, I don't know about that.
The hat. Yeah, that's okay. And I guess it's like a
velvet track pant, kind of. Oh, that's kind of cool, though. You can see it's like
burgundy here and black here. That's kind of cool. Again, I wouldn't necessarily wear it, but
anyway. All right, moving on. That's great. I love women who dress in menswear.
Love this classic color palette here. Love how the brown of the jacket pulls in the
brown of the glasses, and the gold is, again, or her earrings. I can't tell if they're gold.
They kind of look gold. They're pulled in there. Beautiful, beautiful bag, and bonus points for the
under, or the turtleneck underneath the blouse there. There you go. That's pretty cool.
This is pretty interesting. Yeah, it almost looks like, to me, like a safety vest that
construction worker would wear, but with some nice, like, and there's like this football thing
going on right here. Yeah, you see all sorts of things, and this is, like, kind of interesting
to me. I like the pattern. Yeah, look at those kids. I have no idea who they are.
The fanny pack. I thought fanny packs, like, came and went. I mean, not, like, in the 80s. They came
and went then, too, but I know they were coming back, so I don't know. I don't really have anything
to say about this one. Not my thing. Cool coat. Very cool coat. Can't tell if that's a shirt
underneath, or, like, a shirt jacket. Anyway, there's, like, some nice layers going on here.
The color contrast on the inside, like that, from the browns of his pants and
the shearling coat there. It's pretty cool. I can get behind that.
That's pretty sweet. Okay, I don't know if we're seeing a trend emerge here,
but the turtleneck under the shirt might be a thing. Might. This is a cool look. I really like
the coat with the big plaid, and I think that looks like houndstooth. And hey, you can wear
white pants anytime, and white pants in winter is always sort of like a nice, refreshing burst,
because it's, like, almost like you think of white pants to be more of a summer thing,
and I really think you can wear them in any season, but it's really cool when you see them
in the winter. They really pop out as something fresh, so this is a cool look all around.
The fanny pack again. And, like, sort of like the velour zip-up sweater with a high neck.
I like what's going on here from the standpoint of you have, like, some tailored elements,
the trousers, the shearling coat is really interesting. There's, like, a
athleisure, like, but, like, luxe athleisure thing here. Fanny pack, you know, I don't know.
Anyhow, that's kind of a cool look. That's cool. I'll dig, I dig that. Very simple,
very classic, very casual, very chic. I like the way the turtleneck is not
folded down here. That's really cool. It's kind of artfully disheveled.
It's a very classic color palette, but that's, like, the one detail of this outfit that
makes it look, that for me brings it up a notch from being just something very simple
to something that has a little bit of interest. That's fun. Yes, this is badass and powerful.
I mean, this sort of wider, fuller cut trouser, like a workwear inspired jacket, and the hat is
classic. And, I mean, the whole outfit is about this scarf. Let's just say that. And it's, I love
the mix of colors there. So this one is super, super awesome. I don't know. Robin and I
talk about tailored clothing on women because she, like, you know, us guys, we think of,
you know, we want the shoulders to be right and all this and this and that. And there's, like,
a way that we cut the clothing. And sometimes, like, like this, the shoulders just look
really big and ridiculous to me. And I, although I like, there was another look previously with
the orange shirt underneath the jacket that I thought looked really good. But these kind of,
like, neon electric colors, this isn't really working for me. So we're going to move on.
Oh, yeah. Those coats are freaking awesome. All about the coat. Nothing else. Yeah.
Badass. That's a cool coat too. Not for me, but it's a pretty cool coat. All right. Nice.
Don't have much to say there. I got some women, of course, because of the Vogue.
That's a cool look. Yeah, the coats. So white pants again. Looks like there's a cardigan
underneath the coat. It's all about, but again, it's all about the coat. The coat is pretty sweet.
Very statement-making. It's double-breasted? No. Yes? I can't tell. Looks like it folds over.
But it's really hard to tell whether, how it buttons, the way the photo's shot. Anyhow,
that's cool. Very classic. Simple. You know, looks like a raglan sleeve coat. That's nice.
Kids, you know. More kids. Interesting. Is that like a fishing net or a basketball net?
I don't get it at all. It's like the bag thing happening, but if you covered it up,
it would kind of look like overalls. So I don't know what's going on here. This could just be
like an attention-grabbing thing. Nope. Wait, let's just go back to this guy for a second. So
here's a good example of, you know, I don't know who this guy is, but I feel like
street style has really changed over the last 10 years or so. And it's because of social media,
it's become a thing where, you know, people, at least when I have gone to New York Fashion Week
in the past, you could really see it start to change when it sort of started to be more about
being seen and being recognized and get your photo taken. So you show up in New York Times
or a roundup on Vogue or something like that. And it almost becomes too costumey. And this,
to me, is too costumey. But that's just me. Yeah, there's some stuff going on here.
Interesting. That's pretty hardcore. That's cool. I wonder if she's an Aries. I like the
puffer underneath the trench and then the turtleneck underneath that. It's cool. Nice
layering. Yes. Like, so my eyes moved from the top of his look slowly down. It's like he's got
like a grandma thing going on with this kerchief. And then it's like hip hop in the body. And then
it's like second grade girl with the backpack in his hand. So I guess maybe this is like the
evolution or it's the cycle of life. So you have the backpack of the young girl and then up to the
kerchief of the grandma. I don't know. It's fashion is art, right? So that's my interpretation.
There's no wrong answers. I'm trying to think of something to say here and not really finding it.
So we're just going to move on. Yes, this is pretty badass. I love the... Yeah, everything
it just works here. You have texture, you have pattern, you have simplicity. Very cool. Very cool.
Cool. I mean, less is more. And a statement sock. Richard again. Now this is a cool look.
Simple, of course. Of course I'm going to like it. It's classic. It's simple. The coat. Love
the herringbone. It reminds me of the one coat that I have from Ring Jacket that looks very
similar. But yeah, that's pretty badass. Nice lapels. Times two.
Yeah, I don't know. We're getting to the end here. We got two more
interesting layering. I would wonder what Robin would think about this one. And finishing off
there with not much to say. So that was my reaction to some of the London Street style.
Let me know what you thought. Let me know what you thought of the looks down below in the comments.
If you like this video, give it a thumbs up. I'm going to be doing one definitely for Petit Uomo
and that will be out next week. So stay tuned for that. And until then, thanks for watching
and stay tailored.
