Here are the looks to try to get you back on track.

Our front-rank MR PORTER operatives have done the frenetic rounds of the AW16 catwalk shows, and returned perilously over-caffeinated but, more importantly, with an 12-point guide to the flagship trends that will set the pace this autumn. You will recognise some as refinements of, or elaborations on, looks that have been evolving over the past few seasons – military-inspired coats, shearling, double-breasted jackets – while others, such as tartan, standout shoes and thermals, are new additions to the style-go-round.

Treat these looks as the building blocks of a peerless new-season wardrobe, whether you’re investing in a tartan overcoat to liven up your business look, donning a thermal vest in order to channel your inner polar explorer, or opting for a “pre-worn” sweater to add an insouciant note to a weekend ensemble. The resounding message for this season, though, is don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone – after all, as the wise old axiom (nearly) goes, a stranger’s just a trend you’ve yet to meet.

Remember the good old days of exploration and derring-do, when men conquered Everest and raced to the terrestrial poles equipped with little more than hip flasks of brandy, while the thermals they wore beneath their tweed suits were all that stood between them and the injurious temperatures? The explosion in heritage (and heritage-referencing) brands in the past few years is still going as strongly as a team of huskies, and a retro-insulated RRL waffle henley will help you strike a suitably Shackletonian or Hillary-esque pose, whether you’re heading into Antarctic ice storms or braving a bitter northerly on the way to the pub.

“The thing with double-breasted,” the American journalist and style authority Mr Glenn O’Brien says, “is that it’s for men, not boys.” The chest-enhancing, waist-slimming silhouette has been in vogue for several seasons – it’s still the default style for the menswear movers and shakers at Pitti Uomo – not least because the brash pinstripes and boxy shapes associated with 1980s yuppies are a distant memory, and the modern DB is form-fitted, streamlined and supremely well put together. Case in point: this Richard James wool coat, which will give any ensemble a Savile Row-worthy upgrade – at the double.

What kind of looking-glass world would we be living in if “distressed” meant “desirable”, and “worn” were interchangeable with “invigorated”? The kind where the concept of “deconstruction” – clothes that are pre-weathered, ready-ripped and generally given the dragged-through-a-hedge-backwards treatment, as pioneered by the likes of Comme Des Garçons and Mr Yohji Yamamoto in the 1980s – is a thing, as it most certainly is right now. Any snags? Plenty in the loose-fibre or scuffed-surface sense (see Saint Laurent’s battered biker jacket and Raf Simons’ unravelling virgin wool sweater), but none in the drawback sense.

When it comes to footwear, we hold to the immortal words of Dr Seuss: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.” And if you’re the guy in a pair of standout – nay, shoutout – shoes, such as these jacquard fur slippers designed for Gucci by Mr Alessandro Michele (think rococo yeti), you’ll be heading in the direction of the cutting-edge avant-snug. If you’re not quite ready to go out on that particular limb, there are plenty of other examples of hoof-adelia around this season – from baroque boots to psyched-out sneakers – to ensure that it’s best-dressed, if not trippiest, foot forward.

Zip, as in pep, verve, vigour, vim. Zip, as in link, connection, yoke. Put them together and what have you got? The plethora of elegant zip tops coming your way over the next few months, as exemplified by Loro Piana’s auto-inspired Roadster storm-blue cashmere half-zip sweater (could this be the inspiration for a new franchise, The Fastener And The Furious?). The zip top is easy enough to slip over jeans and a T-shirt, and smart enough to look suitably done-up under Boglioli tailoring. In fact, it’s the perfect reach-for piece – one with teeth, you might say – for the age of smart-casual.

In the past few seasons, designers have been deploying their very own version of rewilding – the process whereby an area of land is restored to its natural, uncultivated state – by covering their offerings in extravagantly fecund floral prints. The hothouse atmosphere continues into AW16 with all manner of sartorial biodiversity. Alexander McQueen’s sylvan V-neck sweater, inspired by the work of the Dutch Masters, is among this rainforest of riches. Accessorise these pieces judiciously – the well-manicured is always preferable to the overgrown – and they’ll become hardy perennials.

If you think appliquéd patches and embroidered adornments are a bit sew-sew, think again. They are worn like badges of honour on many of the season’s key pieces, including the 1950s-inspired souvenir jackets that have been making their retro-contemporary mark over the past year. Gucci’s lustrous satin version harks back to post-WWII occupied Japan when US soldiers would have their jackets embellished. It features embroidered snakes, birds and flowers among its varsity-inspired stylings. A stitch-up in the best possible sense, and an object lesson in wearing your art on your sleeve. Or your chest, or your back.

Is shearling still a sure thing? Absolutely. The AW16 collections were rammed with iterations of the snug and stylish sheepskin – trims, linings, outerwear – showing that this is one lamb-derived product that continues to have legs. If you want to stay ahead of the flock, while stressing shearling’s rugged, winter-defying elan, opt for a bomber jacket – Brioni’s slick collared version is a flying ace, while Loro Piana’s tan, cashmere-trimmed number is anything but sheepish – or do the swell-boy-not-Del-Boy thing (sorry, American cousins, you won’t get that one) with a full-pelt shearling coat such as Loewe’s.

Because not everyone can pull off – or, indeed, on – gold leather Saint Laurent Chelsea boots, this autumn, we’re also keeping our feet on the ground. And by that we mean stocking some of the strongest, sturdiest and most substantial shoes the new season has to offer. With the brands as illustrious as Tod’s, John Lobb and Lanvin – not to mention mavericks such as Dries Van Noten – treading this path with their new collections, you’re in good company. Think military-style boots, wingtip brogues and shearling-lined biker boots, all built to last. So if Goodyear welting is more of a priority than whether your Derby shoes come in a vampish shade of velvet, step to it.

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Don’t be side-swiped by side stripes. This is a trouser detail that’s proving very seemly (seamly, even) right now, primarily because it combines two current menswear themes – old-school military chic and a retro take on the athleisure look (think the Duke of Wellington meets Chas Tenenbaum from The Royal Tenenbaums). And if that sounds like a particularly outré combination, rest assured that where side stripes have been deployed – in contrasting black on Neil Barrett’s Prince of Wales check trousers, for example – they add a formal crispness and a rakish dash to any parade-ready leg.

Bombers with command, officers’ greatcoats that are far from a mess… the vogue for military-inspired outerwear is on the march, and the latest examples put the “art” into artillery. Take this Our Legacy khaki duffle: stylish enough to turn heads, but sturdy enough to withstand a retreat from Moscow. Private White V.C.’s shearling-trimmed bomber is inspired by WWII G-1 flight jackets, and is the perfect partner for a brisk afternoon’s fell walking or dam busting. Meanwhile, Saint Laurent’s double-breasted officer’s coat, with lion-embossed gold buttons and metallic faille-trimmed cuffs, puts the navy seal on military style.

Our love affair with tartan is far from plaid out. As Scotland prepares to go its own way after bucking the Brexit trend, the clannish check is reacquiring the kind of Braveheart-style rebellious aura last seen when Dame Vivienne Westwood put the Sex Pistols in tartan bondage trousers. The catwalks were a riot of Royal Stewarts and Black Watches, but you don’t have to go the full kilt-and-sporran to pledge your allegiance to the land that gave us Sir Sean Connery and the deep-fried Mars bar. A vividly checked overcoat, such as Bottega Veneta’s, will show you’re more than ready for a Highland fling.

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