The last day of London Fashion Week belonged to the boys – with Matches’ favourite sartorial labels E. Tautz and Rake the hottest tickets in town.

E. Tauts' super-smart shades of grey

“The collection was inspired by an exhibition of Richard Serra’s work at The Met in New York,” said E. Tautz’s creative director Patrick Grant before the start of his super-smart showing at the Freemason’s Hall in Covent Garden, referencing the American artist who works in monolithic sheets of steel.  Cue a collection of Savile Row worthy tailoring in shades of – you’ve guessed it – steely grey, black and navy with hits of bright red in the form of oversized checks, block coloured shirts, statement coats and knit panels on sweaters .

Hot tomato - hits of red at E. Tautz

What's in a name? The 'Walter' trench coat at E. Tautz

 “We’ve given all the coats names this season,” added Grant with a wink.  Out came a cavalry twill zip duffle called ‘Bernard’, a single breasted wool melton named Clement, a red trench called ‘Walter’ and a super-fine reversible number going under the moniker ‘Geoff’?  What’s not to love?

Tailoring with attitude: Rake

Over at Claridges, Clive Darby had created a louche night club setting of cosy grouped tables for his ultra-cool Rake show – with Kelly Brook, Dermot O’Leary and David Gandy adding some celebrity swank to proceedings.

Rake: cool colour and ultra-luxe fabrics

“A trace of whisky on his breath, a brush of lipstick on his collar, the Rake’s only constant is his wardrobe as he skips insouciantly from continent to continent…” read the shows notes. The collection certainly lived up to that louche promise with a whole lot of attitude provided by a handpicked cast of real men of all ages as well as some very fine tailoring that played with ultra luxe fabrics, from rich velvets to smart bird’s eye check tweeds and butter soft suedes.

Dandy slippers with everything at Rake

Darby took his winning mix-and-match approach to the max with cool shades of russet red, jade green tobacco brown, soft grey and ivory on separates that took the Rake man from smart day to casino ready black tie with the dressier Rake Lounge line – all given a jaunty kick with dandy velvet slippers in eye-popping shades. It’s just what your wardrobe has been waiting for.

Real cool guys at Rake

 SHOP RAKE AND RAKE LOUNGE>

SHOP ALL MATCHES’ MENSWEAR>

Tags: aw12, Clive Darby, E Tautz, London Fashion Week, Men, Mens, menswear, Patrick Grant, Rake, Rake Lounge

This entry was posted on Friday, February 24th, 2012 at 12:24 pm and is filed under Behind The Scenes, Fashion Week Notes, Inspiration, Matches Loves, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.