Masculinity charged the Klaxon Howl runway at World MasterCard Fashion Week.
Seeming to share a wardrobe with Dos Equis’ “Most Interesting Man In the World,” the Klaxon Howl man’s Fall/Winter wardrobe boasts separates designed as much for wear, as style. In line with the brand’s signature rugged allure, an ultra-masculine aesthetic accented by fine detailed tailoring and touches of the dandy characterized the collection.
Camo prints carried over from the designer’s SS13 collection, in the form of a cropped jacket worn under a camo detailed puffer vest. Replace the vintage engineer cap for a florescent orange toque and off hunting — in unparalleled style — you go. Matching camo trousers received a gentleman makeover, and appeared on the runway slim, cuffed, belted, and paired with light weight tailored shirts.
In a nod to ’20s era men’s fashion trends, Robinson raised the waist line of his collection’s trousers (a pair of military green retro riding breeches were a favourite) and select jackets including a grey wool pea coat, cropped at the hip and belted above the waist — a runway standout. While the tastes of the mature gentleman reigned supreme, boyish appeal was dashed onto the runway with the designer’s modern tailored take on the varsity jacket. Combining burnt maroon wool and black leather sleeves, the jacket was a sophisticated update of the collegiate staple.
Predicting Klaxon Howl’s Toronto Fashion Week show to be a man’s man sort of runway, we invited actor David Sutcliffe to join us in the front row. In the role of Detective Aidan Black on the CBC television drama Cracked, the Saskatoon-raised actor exudes alpha appeal. A seasoned officer in the trenches, trying to manage post-traumatic stress disorder, the story sees Sutcliffe’s character partner with psychiatrist Dr. Daniella Ridley (Stefanie von Pfetten ) to lead a newly formed Psych Crimes Unit dedicated to solving crimes using both investigation skills and psychiatric insight.
Off screen Sutcliffe’s own macho charm is expressed in what he describes as a “rugged” fashion style. A guy who would rather be watching the hockey game than spending extended time trying to assemble the perfect outfit (while still leaving the house looking stylish), we suspect the Klaxon Howl man might just think of Sutcliffe as something of a kindred spirit. Below, the actor shares his thoughts on the brand’s latest collection and his first Fashion Week experience.
RATE THE IMPORTANCE OF FASHION IN YOUR LIFE.
Probably a 3. I mean I have an appreciate of fashion…it’s an art form and a creative expression for people. And I totally get people who are into fashion…I like to look good, and I dedicate a little bit of time for it, but I really only going shopping about 3 times a year to get what I need. I have very few clothes. Rugged is more my look.
BASED ON WHAT YOU’VE SEEN TONIGHT. WHAT DO YOU PREDICT TO BE THE BIGGEST TREND TO HIT THE STREETS NEXT SEASON?
I don’t know what’s going to be a trend (laughing)…I can just tell you what I like; there were some nice jackets there and hats.
DO YOU THINK YOU’LL INCORPORATE THIS TREND INTO YOUR OWN WARDROBE?
What was interesting to me too was that there was a lot of hats….I don’t wear hats, but maybe I’ll wear a hat.
ARE YOU MORE OF A TREND PERSON OR A STAPLES PERSON?
I’m more a staples person than a trends person. I don’t think I can pull it off…people who are fashionable and trendy, I admire that, but it’s not for me, I’m just not that kind of guy. It’s not how I want to express myself. I mean, but I am facilitating some look, I do have an awareness, I’m not just randomly throwing this shit together — I want you to think I’m randomly throwing this look together. Maybe I could get into it at some point, you know?
WHAT IS THE MOST GLAMOROUS PIECE IN YOUR CLOSET AND WHAT IS THE MOST COZY?
My fanciest piece of clothing is probably…well I have a couple of suits that are I guess kinda fancy. Ummm….I’m blanking on what they even are now, but they were fancy when I bought them…nice suits… clean, simple and classic, so I don’t have to update them every year. My coziest piece, is…I like to wear flannels…I wear them around the house with a pair of track pants that’s my cozy…with big wool socks. I’m basically a jeans, boots, t-shirt, hoodie dude.
IF YOU COULD TAKE ONE PIECE FROM THE RUNWAY WHAT WOULD IT BE?
There were some jackets and some trousers that I think were cool. And they were all wearing those Palladium boots, which I think are cool.
IF YOU COULD WATCH TONIGHT’S SHOW WITH ANY CELEBRITY, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE?
I would like to attend the show with Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln is like the baddest, coolest dude of all time, in my opinion…he’s like second to Jesus sorta thing. Super smart, super deep, he’s just cool, and he did it, and what he accomplished is bad ass. I’m obsessed with Abraham Lincoln.
WHAT SONG WOULD YOU CHOOSE AS THE RUNWAY SOUNDTRACK TO THIS COLLECTION?
What’s the name of that band that won all the Grammys? Mumford & Sons…yeah that collection was kind of Mumford and Sons-ish, I think.
WHO IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON TO IMPRESS AT FASHION WEEK?
I don’t think you should try to impress anybody. You shouldn’t give a shit what anyone thinks of you, that’s how you impress people, just don’t give a fuck. People should just do their thing, and create what they want to create, wear what they want to wear, and that’s the most impressive thing there is…and that’s fucking hard to do, you know?
WHAT WAS THE SINGLE ELEMENT ABOUT THIS FASHION WEEK THAT IMPRESSED YOU MOST, ON OR OFF RUNWAY?
Well, it’s my first Fashion Week, and it was fun to experience the culture of it, see the kind of people who come and meet some of them. I don’t usually mix with this crowd, but they seem really interesting and cool, and it was fun to see the show. I thought the show was good, and I’d be interested to see more shows. I’m interested to see how they present their lines and the creative process that goes into that, and how they try to marry that with the clothes their presenting and create some sort of image of what they represent. I mean…it’s interesting.
