London Men's Fashion Shows in Search of Direction I SORT OF LOST INTEREST in the London men's collections once I had clicked through the first day or two of shows. Extreme outerwear, lovely. Click. Muted English checks, always nice. New variations on track pants, got it. Laser-cutting run amok, sigh. More fun with gender roles, right. The London shows offered clothes in a variety of genres, but they didn't present a sense of direction, or even something that muscles everyone else out of the way. J. W. Anderson's girlie shapes and props came close, I suppose. But his explicit femininity mainly served to affirm what other designers, including Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons and Raf Simons, have already stated, and more cleverly, about men's fashion: It may be the best canvas for raising ideas about gender. So the genre is here to stay. In some ways, the London men's shows remind me of summer music festivals. There are a lot of obscure talents, with one or two big headliners, and a devoted, nomadic audience that follows them from gig to gig, and isn't necessarily expecting long careers from anyone. That may also explain the pattern among London designers, more so than those in Milan or Paris, to work feverishly in a single genre, as opposed to creating a broad vision that can fill several categories. The downside for the viewer, though, is that those styles start to look familiar. Oh, I've seen those big arctic coats. Christopher Shannon doesn't mess around with his knits. His graphic designs of cigarette packs were simple and bold. He, too, revisited athletic clothes, but there was an authority in his shapes. For the label KTZ, Marjan Pejoski - he's the guy who put Bjork in a swan dress - created elaborate patterns and textures that have been culled from different cultures. He then explodes upon them with relatively simple, contemporary shapes. His clothes are worth checking out. Sibling, another youthful London label, did a collegiate mash-up of denim and tacky prints. The narrow, somber silhouette at Alexander McQueen had a certain appeal. Sarah Burton also mixed in muted tartans, a McQueen mainstay, in a monochromatic look. For me, Christopher Bailey's collection for Burberry was the most engaging London show. Sharp, playful, sophisticated. Some of the leathers (coats and big bags) were apparently hand-painted. Printed silk kerchiefs were at the necks, or a long plaid scarf whipped underneath a handsome coat and trailed out. These gestures enhanced the nonchalance of the clothes. And, indeed, without them, the topcoats, shearlings and faded tapestry florals were incredibly appealing.