Biscotti brawn: Men's wear palette gets earthier for Fall Winter 2018

Brown isn’t usually seen as the most flattering colour for the Indian skin tone, but over the last few seasons, different shades of this neutral hue have emerged to be the runway favourite. For the upcoming fall winter too, the biscotti palette is seen across the board — from Dolce & Gabbana and Fendi to Haider Ackermann and Lemaire, from Marni and Prada to Zegna and Off-white. Does it signal luxury ready-to-wear’s return to a classic and versatile wardrobe? Stylist Divyak Dsouza says, “Brown — its myriad tones and textures can be carried forward from one season to another. For instance, a camel coat is always practical. Today customers are looking at investing in classic pieces. I see brown as a neutral and functional hue from a retail perspective.”

No bias towards brown 

Divyak who’s also working in the wedding/groom space sees a peak in Indian menswear both editorially and commercially. “Today grooms are willing to take more risks. It’s not unusual to see a regular South Delhi boy opt for colour block prints for a pre-wedding bash. Also, a lot of menswear designers in India have flirted with brown in their own handwriting — be it the desert safari look conjured by Antar-Agni or the luxe laidback aced by Khanijo. I don’t see any bias towards brown — for instance, Khanijo showcased brown safari suits while Shantanu & Nikhil played with golden brown hue.”

Designer Kunal Rawal who’s employed tones of dark orange and tan in his offerings feel that there’s a misconception that brown doesn’t work on the Indian skin tone. “Among the brown family, dark chocolate has a certain sharpness to it. I see people opening up to tan. Team it with vanilla or bolder colours. The colour blocking softens and sharpens it,” says he. 

A retro nod 

The camel palette springs to mind ‘70s cinema — be it the classic trenchcoats or the safari suits and it’s fashion’s way of getting a tad nostalgic about the swinging decade. Stylist Akshay Tyagi says, “At Paris Fashion Week, Louis Vuitton revisited it with their signature monograms. One can make it super cool by going tone on tone or offset it with complementary tones of orange, white and blue.”

A tricky colour

A section of stylists opine that one can go drastically wrong with this tone. Stylist Isha Bhansali who dressed Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkummar Rao in brown calls it a tricky colour. “You need to make sure it’s well-tailored. Never do a mono brown but break the monotony with other tones,” says Isha. 

Designer Gaurav Khanijo is planning to showcase dusty browns at the upcoming Lakme Fashion Week. “Clash brown with a powder blue. A brown turtle neck looks great too. We’ve also done bandhgalas in browns and I see a lot of wearability in it. A classic trench won’t bore you. However, it needs to be put together well,” cautions Gaurav.