"The English are a Nation-of-Merchants"...

Ooops, talking too much as usual this woman very shy of the lens but still loved the green (fake) fur against the vintage jacquard...

BURBERRY PROSUM

Since his arrival at foundling label Burberry Prorsum in 2001, designer Christopher Bailey has taken the luxe British brand to new heights. Drawing inspiration from Burberry's illustrious heritage, he updates its classic styles with fashion-forward flair. Make the line your destination for elegantly tailored dresses, structured military jackets and, of course, the iconic trench coat.

For all the lip service paid to it of late, heritage can be a heavy load to bear. Vaunted traditions can quickly send their standard bearers into staleness. At Burberry though, Christopher Bailey continues his neat balancing act of being both conservative and bold. The brand will always stand behind the trench (the company invented it, after all), the car coat, and the parka. But how to keep them fresh, season in and season out?

Introducing... Breaks

Apologies for the lack of posting this week. I hope you've not jumped to the conclusion that there must be a shortage of menswear material for this blog to sink its teeth in to. The truth is, it is the complete opposite and I'm struggling to find the time to give everything the attention it deserves. Damn the real world for getting in the way of a good post. Anyway, enough of my grumbles. To help fill the void, I'd like to introduce you to the London based label, Breaks.

Founded by Ryo Yamazaki and Kohji Yanagi in late 2010, Breaks instantly caught the eagle eye of independent fashion boutique Wolf & Badger with a debut collection that effortlessly fused a modern silhouette with punkish materials. The label is grounded in a shared obsession with classic punk and rock and a desire to repackage it for a new man. Somehow their accomplished debut slipped by my radar but thankfully their sophomore collection for SS12 grabbed my attention. Shortly after their impressive Yusuke Miyazaki shot look book landed in my inbox, I visited the pair at their Hackney based studio to learn more about the label and to take a closer at their designs.

A look around Breaks' small but perfectly studio in the creative haven that is Netil House.

Originally from Japan, the design partnership met through mutual friends whilst studying in London. However, neither had an education in menswear design, Yanagi studied womenswear at LCF whilst Yamazaki studied economics. Despite their different paths, the pair were united in their shared dream to create menswear in their adopted city. The design aesthetic is an intriguing balance of classic, minimal, and sharp shapes fused with punk inspired materials including leather, zips and studs. For their second collection, The Pursuit of Simplicity, the pair added military influences to this already heady mix following an excited trip to the Imperial War Museum. Now, I'm scarred for life by the mere thought of this famed tourist attraction after a torturous, lengthy visit at the insistence of my Dad but the design duo were captivated by the displays of uniforms and managed to bring a surprising lightness to their reimagination of military classics.

The design duo were quite shy when confronted with my excitement for their creations but fortunately the designs themselves did the talking for them. Their sophomore effort is a light, playful, tactile, wearable yet interesting collection that manages to develop their aesthetic quite wonderfully. The studio visit was ideal because it afforded me the opportunity to inspect the extremely well finished designs and marvel at the intricate combination of well sourced fabrics and leathers. Despite my obvious support for emerging talent it is rare that I find a collection that could slip effortlessly on to store rails and in to my everyday wear. Breaks is an exception to the norm. Having said my piece, I'll follow the designers and allow the designs themselves to carry on the discussion with the help of their look book and a few of my own detail shots...

SS12 Look book credits:

Direction and Styling by Ryo Yamazaki and assisted by Jun Yasui.  Photographed by Yusuke Miyazaki

Modeled by Danny Arter @ Nevs. Hairs by Takuya Sugawara. Graphic design by Kohei Suzuki

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With two such accomplished and well crafted opening collections, I'm going to be keeping a keen eye on the development of Breaks.