Maison Martin Margiela

Although it’s the label’s 20th anniversary this year we won’t be hearing a lot from Maison Martin Margiela. The Belgian designer lives and works hidden – never photographed, never interviewed in person - in the French capital surrounded by creatives. While being the so called fashion designer’s fashion designer may sound like a cliché, it certainly isn’t in Margiela’s case. After studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp amongst the famous Antwerp Six and working for Jean Paul Gaultier between 1984 and 1987 he founded Maison Martin Margiela in Paris in 1988. Until today, he remains fashion’s deconstructivist, setting standards that keep influencing colleagues, building a certain form of “metafashion“ that speaks for itself.

Jil Sander

When Jil Sander left the label she founded, not once but twice after the Prada buyout, it was thought that the label would never recover, and for a time it looked like the predictions were right. Until, 2005, when Raf Simons - another Belgian with his own very successful label - was appointed the label’s creative director. Since taking over the reins, Simons has helped to bring back the ethos that had made the label so desirable in the mid to late Nineties – a combination of purity and minimalism with a bit of an edge thrown in. His own line is a bit tougher, and a little less classic.

Lanvin

Together with Alber Elbaz, who is responsible for the women’s collection, Lucas Ossjendriver (not an easy name to pronounce ) has managed to turn the Lanvin label into a best seller, with its menswear now as eagerly anticipated as its feminine counterpart.

Ossjendriver appeals to the more romantic male dresser, with an aesthetic that combines the classic fop with a more modern attitude to create clothes that are luxurious and ultimately very wearable. His stint as Hedi Slimane’s assistant must have taught him a trick or two.

Balanciaga

When Nicholas Ghesquiere first introduced menswear at Balenciaga it was a small operation that ran off the back of the more successful women’s label. Visit a Balenciaga boutique now and it is likely that there’ll be as many males as there are females trying to lay their hands on pieces that have made even the most jaded shopper go funny at the knees. Whilst prices are high – no, make that very high - the clothes are as good as it gets. Contemporary, with a nod to the classic. Luxurious, without straying too far from the street.

Helmut Lang

A few years ago, it would have sounded obscene to mention Lang’s name in relation to the business which he had set up and later sold to Prada, losing the right to use his name in the process. But now, even without its founder at the helm, the house seems to be finding an identity that has connections to those fabulous days when walking into a Helmut Lang shop meant never walking out empty handed! Post-Prada, with a duo of designers at the helm, the old Lang classics are coming back. About time too!

01. Some say it is to be avoided completely, others are happy with it as long as its kept to a minimum, and then there are those who are happy to break all the rules and make it bright, brash and bold. We’re talking pattern here boys, and you needn’t be afraid of it.

02. One trend, incredible as it may sound that made the smooth transition from womenswear to menswear this season is transparency. Jil Sander, Alessandro dell’ Aqua gave a masterclass on how it’s done correctly. Beware, this is not for everyone, but don’t despair, if you can’t wear see- through clothes, you can always opt for accessories.

03. At the other end of the spectrum, the likes of Prada, Dries van Noten, Yves Saint Laurent and Lanvin have taken a more relaxed apporoach with looser gear that could easily qualify as bedwear. Inspired by the likes of Hugh Hefner, Rock Hudson and artist/filmmaker Julian Schnabel (“a liberated, artistic mind,” according to Pilati) this will not be one for Everyman although the looseness and the comfort will eventually filter down to the street.

04. With both the Olympics and the Euro 2008 taking place this summer, it was bound to be sportier than usual this season, not only in the stadia and on the TV screens, but also on the catwalks. With bright Olympic logo primaries used on everything from t-shirts to sneakers to Dirk Bikkembergs Sport Couture that combines football and style, feeling good and looking fabulous is the name of the game. On your marks, get set …

05. It’s been some time since there’s been so many pastel colours walking up and down catwalks. The bolds and brights of seasons past have given way to a veritable ice cream parlour thanks to designers like Calvin Klein, Costume National and Comme des Garçons.Avoid looking like a bag of sugar coated almonds by combining with dark or bright coloured accessories. Always better than boring old beige.