This July saw the a welcome return to Jacket Required – the London based trade show demonstrating the very best of brands in menswear. We Hit Refresh Shirt Amongst the midst of journalists, bloggers and buyers stood stand after stand of high quality collections from across the globe. From well-known menswear maestro Mark McNairy to overseas visitor Shipley & Halmos, spectators were treated to something truly spectacular. A brand energised by individuality and character, Triwa have certainly stuck to their roots with their latest spring/summer ’13 collection. Watches were featured in bright summery colours and played with natural leather, milky white acetate and stainless steel detailing. To compensate for the unpredictable British summer, they have also produced a three-piece collection of monochrome, cloud and blue wristwear. Soulland’s head designer, Silas Adler, founded the brand in 2002 and what started as a small company specialising in printed t-shirts has now grown into a well-established menswear label represented in stores across the world. Shipley & Halmos is a New York City based creative brand founded by award-winning designers Sam Shipley and Jeff Halmos. Through a variety of internal divisions, the company produces a range of men’s clothing, footwear and accessories. Making their European debut at this year’s show, the Americans certainly showed no signs of being the newcomer. The collection featured a selection of playful pieces – including patterned shirts, varsity jackets and nautical jumpers.

We Hit Refresh Shirt, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

Milan witnessed a big change, too. Gucci’s new creative director Sabato De Sarno held positions at Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino before taking on this role, We Hit Refresh Shirt which catapulted him and his first collection for the brand into the spotlight last September. Buyers, editors and celebrities descended upon the Italian city to take in the spectacle—ask any fashion devotee without a ticket and they would likely have told you they’d give away their Birkin to have a front-row seat at this show. There’s no denying that De Sarno’s predecessor Alessandro Michele kept Gucci on the fashion map with his geek-chic sensibilities; an aesthetic that would define a moment in fashion history. Still, moments pass, and we saw De Sarno usher Gucci into a new era, one that places more value on essentials over eccentricities—a notion we’re seeing across the rest of the industry. A business built upon the customer’s desire to be seen in shiny new things will always have its issues. However, the thing that felt “new” this season was that some things just didn’t change at all. Perhaps the most noteworthy takeaway was that trends don’t seem to hold the same power that they used to. I’m generalising, of course—things get meta real fast if you so much as take a peek into the no-trends-actually-being-a-trend rabbit hole—but it feels as if creating trends for the sake of it could be a thing of the past. “The spring/summer 2024 collections have shown a continued commitment to 1990s nostalgia and the extraordinary everyday, where everyday items are elevated to exceptional levels of design and style whilst remaining chic and comfortable,” observes Net-a-Porter’s market director Libby Page. And she’s right. The market has experienced a shift of tectonic proportions in recent years where a genuine focus on quality over quantity and investing in things that last has become a priority for previously frivolous shoppers. The latest collections reflected this.