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Men's Fashion: 1920s dandy and military among top trends at London Collections

Labels including Paul Smith, Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders were just some of the big names taking part in the inaugural London Collections: Men event June 15-17. Ahead of the upcoming Milan and Paris menswear fashion weeks, discover key Spring 2013 trends to have emerged from the British capital's first dedicated menswear weekend here, including recycled parkas and leather shorts.

Great Gatsby

While womenswear labels including Gucci and Fendi may have heralded the revival of 1920s-inspired fashion with their Spring/Summer 2012 shows, the trend looks set to continue well into 2013 for gentlemen too. Labels including Richard Nicoll and Hardy Amies London embraced the Great Gatsby aesthetic at London Collections: Men, with pocket squares and tasselled loafers in abundance. Spanish-owned label Hackett also harked back to the period, with cream-lined peaked lapel suits and white brogues among the highlights.

Military jackets

When it came to casual wear, the prominence of the bomber looks set to continue for Spring 2013, with the likes of Nicole Farhi and Jonathan Saunders favoring the style. The latter added texture to the trend too, offering bombers in green and black bonded pinstripe fabric, while James Long enhanced bombers with mandarin collars.

Meanwhile, all attention was on the classic parka jacket at Christopher Raeburn, a designer known for recycling military textiles. Highlights included a khaki nylon parka made from re-appropriated military sleeping bags, as well as sheer and a silver lamé version of the coat.

Smart shorts

Tailored shorts were another recurring trend, with the likes of Richard James and James Long favoring the style. The latter offered dark pleated and panelled high-waisted creations in leather and plaid, while Lou Dalton also kept things respectable with well-tailored shorts that fell just below the knee.

Feeling blue

In terms of color, oranges and reds were prominent at many runway shows, but blue was ubiquitous at presentations ranging from Rake to Pringle of Scotland. Electric blue was the order of the day at Oliver Spencer, while a duck egg-blue trench coat stole the show at E Tautz. Meadham Kirchhoff, who recreated the aftermath of a wild party for the rather surreal presentation of their newly revived menswear line, opted for sheer purple-hinted creations -- accessorized with bright blue-dyed hair and eyebrows.