London Calling: Four New Faces Look Forward To Men’s Fashion Week
Simon Fitskie
"I like the look I’m wearing for this shoot, it’s by Burberry. I used to do a lot of shows, they were my thing. In fashion, you can dedicate yourself being a catwalk model. You’re out with your boys, it’s just fun. We usually do this thing where we rent an apartment together, it’s more homely than in hotels or model apartments. This will be my seventh season and I have learned that it’s always a long run, so you have to find the balance between seeing your friends and working. What happens during fashion week usually predicts what will happen in the coming season, so if you have a good season, you’ll get some good jobs. It’s a good time to make contacts with stylists and clients. You’re at the heart of the fashion industry, the designers have been working on things for months, but as a model you come in at the last minute. It’s nice to watch it all unfold and enjoy the process. It depends, in Paris you do the casting two weeks before the show, in London it’s just two days before. Then, you come back the day before for a fitting. Sometimes they have to adjust things, make it fit. It can take quite a long time, I have been at fittings til 5 o’clock in the morning, and when you have lots of shows it’s heavy! You have to be ready." Simon wears lace cotton-poplin shirt by Burberry Prorsum
Boyd Alves
"Men's fashion week in London is always an exciting time of the year because you never know what will happen. I think male models are like a community, everyone’s happy when someone books the bigger show, I feel like we do it all for each other. Obviously everyone does it for themselves too, but if someone books a bigger show, you think, “if he can do it, so can I”. Personally, I’m into fashion as a whole. You don’t know what you’ll be wearing in a show, but it could be cool. Last men’s collections, I did Vivienne Westwood and I had to wear a dress! Obviously I respect everything that Vivienne does and what she stands for, and for her to put me in a dress, it’s cool. I still don’t know who I’m casting for this season but I’m going to take it as it comes. It’s cool to work with MATCHESFASHION.COM, with Simon Chilvers and the other boys from Elite. When you come to shoots, you don’t know who you’ll be working with but it’s always a good feeling." Boyd wears suede jacket and slim-leg trousers, both by Dunhill. Crew-neck T-shirt by Sunspel.
Finnlay Davis
"I like my look, it’s by J.W. Anderson. I’d definitely wear these trousers again. I’d wear them a bit higher, above the socks, with a shirt or a hoodie, to keep it casual. I’ve worked with J.W. Anderson before. At the BFAs last week, he won for womenswear and for menswear. He does some strange things but they work! I hope I do his show this season. I’ve already done one casting, which was Tom Ford, I’m good friends with Adam the casting director. I’m looking forward to LCM, it’s my first proper season in London because last season I had an exclusive with Prada in Milan. It was probably the best show I’ve ever done, but it meant I couldn’t do any other shows before, and Milan is after London. I love doing shows, being backstage, and the build up. Doing the Gucci women’s show last February was one of my favourites, too. It was Alessandro Michele’s first women’s show, and it was so exciting. For me, clothing is what makes the show good. When I’m in a look that I like, I feel much better about the show and more confident." Finnlay wears suede-patch hunting jacket, boat neck T-shirt and pleat front wide-leg trousers, all by J.W. Anderson.
Ashton Gohil
"I like the Elite and Matches collaboration. I can’t wait for it to come out, all the boys are wearing different designers and repping Britain. I’m wearing Craig Green. When I first put it on, I thought it was a bit out there, but the trousers are really comfortable. It would be nice to get a street style shot in these. Being a model, you get an eye for designer clothing. In general, guys are stuck in a rut when it comes to style, they just follow the trends. It’s good to have your own style, you don’t have to spend lots of money, but it’s how you wear it. Sometimes you only need one or two things, like an accessory, but it’s how you wear it and show it with style. I like LCM because it always uses emerging British designers and a lot of the brands that show here, the Topman New Gen and things help new designers to come up and establish themselves. For models, it means you’re not all competing to work with the same people." Ashton wears wide-strap quilted jacket and wide-leg quilted trousers, both by Craig Green.
