LFW Men's: Oliver Spencer goes on an eco-Alpine journey

Oliver Spencer is at the start of a new journey for his brand; one which will see him place eco considerations at the heart of everything he does from reducing his packaging to using more eco-friendly materials in his designs. To demonstrate the steps he is taking as a designer, he invited the audience at London Fashion Week Men's today (and his was a particularly starry audience at that) to go on an Alpine journey with him.

With his label now in his 16th year Spencer is now something of the "old guard" of the London Fashion Week Mens scene (which is not to suggest his designs are anything other than bang up to date and relevant) and as such he left it to the younger, edgier designers to show in the East End this season, while his show took place a stone's throw from Savile Row in the Royal Academy.

Spencer's show fused Alpine utilitarian clothing with modern luxury resulting in oversized patchwork shirts worn with high waist, pleated trousers to create a new silhouette, while his signature bomber jacket was paired with matching trousers for a thoroughly contemporary take on the classic suit.

Fabrics came in the form of eco wools in beige, ochre, green and navy, along with velvet and corduroy and a woollen seersucker, which was used in the brand's go-to suits, and which hails from Lancashire. Spencer has previously said he prefers to know exactly which sheep provide his wool, hence much of it is sourced in the UK.

He may have hailed 2019 "the year of slow fashion" but Spencer still satisfied the consumer's need for instant gratification with his continued partnership with social network Vero and its "in- app" buy-now functionality for AW19. Spencer’s "Melted Edges" T-shirt was made available to purchase exclusively through his Vero feed during the show with the T-shirt's design created by Royal Academy student, Matilda Moors.

In the audience to witness Spencer's latest outing were LFWM stalwarts David Gandy, Jack Guinness, Jim Chapman, Toby Huntington Whiteley and Oliver Proudlock to name but a few, which is testament to Spencer's status as a leading light of London's menswear market. It was a touch of class that he dedicated his show to one who until last week held the same status, the late legendary Joe Caseley-Hayford, whose untimely passing at the age of 62 was announced just before this season's menswear shows got underway.