A outdoors-focused reworking of classic tailoring by the London label.

The staying power of a menswear trend can often be measured by the attention that surrounds it. Overexposure will often kill a trend before it’s properly begun (see the “scumbro” and, to an extent, ugly sneakers), and the really good stuff usually comes along in quiet tremors rather than earth-splitting hype-quakes.

Case in point: outdoors gear. Courting buzz around something requires subtlety, and in this regard, Oliver Spencer’s AW19 show that took place at the Royal Academy of Arts in London earlier today was perfectly pitched. Striped hiking laces adorned smart patent-leather Derby shoes and piped up the sides of trousers. Knee-high pockets were also added. With this in mind, could smartly tailored cargo pants be the next thing?

Mr Oliver Spencer also shrugged off traditional tailoring in favour of pairing bomber jackets with trousers in a reimagining of the suit. “This is all about where the suit is going at the moment, and it is going,” Mr Spencer told us backstage. “It’s metamorphosing into something completely different.” This means casual wardrobe staples that were nonetheless elevated. Smooth velvet and corduroy dominated the fabrics on show, as well as a pared-back navy suit crafted from a wool seersucker: “It’s from Lancashire and is something that I’ve been developing over the past couple of years. It’s the wool version of the cotton seersucker from the summer,” he said.

Sustainability, too, was on the designer’s mind, but, characteristically for the brand, it was in a way that felt organic rather than forced. “Keeping things sustainable is a pathway we’re always treading. I feel we’re about halfway there with this show; this isn’t something that can happen overnight because the mills aren’t ready to deliver the whole time, but it’s something that we’re pushing for.”

That focus on the environment also fed into the aforementioned theme of the great outdoors. The Alpine mountains were another inspiration for Mr Spencer: “It was all about looking at outdoor kit, and yes, it was a rough interpretation of mountain wear, but let’s not be too literal about it,” he said. “It’s not about being at the top of the mountain, but it’s the journey there.”

Shop Oliver Spencer here

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