Chester Barrie for The Rake: The Blazedo

 

Traditionally, men’s clothing has revolved around dress codes and rules. For hundreds of years, a gentleman was restricted in what he could wear and where he could wear it, but times are changing. The most prestigious of London’s private members clubs are slowly but surely loosening the boundaries of their dress codes, with Mark’s Club accepting jeans and others including The Arts Club even going as far as allowing trainers. Clothes are changing too though, and many designers are recognising the modern man’s need to be adaptable as he moves from one place to another. The rake of today may be in a formal business meeting one minute, flying to another city the next, and then settling for an evening of cocktails at a rooftop bar. He doesn’t want to be searching for a public toilet every five minutes for a Beyonce-rivalling outfit change; he needs clothes that are stylish but above all versatile. Which is why garments such as Chester Barrie’s Blazedo are so sought after and so innovative. They represent the future of menswear. Under the helm of Senior Creative Christopher Modoo, Chester Barrie has become known for producing exceptional Savile Row tailoring that harks back to the glorious years of golden age Hollywood. Far from only looking back though, highly contemporary garments have also left their studio recently including unstructured jersey blazers and of course the staggering Kingly dinner suit, also created in collaboration with The Rake. They’ve really outdone themselves with the Blazedo however. Named as such because it straddles the line between a blazer and a tuxedo jacket, this garment is an example of the creativity that goes on behind the doors of no. 19 Savile Row. The Blazedo is a hybrid garment and whilst The Rake is usually quick to shun clothes that fall under this category, the Blazedo is entirely successful. Here is a jacket you can wear to a black tie affair as easily as you can with a breton stripe T-shirt and jeans. The trick behind this versatility is the combination of curvaceous shawl lapels, which are normally reserved for the sharpest of dinner jackets, with large patch pockets - the most casual of tailored pocket styles. This creates an interesting contrast but one that is unified with the beautiful horizontal twill ottoman weave fabric. Chris explains, “the Blazedo is made with a worsted wool from VBC as part of their “vintage” collection… it is an ottoman weave with a distinct horizontal twill. It has a superior drape and holds a good shape. It has versatility and a bit of swagger. We at Chester Barrie love a good shawl collar and felt it was the right time for it to break away from the shackles of evening dress. The juxtaposition of the formal lapel and patch pockets will annoy some. This is a good thing. It's all about being subtle and playing with dress codes”. We couldn’t agree more. Read more about the collection here.

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