As strange as it is to say that we are almost halfway through the year, a sure sign of this is when Sydney Fashion Week pops its head around the corner. Across the city, bloggers, designers, stylists and fashion fanatics are tuning in this week to get the first peek of what’s trending for the second half of 2018.

Although the runway is often seen as the mecca of what’s up and coming in the next season, often it’s not the exact depiction of the trends we are going to be seeing in the streets—Shakespeare shirts and tent pants are not on our wardrobe radar. 

We are complete advocates of the custom, tailored option where you can truly maximise creativity, however we still love to rely on the trends we are seeing amongst the multitudes of customers we fit a day to see what’s working, and especially what’s on the rise. Everyday, we see which colour combos are popping, what’s trending, and what looks should remain hidden. It’s been a busy week for our InStitchu Stylists, but we managed to tear three of them away from the Showroom to offer their predictions for the next season—consider this a revealing of the runway, and what’s up and coming in menswear for part II of 2018.

1. Valentina Maddedu - Showroom Stylist
—"The trend of the present is to actually go back a decade."
We’re not telling you to bring back the bucket hats, and we definitely want you to keep those shoulder pads at bay, but we are seeing a trend towards going back a decade, into the 90’s, with the rise of mega layers and even a come-back of the peaky blinders. One thing that we are loving and are seeing more of in the Showrooms and in the streets is the come back, and continual rise of bright coloured suits, whether it be your yellows, greens, or oranges. There is no way to better express your appreciation of the warmer summer and spring days on the streets than with a sunshine pastel yellow suit, and for those that are about to embrace Winter, a brighter, bolder coloured suit would be a sure way to stand out. For those that do not wish to embrace the highlighter effect yet (it is a very bold statement), feel free to take baby steps with pops of colour against a neutral coloured suit first—start with your ties, pocket squares or cufflinks and build up from there. 

2. Loris Micheletti - Showroom Stylist
—"Work and weekend are starting to blend."
We are all aware of the rise of Silicon Valley, and can see that tech companies are not only taking over the world, but causing a shift and disruption in the traditional notion of suiting up for work. Business casual is no longer just saved for casual Fridays, as men are blending their weekend and work wardrobe together with chinos, t-shirts and blazers often being combined into the one outfit. What does this mean for you? You are now able to get creative, and mix and match to your heart’s content—as previously mentioned in Business Casual—your way, follow the 70/30 rule (an outfit split of 70% business, and 30% casual, or in this case, 70% work, and 30% weekend), and you almost can’t go wrong.

 3. Adam Cremona - Wedding Stylist
—"Brown is the new black."
Brown seems to be one of the top shades of the season. Although you can almost never go wrong with neutrals, unlike your navy or grey suits, brown seems to step it up a slight notch to leave that lasting impression and a pronounced effect. It may be because previously, brown was seen more of a uniform shade for delivery men or boy scouts, but brown is the new black, and it seems to be sticking around. Brown works because it is rich, versatile, and helps enrich other colours. With its neutral underpinnings, you can pair it almost with any colour, however it looks especially fine with blues and greens. Brown has previously been associated with less formal settings, and even a uniform context in previous decades, so ensure that you have the perfect custom, tailored fit, to maintain an on trend look that remains professional.

Fashion week is a fine time to put the latest runway styles on your personal tick, or trash list and let your eyes do the judging. However, instead of focusing on what the latest designers are doing, our InStitchu Stylists have put together their style tips as a derivative of what they have personally witnessed to have worked in our Showrooms, what’s becoming popular, and what’s continuing to grow. Tune in, as we’ll continue to reveal the runway throughout the remainder of the year, and if you see some brown and yellow suits around town...let’s just say that we left a few clues around first.

Did our reveal leave you wanting more? Quench your style thirst and book in with a Stylist today for more style tips, served over a glass of whisky.