Jigsaw SS12: Piecing it back together.

Buoyed by a so far successful re-branding, British high-street brand Jigsaw has brought its menswear back from the dead for Spring Summer 2012, with its first collection since 1999. More than a decade on and a lot has changed. The British classic formality is still here, but tweaked and re-conceived. Design director Frances Walker talked me through:

Male Mode: Who is the Jigsaw man?

 Frances Walker: He’s aged between approximately 25-55; Jigsaw Menswear is a collection which appeals to a certain mindset of man rather than his age. He is effortlessly handsome yet considers what he wears carefully. He puts clothes together as if he hasn’t tried hard. He looks for and understands quality in all areas of his life, he considers what he buys and chooses clothes intelligently. He is knowledgeable about clothes generally; he wants clothes which will last, that will integrate into his wardrobe without screaming and are fit for purpose and comfortable. He looks for great, relevant, contemporary stylish clothes rather than conceptual, of the moment fashion pieces.. He appreciates fine detailing, beautiful fabrics and is not afraid of colour. He looks for a point of difference in what he selects for his own pleasure rather than to draw attention to himself.

MM: From which sources did you glean your inspiration for the AW12 collection?

FW: For the first AW collection we were focussing on great British fabrics: tartan for colour and tweed for texture. The tartan provided a great colour vehicle for the collection. We used the classic blackwatch and the more loud red Brodie tartan. The fabric is garment-washed and comes from Loccharron of Scotland. The tartan was interpreted in knit, socks, shirts and outwear as a waxed jacket from the British Millerain. The tweeds, including a garment-washed tweed from Harris, stemmed from a look at Lucien Freud from both his nonchalant personal style of dressing and the neutral layers of oil paint which daub the walls of his studio

MM: If you were to recommend any essential item of clothing to a man, what would it be?

FW: For those in the UK – a great overcoat. For AW12 I would choose our timeless DB camel wool coat, gorgeous on any age!

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Still some key pieces missing or is the puzzle complete?