Margaret Howell: The Silhouette

There’s something to be said about change. Change is good. It speaks of future prospects, because who wants to be stuck in the same groundhog day of repetitiveness? And there’s something to be appreciated when it’s about small changes rather than the usual 360-degree flip turn. That barely perceptible alteration to the everyday that you’d usually never pay attention to but somehow draws you in and refocuses your eye. That sense of something being slightly off-key, yet at the same time feeling “righter”, for want of a better word. Personally, we like to refer to it as the Margaret Howell factor. Take a look at her SS16 collection. At a glance, it’s a well-executed exercise in classic menswear. But look closer, pay attention to the details. The subtle play with proportions. Trousers are a little higher on the waist. Not more than an inch or two, but notice the change in silhouette. How that extra inch of fabric elongates the leg. How the boxier cut of the jackets and shirting, dropping off the shoulder by a mere centimetre or two, creates an illusion of throwback masculinity while retaining all the louche languidness for which she’s known. And yes, when it comes to Margaret Howell, writing down “throwback masculinity” sounds wrong, but when you look back up at the collection, it’s right.