Slim pickings

Seismic changes are rare in the world of menswear. Unlike women's fashion, which is seasonally dictated by changes in colours, prints, patterns, shapes and volume, men's fashion thrives on consistency. It is not subject to perennial arbitrary dictates. It doesn't rely on looks-of-the-moment or new season must-haves. Rather, it builds up to change. It lets ideas simmer first before they take on a collective hold.

One case in point is the many seasons it took for the double-breasted jacket to gain mainstream popularity after a long hiatus from the fashion vernacular. Pleated trousers, after being usurped by flat front trousers for years, are inching their way back, but given menswear's glacial pace, it may take a couple of seasons or more until they make a true comeback, if at all. So what then do we make of the ideas and concepts coming out of Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent? How does his ultraskinny, ambi-sexual silhouette fit in contemporary fashion that is currently celebrating the ideal male physique? Where does his drainpipe trousers and cropped leather jacket fit in a market captivated by the generous shapes at Tom Ford? And how will his rocker-grunge aesthetic be received in a world fixated on the hallmarks of classic tailoring as witnessed in the many menswear blogs?

To find answers to these questions, I decided to give Slimane's Saint Laurent clothes a run around the block. Full disclosure: I was a big fan of Slimane's predecessor Stefano Pilati at the French house when it was still called Yves Saint Laurent. In fact, my closet is largely composed of pieces from YSL. That said, I was also an early adopter of Slimane's skinny look when he first introduced it at Dior Homme in the early 2000s. The first look I tried on was an all-black ensemble - blazer, silk shirt and trousers. It sounds pretty basic and at first glance the clothes did look just that. A close inspection however revealed the quality of the workmanship. The stitching was perfect. The jacket handsomely constructed. Tailoring has always been one of Slimane's strongest points.

The fit however was slim. So slim in fact, that I barely fitted into the samples. I had always thought that I was on the slender side with my Italian size 46 clothes. With Saint Laurent, I found myself reflecting on body image. If I couldn't fit into the samples, just how skinny were the models on the runway?

The jacket sat nicely on my shoulders as though it was cut for me. It was razor sharp. But I struggled with the arm sleeves being too tight and the length a little too short. The trousers clung to my legs like second skin, and mental images of rock stars such as

David Bowie and Steven Tyler immediately came to mind upon reflection in the mirror. So this is what it's like to dress like a rock star, I told myself. Not bad.