the times | Wednesday January 19 2022 7fashion
Warning — men in
trunks (and little else)
By Anna Murphy
11 most stylish
Bond in managing always, always,
always to look stirred, not shaken.Jeff Goldblum
He dares to be quirky — not just in
his acting but in his wardrobe, and
this month’s appearance on the
Prada catwalk, in overcoat with
shtreimel-like detailing, reminded us
how well he pulls it off.Luke Edward Hall
The illustrator and decorator is as
bravura in his approach to colour in
his wardrobe as in his work, both
inspired by the eclecticism of a bygone
age. Think a young Hockney...David Hockney... which brings me to the real deal.
At 84, the artist remains as inimitably,
stylishly himself as ever — never
looking try-hard, always wearing
something that catches the eye.
Right from the start he had a sense
of humour around clothes, collecting
a gold medal from the Royal Academy
in 1962 in a gold suit.
Alexandre Mattiussi
No surprise that the founder of Ami
Paris, a brand that transcends its cultHéctor Bellerín
Do I love everything the Spanish
footballer — on loan at Real Betis
from Arsenal at present — wears?
No, I do not. Do I love him for
wearing it? Yes, I do. Out and about,
nonchalantly clad in silk pyjamas and
fur-lined Gucci loafers, Bellerín is the
Bertie Wooster of La Liga.Willem Dafoe
Hollywood-extrapolated proof that
being a clothes horse does not need to
draw into question one’s masculinity.
Here is someone who looks all man in
a pale pink cord overcoat.Monty Don
If shabby chic could be trademarked,
Don would be in pole position to
secure it. His ouvrier wardrobe is the
personification of “old and much
loved” being better than the rest.Tom Ford
The designer who styled the 1990s has
still got it. He’s the one who out-BondsI
t has been pretty nippy this week.
I made a big mistake when I got
dressed this morning, which was to
put on platform sandals, albeit with
woolly socks. But I am in fashion
— this kind of preposterousness is
expected from me. I am not leading
the country, nor am I pretending to.
On Monday evening the person who
is leading the country — or pretending
to, depending on your view — was
photographed jogging near Downing
Street in swimming trunks from
Vilebrequin, the Sloaney man’s
swimwear brand of choice (not much
change from £200).
Trunks!! In January!! When you
are not even swimming!! It’s an
image that might lead one to
extemporise on Boris Johnson’s
leadership qualities, not to mention
sanity. How can a man who can’t
even put on the right clothes to go
jogging (and this is not the first
time) be expected to know
what is a drinks party and
what isn’t, not to mention
— more generally — what is
right and what is wrong?
Admittedly we have all already
been extemporising on such
matters rather a lot recently.
This is merely the icing on the
cake. Or, rather, the chilblain on
the shin. But still.
Then yesterday morning we were
subjected to the DayGlo calves and
personal brand building of yet
another Tory politician when Matt
Hancock stripped off mid-run for
a swim in the Serpentine in
Hyde Park in London. He was
wearing black compression
shorts from Yel Pro, which
are — seriously, the semantics
here are just too good —
designed for running, not
swimming. For those of us who
feel we have already seen more
than enough of the former health
secretary, here was the Hancockian
chest out on manoeuvres.
Perhaps he was hoping to channel
triathlon vibes. You know, one man,
multiple sports. Which is, come to
think of it, perilously along the lines
of one man, multiple women.
Certainly, when taken alongside his
turn at Jeffrey Archer’s 80th birthday
last month in a black polo neck, it
would seem that Hancock is lining
himself as the new B-word. You decide
whether that’s Boris, Bond or another
B-word. Actually, he had that last one
nailed last June.
If Hancock is going for “man of
action”, Johnson, conversely, has long
disguised his ruthlessness with his
comedy hair and chaotic wardrobe.
Indeed, if anything, the prime
minister’s semantics are “man of
inaction”: charmingly shambolic; a
jolly good sort to have a drink with.
Problem is, prime ministers need
to act, and to act with integrity. And
they need not to go for drinks when it
has been declared illegal to do so.
Johnson’s cartoon-patterned shorts
may have been designed to make us
smile, but I can’t have been the only
one to be more inclined to grimace.and here’s why
fashion-pack following to appeal to
off-duty thirtysomething bankers,
should offer a blueprint for how to
look just cool enough.Paul Smith
He was one of the first designers, back
in the 1970s, to clock what a suit could
be rather than what it always had
been: dialled down in formality with
a T-shirt and trainers, dialled up in
personality by way of a colourful
buttonhole or interesting lining. At 75,
he is still his own best advert.Harry Styles
It’s thanks to our Harry that a teenage
boy of my acquaintance will
occasionally throw on some pearls.
I think that is a good thing. Similarly
groundbreaking for a youngster these
days, 27-year-old Styles wears suits.
Also to be celebrated.T-Michael
The Norway-based fashion designer
creates beautiful tailoring, much of it
inspired by the traditions of Japanese
kimono-making. He’s his best model.
The hair! The specs! (His Norwegian
Rain unisex waterproofs also happen
to be the best around.)Boris Johnson and
Matt Hancock in
London this weekWe were
subjected
to the
DayGlo
calves and
personal
brand
building
of Matt
Hancock
Héctor BellerínJumper, £235,
archiefoal.comTrainers, £115, Veja
at arket.comJumper, £135,
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