Peacock dressing boom

LONDON — Alongside the roar of Vespas and the crisp click of brogues picking their way on cobbled streets, another soundtrack seemed to accompany the Milan men’s spring/summer 2016 shows that ended earlier this week.

It was the furious flurry of camera shutters pooled around the crowds entering and exiting the venues. The phenomenon of street style — capturing well-attired real people instead of models — has swept fashion like a tsunami in the past decade, but what’s apparent now is that the industry’s well-heeled men are firmly front and centre of the lens. And this was never more apparent than in Milan, the city that arguably invented the peacock and has always had a certain flourish in the way its men dress.

While most jobbing journalists avoid the circus of it all — myriad deadlines and umpteen shows are exhausting enough without the added hassle of getting your coat to drape over your shoulder just so, while perfecting the art of staring at your phone for the paps — one can’t deny that it’s a whole lot of fun to watch, and an entire culture has evolved out of it.

“I don’t have a specific image of a well-dressed guy in my mind, but I know it when I see it,” said photographer Acielle (street-style photographers, like Madonna and Prince, don’t do surnames) from Style Du Monde, a street-style blog with more than 180,000 followers on Instagram.

“I love an element of surprise, a unique combination of pieces. It can be classic with a twist, certain fabrics, tailoring, sporty chic. When it works, it works.”

Fellow Internet photographer Dvora, who runs Fashionistable (25,000 followers), agreed that “a beautifully cut suit catches my eye”. “Combined with great grooming and accessories, it’s like the male equivalent of haute couture and will always look good on camera,” she said. “And guys always seem to wear a hat better than women, as part of their everyday look instead of wearing one for a special occasion.”

While this particularly niche pocket of the men’s style industry has evolved more furiously than ever in recent years, it’s not necessarily a culture that affects anyone beyond that insulated bubble filled with palazzo pants and printed shirts. But there is something to be said for the sheer showmanship of peacock dressing, at a time when the male fashion industry is expanding more rapidly than women’s fashion, when men’s grooming sales are rocketing and where being papped, selected, uploaded, tweeted, liked, shared and anointed into that curious pantheon can bolster your professional profile and do wonders for your social media presence.

There’s substance behind this piece of theatre. One magazine editor mentioned that part of the appeal of a recent hire was the fact that, within this microcosm, the peacock is a man whose distinctive sense of style is captured for the iGeneration. Is there a formula to getting that devilish flair right? Hats do well, apparently, as do quirky bags. The full peacock look is considered and studied, from your polished Brioni loafers to your Lanvin floral lapel pin, with a reliance on sharp suiting, perhaps in a rich plaid or Prince of Wales check, maybe in seersucker stripes, a coat worn off your shoulders (heaven forbid you put the thing on) and an artful way with accessories — a flowing Gucci silk scarf, a trilby hat with contrasting trim. Block colour is a favourite, from tangerine coats to poison-green trousers. Ditto bold print, for its eye-catching, clickbait appeal.

You could do worse than take your cue from the clothes on the catwalks, which served up a sumptuous visual feast that can’t help but capture the imagination of a street-style photographer: Silk chinoiserie at Dolce & Gabbana, exquisite embroidery at Gucci and quirky prints at Prada. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH