Simon Spurr has never been shy about his grand ambitions for his brand, and he came out swinging with a collection that ran the sartorial scale from classically cut 3-piece banker suits to fitted denim and leather mash-ups. The goal, Simon Spurr said, was "a reinforcement of my British aesthetic. Quadrophenia done in a luxurious way". That may have been his inspiration, but the results veered more toward luxury than the Who -not that there's anything wrong with that. The Simon Spurr man is an unapologetic luxe-o-phile, and his suits are exquisitely and expensively made. If you're prone to 'should I ?' second-guessing or fussy affectations, no need to apply. Simon Spurr's still catering to the guy with cojones, the kind of proud-walking gentleman who can pull on a pair of leather gloves and a punched-up plaid suit without flinching. He's got no hang-ups about the color purple; an affinity for double-breasted everything; and he keeps his leather jackets, jeans and suits cut close with the same immaculate British tailoring. It's a reminder that you're staring at a man who's fearlessly decisive. This season there was a safari thread woven throughout, borrowed from Seventies YSL. Sandy trenches and sparrow-tail parkas were strong, as were khaki suiting and suede camp shirts (not designed for the rainforest trek). For the dandy back in the metropole, there was plaid and windowpane suiting with bold raspberry tones, and a baby pink pair of jeans. Earthy browns and grays dominated the outerwear while dusty pinks, purples, and oranges brought some seasonal color relief to the suits and sportswear. Spurr excels at the art of killer details -the grosgrain tuxedo stripe on a pair of khaki pants, a row of jaunty horizontal pinstripes on a jacket sleeve, the luxe diamond-pattern on a wool-silk dinner jacket, his new Spurr for Selima eyewear- such that, when searching for an underlying narrative to the collection, you realize that maybe the only story Simon Spurr wanted to tell was the one in which you always look good.
