STRAIT-LACED AT BURBERRY PRORSUM and GUCCI SPRING 2016

Burberry Prorsum once again staged a classy runway show for spring 2016 and called it Strait-Laced, an obvious reference to the narrow tailored silhouette that inspired the collection, but also an acknowledgement of the way in which the lace itself undercut the formality of a tailored suit. Lace shirts and ties paired with sartorial cut jackets and pants made for a not so subtle BEAU BRUMMELL look. A lace collar on a trench was a timely way to update a Burberry classic. The "boy-friend" shirt may be stronger than ever next year!

Bailey found other ways to express the notion of loosening the straitlaced. Cashmere knit track pants were a big proposal. When he paired them with silk T-shirts, they had a sensual indolence that subtly subverted the basic tee-and-joggers formula. There was the same incongruity with the gauzy tops in abstract animal prints, or the string of green beads draped around a collar-and-tied neck, or the insect tiepins. Little details that suggested whoever is wearing the suit isn't the straitlaced guy you think he is. Christopher Bailey is continuing to add freshness to the palette of the Burberry man by pushing the boundaries of what the modern man should wear.

And not to be outshone by the Burberry Prorsum peacocks the ladies looked even more ravishing.

Not to be out-laced, we also saw the men's lace trend on the GUCCI runway but shown in a much casual look. There is nothing straight-laced about the GUCCI lad and lassies.