Becks Appeal

Men & fashion. It's an underrated topic, yet one where great changes are taking place as we speak. With last week's men's fashion shows in Milan having achieved furore in the international press, menswear is back in business with a full on agenda.

A market worth GBP 6,245.6m, British men are spending more on clothes than ever before. While the relationship between runway clothes and reality may not always be translated into wearability, men are currently experimenting more with fashion and, as trendsportter Marin Salzman, co-author of the upcoming marketing book Buzz: Harness the Power of influence and Create Demand stated, there is a new group of consumer, the "metrosexual," men who are interested in shopping, appearance and trends. Generally in their 20s and 30s, these men are fashionably aware beyond the casual khakis and button-down shirt look.

If men take their fashion cues from their peers and role models, one need only look at the influence of a David Beckham to see the clothes are making the man. Beckham of course has a unique appeal to both genders in a sense that is he modern, masculine and successful. When having a haircut or wearing a sarong makes national news, his influence on a new generation of men is phenomenal.

And for those who think that menswear doesn't change very much season to season, think again. It moves from starched to relaxed silhouette, from three buttons to two, from flat-front trousers to pleats, from colour injections to black and white hues. The current mode for slimline suits and item pieces -mixing your Missoni jumper with Burberry Prorsum trousers - is a far cry from the early 80s relaxed silhouette and bionic man look. And if the average man is not going to be wearing Paul Smith's bright coloured sandals and floral print shirts, these are after all to get the attention of the press, they will be wearing his new snug fitting and slim sleeve pin-striped suit, as this is the look that hits the shelves. (Don-Alvin Adegeest)