Hussein Chalayan shows his menswear in his Mayfair store. Which fits. These are clothes to buy, and clothes to wear. Which is not to say they are “normal” – Hussein is a cerebral designer, and does not deal in such. But they are clothes you at least recognise – menswear staples, tailoring, knitwear, the overcoat – transformed into something that you don’t quite. What that means is that even in the simplest of garments, each stitch and seam is considered – from the sweeping, twisted tailoring, that looped round the body, or was trimmed with foil, to the subtler details – like a perfect knit jumper, slashed at the seam of its polo-neck, or padded jackets that folded down at the lapels. The sort of clothing whose simplicity hides. It’s a clever thing to sell simplicity – but Hussein is a clever man, and these are clever clothes. Ones that warrant a second look – or, simply, a return visit to that store.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans
