Men’s Spring/Summer 2012 Collections [VIDEOS]

It’s almost spring and I’m sure you’re wondering: what am I going to wear when the temperatures are starting to rise?

Well, I hope you have enough clothes from last year. Remember what I taught you about building a timeless wardrobe? If you did that last year, this year you shouldn’t have too much to worry about… except maybe buying this or that.

Let’s see where the designer houses are steering trends away THIS year. And we’re going to start with…

D&G

Lots of colors and lots of foulard prints in the D&G collection. They propose a very relaxed look this year and, trust me, you’ll feel relaxed just by looking at the clip below:

Did you notice how much denim they have? Ok, we get the hint!

Here’re are some more interesting things I noticed with them:

– Those waistbands on the pants really make for a casual look. If you’re looking to look really casual this summer, you probably need a pair.

– The hats look great but what’s even greater is the way they matched them with the rest of the outfits. It’s worth taking another look at the clip just for this.

– I spotted a really nice pair of moccasins as well as some butt-ugly sneakers. As style hobbyists we have to learn to separate the good from the ugly.

Gucci

Classy as always, Gucci is showing us some really nice sports jackets along with well fitted rolled up pants. You can really see the difference by comparison with the D&G collection from before.

One of the best pieces in my opinion was that gray glen check suit, black moccasins and light blue shirt. I’ve also seen a glen check sports jacket paired with solid grey chinos, if you’re not a “suit guy”.

I noticed very few colors if any. Mostly black, white, grays and some brown. That’s Gucci all right.

One outfit did catch my eye as it took the black tie dress code and gave it a twist: black dinner jacket with silk lapels, white shirt, black bow-tie. So far so good. Then glen check pants, black shiny penny loafers and no socks. Is this the future of black tie?

Overall, you’ll find Gucci to be a good business casual inspiration, as always.

Ermanno Scervino

This show by Ermanno Scervino can teach you one great thing if you watch it: how to match grays.

Roberto Cavalli

This was one of the most interesting shows that I’ve seen. Although not all color combinations made sense, most of the outfits were really refreshing.

Giorgio Armani Men’s Collection Spring/Summer 2012

The thing that stuck with me from the Armani show? Hmmmm. Probably the black tie that was visible from underneath the sweater. The sweater’s fabric was that thin.

Vivienne Westwood

Although I wouldn’t wear most of these outfits on the street, they did gave me a few color matching ideas.

Alexander McQueen Men’s

A lot of black and whites in Alexander McQueen outfits so, if this is your style, there’re definitely a few things to learn from this show.

If you wait until the middle of the presentation, you get to see some colors here and there, though.

John Galliano

It looks like there’s a trend now to wear really long socks with shorts. As ugly as it may look, let’s hope this doesn’t catch because John Galliano is definitely going against my style advice with this one.

As I’ve told you (or will tell you) in one of my minicourse newsletters, fashion is often going against good, solid style principles.

Bottega Veneta

This is probably the most balanced collection that we’ve seen for SS 2012. It’s balanced, wearable, not too much color and most of the outfits have good contrasts. If you’re looking to get inspired this summer, you should definitely watch it.

Jil Sander