Best Dressed of the Week - Mr Zayn Malik

Zayn Malik is without a doubt the most rakish member of One Direction. He has shown a real flair for fashion and style with a constantly evolving look, playing with highlights in his hair, beards, tattoos and piercings. It is his wardrobe that is most enviable though. He (or his stylist) have a great way of keeping to a look (super slim and crisp) whilst playing with great cuts and trends, like the amazing Lee Roach leather trench worn at last summers One Direction movie premiere, along with roll necks, double breasted suits, Dr Martens  - the list really is endless. As is the brands that he has worn - a blend of Topman and Asos, with Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent and Givenchy. 

Pictured on the shoot of a new music video with band mate, Louis, Zayn wears an outfit from All Saints. The Foss coat is a great outerwear piece, made from Japanese cotton with a contrast collar. It is a great piece to dress up or down. The T shirt under the coat is also from All Saints - the Issue crew neck is only £40.00. Together they look great with black skinny jeans, boots, razor sharp cheekbones and a rakish hairdo. 

Shop the T shirt and coat at All Saints. 

Image courtesy of Fringues de Series 

Look of the Week

This week, the brilliant Clare Nield brings us an illustration that she has based on the rapper and judge on BBC's The Voice, Will.I.Am. Clare is an incredibly talented illustrator, that has created some great looks for The Rakish Gent and the above is just one of the many great ones that she has done. 

The look that Clare has expertly illustrated, styled by me is made up of 4 statement items, that are bold and daring. They would work well when worn as a statement, with simpler pieces, but they also work really well when combined. The floral print shirt is from PS by Paul Smith and is currently available at FarFetch. The plain shirt with a dash of floral print works really well with dark basics. Worn over the shirt is an amazing statement double breasted sleeveless coat from Alexander McQueen at Mr Porter. The piece creates a fantastic sharp silhouette. The flecked, tapered skinny trousers in charcoal are at Topman, as are the ponyskin slipper shoes, from Dune. 

Find out more about Clare and her work as an illustrator by following her on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. 

New article for Entouraaj Magazine

A new article that I have just written for Entouraaj Magazine is now online. For my latest post for the Brtitish Asian magazine, I revisited a brand that I came across and loved during LCM in January. Kaushal Niraula created some exquisitely tailored garments, with flair and personality, influenced by his travels in Asia, Nepal, Dubai and the UK. The designer and the collections are both profiled within the article. 

I would thoroughly recommend taking a good look at the Entouraaj website which has great sports, society and news stories, as well as fashion articles written by me every 2 weeks.   

Head to the below link to read the article in full:

Brand Focus: Kaushal Niraula 

MFM Edition #1

Men's Fashion Magazine is one of the online world's best menswear publications. It is certainly one that I am constantly visiting - for its great fashion commentary on current trends and fantastic images. The magazine has just launched its first digital edition. 

The digital edition has been a long time coming and a tremendous amount of work has gone into every step of the process. The team has done a fantastic job. Edition #1 features over 200 pages of style advice and photos, on everything from SS14 trends, an interview with Liam Gallagher about his label Pretty Green, guidance on how to dress for your body shape and a lot, lot more. Of course, they have used some of the best people in the industry. I am thrilled to say, that that includes yours truly, who has a feature on cinematic style in the edition, My article looks at my icons from the film world and how to get the style of James Dean, Richard Gere, Christian Bale and others in defining films like Rebel Without A Cause, American  Gigolo and American Physco.

If you haven't already, you can download #1 on the App Store or  on Google Play. 

Moss Bros for equal marriage

Moss Bros have shown their support for the new change in the law that allows for equal marriage from March 29th, with the launch of their new national campaign. The premier retail destination for men's formalwear has teamed up with Attitude Magazine as the fashion sponsor for the new "Love and Marriage" issue. 

In a historic step for the label, this week Moss Bros installed its first wedding campaign featuring a same sex couple in its windows displays. Exclusively featured in the aforementioned issue of Attitude, and in over 70 store displays, the company chose to display an image of Union J band member Jaymi Hensley and his fiance Olly Marmon, who both wear looks from the brands current collection. 

It's great that such an English institution moves with the times and can show themselves as in tune with current times. The Spring collection is also strong - the baby blue and pastel pinks shown above would both work really well for a Spring wedding. 

The Love & Marriage issue of Attitude is available to buy now. You can shop the Spring Summer 2014 Moss Bros collection in stores and online. 

Shop the Topman sale

Topman are currently having a sale with up to 50% off a huge range of items. Here is a small selection of some of my favorite sale items, which are bound to be snapped up really quickly:

Black shirt oversize T shirt £8

Green single breasted zip trench  £35

Black cropped blazer  £40

Checked tweed suit jacket  £75

Villain jumper  £44

Black leather monk straps  £25

Mid wash spray on skinny jeans  £25

Dark red denim jacket  £25

Black snake front T shirt  £10

Shop my picks and the rest of the Topman sale in stores and online. 

New article for Gent and Beauty

A new article that I wrote for brilliant online wedding magazine, Gent and Beauty is now online. If you haven't taken a look at the site yet, they have a great range of topics, advice and inspirational ideas for those that are getting married. 

For my latest article, I look to Summer weddings and was inspired by the great bold colours that we saw on the Paul Smith SS14 catwalk, which was influenced by 1970s rockers. Head to the below link to read the article in full:

How to wear a bold suit on your special day 

Look of the Week

Look of the Week is again illustrated by the very talented Mr Ste Johnson. Ste works on a range of illustrations and commissions focusing on lifestyle, fashion and style. I loved the last illustration that he created for The Rakish Gent on Valentines Day and love the distinct and individual style that he brings to all of his work. I am thrilled that he has created pieces for this site, and am incredibly thankful for the time that he took to create this look. 

The look that Ste has illustrated, styled by me, is a look that I call urban cool. It features really wearable pieces that are also strong style statements. River Island do print really well and this green abstract print parka is the perfect example of that. Nothing works better with a printed jacket, than plain dark denim and these black stretch skinny jeans named Sid are also from River Island. Statement trainers are still big, and these Valentino sneakers from Mr Porter are one of the best pairs that I have seen, featuring leather and suede panels. The dark shade of green allows for the sneakers to be easily dressed up or down. Finally, finishing off the look is a backpack from Mi-Pac at Asos, in black textured ostrich style skin. 

Big thanks to Ste once again for this illustration. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram, and find out more about his work on his website Ste Illustrates. 

Best Dressed of the Week - Mr David Beckham

David Beckham is one of those men that gets it right nearly every time. He looks dapper and elegant in formal wear (Tom Ford or Ralph Lauren Purple Label) but also can look great in casual clothes. This week, he was snapped at Rio de Janeiro airport, on his way back to the UK. His stay in Brazil has been documented by the BBC for a show to be aired later in the Summer. 

As a brand ambassador, it is only right that he be wearing Belstaff, a brand well renowned for their brilliant leather outerwear. Mr Beckham wears his black Belstaff Weybridge leather biker jacket with a plain black T shirt, slim but rugged denim, brown boots, backpack and his trademark shades and baker boy cap. The jacket, in signature hand waxed leather is a real investment piece that you can wear again and again, and dress up and down with ease. 

Shop the Weybridge jacket at Belstaff 

Images courtesy of Mail Online 

New articles for Chasseur Magazine

A couple of articles that I recently wrote for Chasseur Magazine are now online. As with previous pieces, I have taken a look at some new brands, designers and lookbooks and written about my thoughts on the collection. This time around the focus has been on the brilliant Ada + Nik, an innovative brand Digitaria, and for a change, a  unique womenswear label Sylvio Giardina. Links to all three pieces are below:

Ada + Nik 2014 AW Collection 

Sylvio Giardina AW 2014 Collection 

Digitaria AW 2014 Collection 

Lookbook - Lacquer Embassy

New brand Lacquer Embassy combines classic influences with modern culture, focusing on minimalist silhouettes and attention to detail. The label, designed by Mr Nikhil Sharma, fuses the relaxed elegance of youth with a sense of modern aesthetics. 

Unpretentious, uncomplicated and gentlemanly the range of pocket squares and shirts are great pieces for the modern gents wardrobe, whether worn relaxed or for business. 

The label was created out of the designer's desire to create, drawing on his influences from the world of travel and experiments in style. Nikhil also styles campaigns and also works as a freelance fashion consultant. Lacquer Embassy was launched in late 2013, with a collection of meticulously edited shirts and pocket squares, the images of which are presented in this post. 

Explaining the inspiration behind the brand name, Nikhil says "Lacquer is a surface coating provided by a craftsman as a final finishing touch. It resonates with the words 'polished' & 'finished'. The word 'embassy' denotes a space that contains what I love the most: a menagerie of my creations, accouterments and thoughts, all brought together in a single institution. This space is here to make you part of my 'universe'". 

The brand is already gaining international recognition and renowned for the brilliant use of colour and fantastic attention to detail.  

Here is a closer look at some of my favorite pieces from the collection: 

The Chateau Square 

The Tuscan Square 

The Deckhouse Square 

The Maisonette Square 

The Chalet Square 

The Laneway Square 

The Mews Square 

Shop my picks of the collection and the rest at Lacquer Embassy