The Big Chill - NYTimes.com The London's men's collections mark the beginning of the fall 2014 shows and the return, ta-da, of On the Runway, just in time to release your pent-up feelings about patchwork. I will join the party in Milan, on Saturday, but I took a gander at the London shows online. Magnificent timing is all I can say of the heavy woolens and fat overcoats that appeared in the collections of James Long, Christopher Kane and Topman, among others. You can't help but think that raging weather isn't the only reality influencing the quality of these designs, and they are indeed exceptional looking: the crinkly, Jiffy Pop texture of Christopher Raeburn's metallic coats, the padded-to-the-gills look of Gordon Richardson's styles for Topman, the extreme quilting of Mr. Long's jackets and tops. There's an architectural aspect to these shapes, as well as a sense that we are all satellites moving in our spaces. And, please, don't get too close to me. Isn't what all that bulk and padding says? I'm intrigued, especially by Mr. Raeburn's collection. He has so much talent, and he doesn't waste it on phony effects. He makes a strong, almost minimalist statement with his silhouette, engaging the eye with clear shades of powder blue, khaki and ivory, and uses details that make sense to the whole. He obviously has taste, but the proportions and ideas are contemporary. Jonathan Saunders ably translated many of his ideas about prints and color to his fall collection, keeping shapes clean. J.W. Anderson didn't push frontiers except his own. Last season, commenting on the pronounced gender mix in his collection, Mr. Anderson said, "It's about what a garment means to a person." Fair enough. I found myself grinning at his puffed-sleeve sweaters, hiked-up pants (with platform shoes), ladies" purses and models with middle-parted hair, like Alfalfa of "The Little Rascals." Underlying the variety of styles (far too many, in my view) is an adolescent world, rather than a sophisticated or cruel or cold world. And that allows Mr. Anderson the freedom to play.