Margaret Howell is a designer of absolute consistency. Each season, both her mens and womens collections cater to her audience effortlessly, using her distinctive palette of signatures. Muted and soft deeper colours, like blues, greens, khaki and grey, are all set against classic crisp, clean looking white. Boxier cuts in her jackets and tailoring contrast more fitted knitwear and loose, often cuffed trousers. For her men's Spring Summer 13 offering, once again she undeniably continued her story and once again it was one that made you lust after a simple, intellectual, classic and romantic lifestyle.
S/S13 was all about the detailing. As her elegant boys strolled calmly down the runway set in Howell's Wigmore St. store, it was the intimate setting allowed you to notice the detail. And it is this detailing and the way in which she subtly updates it each season, that really leaves it's mark. Super lightweight fabrics hung off the models as they walked giving a real sense of movement, jackets swinging open and square cut linen t-shirts following the models body. Another feature that stood out to the eye was the addition of contrasting straps across the backs of coats, jackets and trousers. Dark grey looser pants saw thin bands of light khaki used to cinch them in either side of the hips, khaki outerwear saw black used. Necklines on both t-shirts and knitted sweaters were wide, just touching on the collar bone and three quarter length plackets were a feature on a number of shirts.
While the Margaret Howell man is not someone who necessarily follows trends or is looking for a garment that places him on the very cutting edge of fashion, he is someone that will always be at the front of the line. Howell's awareness and understanding of what is happening in contemporary design is something that is always visible in her clothes but never the thing that leads them. This is ultimately the reason that she has maintained her position for so long and this collection was, of course, one that will continue to do so.
