Its raining menswear - London Collections: Men autumn/winter 2013 line-up announced

The Prince of Wales hosted the opening party, the weather was glorious - and the shows were rather good too. Yes, the very first London Collections: Men fashion weeklet for chaps proved a rip-roaring success when it launched back in June.

READ: Tom Ford is bringing his menswear to London

Today, the British Fashion Council reveals its line-up for the second London Collections: Men. And despite the tricky timing - it will run from January 7 to 9 - there are definite signs that this is an event that's gathering momentum. Tom Ford, who is based in London, has decided to start showing his men's collections here, too. And following the opening of its new, David Collins-designed Savile Row men's store last week, Sarah Burton has decreed that Alexander McQueen will present its autumn/winter 2013 collection on a London catwalk show for the first time.

READ: Alexander McQueen to show menswear collection in London

Alfred Dunhill will hold the final anchor show of the three-day calendar. In all, around 50 designers will be showing. There will be cameo events from show-curious companies including Belstaff and Burberry. Anyone packing a Y chromosome should find something to get excited about - but here's a detailed breakdown by man-category.

READ: London Collections: Men makes a comeback

For the classicists
Top-notch, all-English fashion houses on the calendar include Margaret Howell, Oliver Spencer and YMC. Orlebar Brown will hold another presentation, and expect a grand production from Hackett. All cater for men who might not embrace fashion but nonetheless have a keen sense of style

For the womenswear groupies
Some of London Fashion Week's biggest womenswear stars showcase their menswear side-projects at Collections. Jonathan Saunders, Christopher Kane, Richard Nicoll and Meadham Kirchhoff are the main players here. And then there's JW Anderson, who started on the men's schedule, but is proving a commercial hit with his womenswear.

For the Savile Row rogues
Devastating made-to-measure with Savile Row heritage is the USP for a tranche of London brands. Spencer Hart, Rake, Richard James, Hardy Amies, E Tautz are just a few of them. Expect double-breasted jackets, monogrammed slippers and an abundance of beards.

For the kids
Cowls, shorts, stacked shoes, wigs, slogans, backpacks, nuroprene, and Nineties nightclub references culled from i -D Magazine deployed with the reverence of a British Library curator handling a Da Vinci - this is the core vocabulary deployed by the capital's satisfyingly leftfield menswear radicals. The Topman MAN designers, Sibling, Martine Rose, Christopher Shannon, and Lou Dalton are all key members of a group that gives London Collections: Men the "energy" our city is so famous for.

And finally…
Christopher Raeburn stands in an often-overlooked category of his own. But his utilitarian, sportswear-meets-military menswear - much of it remade from stockpiled surplus materials - makes him the up-and-comer to watch at London Collections: Men.

londoncollections.co.uk/men

Via: Its raining menswear - London Collections: Men autumn/winter 2013 line-up announced