Spring 2014 menswear collections from Alexander McQueen (above) and Jonathan Saunders (right). Photos Provided to China Daily

Christopher Kane men's ready-to-wear spring collection 2014.

The spring 2014 menswear collections shown by Alexander McQueen, Rag & Bone, Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders have been recently unveiled in London.

Alexander McQueen's seasonal collection is dreamy, decadent and romantic.

Creative director Sarah Burton took the McQueen skull motif and worked it into a cotton lace for black or white frock coats that she paired with baggy shorts - a meeting of Marcel Proust and Los Angeles skater boy.

The lace, like a tangle of spiders' legs, worked its way into sleeveless vest tops, which were also worn over the ubiquitous wide-legged shorts. Suits, their trousers cropped just above the ankle, were fashioned from fraying floral jacquards or made from cotton ticking embroidered with black roses.

Accessories included black slippers resembling Mary Jane's and strappy ankle boots.

Burton cited "ceremonial dressing, the rites of passage of a man" as her inspiration, and this collection did carry a strong whiff of her fall effort, with its ecclesiastical bent. However, the strict shapes and sharp edges of last season are gone, while the tailoring, and poetry, remain.

The Rag & Bone show took place beneath a specially constructed glass roof - in case of rain.

Looks ranging from canvas jackets to cargo pants came with water-resistant Teflon coatings. "It's a much cleaner silhouette and treatment of the fabric, and a bit more of a minimal approach" than fall 2013, said the brand's co-founder Marcus Wainwright.

A palette of raven, white, indigo and sage took in shrunken blazers, button-down bombers, shirt jackets, textured shirts, tailored combat pants and even a summer duffle.

"It was about trying to twist very classic garments and make them in fabrics where you would never normally see them," Wainwright said, referring in particular to the sashiko-printed, Baracuta-style jacket and technical military pants executed in a linen and cotton blend.

The designer Christopher Kane, a self-professed science geek, turned once again to nature - and technology - for his inspiration. His men's collection echoed some of the themes in his women's resort offer, in particular prints inspired by the fluid, intersecting lines of 3-D computer graphic imagery from the '70s and '80s.

The collection was filled with outlines of faces and bodies - some cleverly drawn to look as if they were vibrating.

They were printed onto pieces ranging from T-shirts, sweatshirts and shorts to scarves and swimwear, the latter of which is a fast-growing business, said Kane.

The graphic designs were also printed in fluorescent colors on black, or woven into intarsia knits.

There were pops of rich primary colors - blue, red and yellow - for sweatshirt and shorts ensembles, and for those who prefer a more tailored look, there were black-and-white micro-check suits, worn with knee-length trousers and open-toe sandals.

Jonathan Saunders' razor-sharp vision was in full focus this season in a collection that played with "early digitization, synthetic color, tailoring and suits with flashes of color," and showcased his first accessories collaboration with Smythson.

Polka dots - ranging in size from pinpricks to Smarties - popped up everywhere.

They were bonded onto sand-colored, tone-on-tone tailored jackets and screen-printed onto cherry red creased trousers and transparent silk and Lurex shirts.

Saunders also created satin jersey varsity jackets in acid or emerald green, and Neoprene ones with photographic prints of blue skies with white clouds.

The New York Times

(China Daily 07/07/2013 page13)