Don’t know if you agree? and you might think I pinpoint and have bias, but I am just telling my thoughts…
Rarely do I find stylish fashionistos with very strong personal style, even on international level. I am not talking about the wacky crowd, I mean they are from another fashion planet (no offends). The typical male fashion insiders we see on scene are very well-dressed, mostly very safe, rather keen on Italian way of dressing, they tend to wear button-down shirt, with or without tie, denim or khaki trousers, jacket, coat and outerwear like blouson or bomber in the winter, all in all, a traditional menswear combo. This in fact shows the reality and facts lie on menswear: flat but tasteful, boring yet classic, eclectic and eccentricity are shown usually on refine details, colour or pattern combination, as well as accessories choices etc etc. To embody the above, the good examples include one of the gay mafia from NYC circle- Stefano Tonchi of NewYork Times Style Magazine and the ultimately English dandy Hamish Bowles of American Vogue (of course).
Then, I also see a bit more relaxed sort of peers who dress in loosen-up silhouette such as sport jacket or cardigan, roll up trousers or bermuda, with occasional mix of Comme des Garcons or Yohji or Junya, pair with leather lace up shoes. This look somehow exudes a nerdy feeling/ artistic approach to beholders. Next up, I, like most people find Jefferson Hack has his own personal style which is strong with very London sort of rocker attitude, I think he and his American counterpart Stephan Gan of Bazaar & Visionaire both embodied Hedi Slimane’s idea (well, the latter is a good friend of the designer), they both often received clothes by Dior Homme. One more thing in common too, they both are/look younger than Tonchi or Bowles, simply a different generation.
Is there any newer, younger, fresher hope? Yes- eventually, three of’em from different cities. No, not BryanBoy.
First one is Julien Bertic (see pic01-03), perhaps some of you already know who he is, Mr Bertic is the head buyer of Villa Moda, a select shop in Kuwait, who is also a show correspondent for Diane Pernet‘s site. I remember reading about him coming from YSL, Paris (during Tom Ford period? correct me if I’m wrong), been with Villa Moda for few years. I happened to see him at both Gucci’s Milan ‘n Florence showroom during sales campaign last summer, he looked every bit subtle and charming, yet he has the aura of elegance embrace around him, oozes male demure, a word people don’t usually use on men, but he is.

Another one, a young Frenchmen whose name is Christopher Niquet. Mr Niquet (see pic04-06) has already been interviewed and shot by [Purple] this spring. Last year, he was selected by former boss Jean Touitou and became A.P.C.’s f/w07 face, a campaign that was barely seen. Admittedly, he wore a lot of Hedi Slimane-Dior Homme, but now, he wears more of A.P.C. femme (for the fit) and vintage. Mr Niquet started as a freelance styling assistant while modelling a bit in London, he later worked at A.P.C.’s music record section where he drew the attention from Mr Touitou with his eclectic style. He later started working for magazine [Mixte] as an editor, on and on, his portfolio grew with greatness like Karl Lagerfeld at i-D, as well as New York Times where he now camped in the city.

Finally, someone from the Great Britain. I saw his pictures shot by Sartorialist and Facehunter, and I had no clue about who he was. This young gent is tall, young, cool with serious stares in his eyes (and a handsome face of cos). In one of Sartorialist’s pictures (see pic07), he wore a beige coat from YSL, a pair of well-worn red boots; he could easily be Pilati’s or Lucas Ossendrijver’s ideal client, muse, or model even, may I say; until last night I finally found out his actual role in the industry. His name is Garth Spencer (see pic08-12), works for GQ Style UK as junior fashion editor. Under the pretty face, he has nonchalant taste and good eyes. Surprisingly, he has also the precious international touch without being too ‘London’ (sometimes the rock ‘n roll spirit, ‘spirits’ and drug, scruffy and dishevel is just too much for my liking, you know), he’s very ‘of the moment’, very much in the present trend, i.e. relax, neo-masculinity, nonchalance (again), live-in, youth in the air, unpretentious, in general, a very non-look look or off-the-peg look. If you want to watch him talking, check out GQTV, he talks right after shows with his lengthy point of view, alongside Jodie Harrison, Dylon Jones and David Lamb. When I say ‘talks’, he really does the job, check it yourself.
Last but not least, if I have to vote for modern eccentric dandy, it has to go to Mr Fabrizio Rollo from VogueHomme Brazil (pic09-17), simply a true original and daring soul in men’s arena.