TREND: The white suit

Beloved of Mark Twain, FDR and Tom Wolfe, redolent of Graham Greene-esque envoys to tropical climes, statement- making on Mick Jagger, Saturday Night Fever’s Tony Manero and even Colonel Sanders, and now a fashion favourite – the white suit is the season’s take on summer tailoring. Roberto Cavalli, Louis Vuitton, Ann Demeulemeester and Hermès are among the brands pushing for a white out (in contrast with the season’s other key mood, for black). “It’s the only suit to keep you cool in a hot climate,” says London tailor Charlie Allen. “That’s its function. Its other function is to announce your arrival.” Or, as Wolfe has noted: “It’s a substitute for a personality – of course, you have to have three suits just to get through the day." Certainly the white suit is not an ideal choice for the sloppy eater. But as vacation attire goes, nothing quite beats it for glamour.

BRAND: Hentsch Man

The punning brand name may not appeal, but new label Hentsch Man’s clothing should. Born of a bid to make just one product – the white shirt – well, Hentsch Man’s remit has already expanded to encompass a tight capsule collection of wardrobe staples. Still based around shirts, including checked, short-sleeved and button-down (including the slim- but-not-tight-fitting Jack shirt, with the Benny ‘weekend’ shirt in the pipeline), the range now includes tailored shorts, slim, lightweight, pleated, tapered trousers, a couple of basic jacket shapes and boldly- coloured espadrilles. Co-founded in the UK by Brazilian Alexia Hentsch, who previously worked in branding and set design, all of Hentsch Man’s fabrics are sourced in Italy, Portugal and Spain, with all manufacturing also in Europe with the aim of keeping prices for these basics at affordable, mid- market levels. www.hentschman.com

BRAND: My Bob

Belgian brand My Bob aims to inject new life into that part of the male wardrobe that might appear to be dying a slow death – thanks to air conditioning and increased car travel – but which two generations ago no man would go outside without: the hat.

Milliners Geoffroy Moreels and Alberto Ibarretxe update classic styles by working with artisans in the country with which they are most closely associated – berets from Basque Spain, flat caps from England or Panamas made in Ecuador, for example – but giving them a simple contemporary twist. Panamas, for example, come in brighter colours rather than the classic shades of straw and have details such as complex weaves or distressed edges. Other key styles for summer include an open-weave black straw trilby and homburg styles in two-tone natural with navy, brown, pink or leaf green. Each model comes with the brand’s signature red grosgrain lining band. www.mybob.be

BRAND: Royal Hem

Pitching itself somewhere between dressed down and dressed up – that no- man’s-land of ‘smart casual’ – Royal Hem is a young, Italian-made, Japanese-designed label with a readiness to buck expectations. The neat shapes are soft and classic but the fabrication's unexpected. Its tailoring, for example, plays with the Japanese idea of jabito to deconstruct the suit by subtly mismatching jacket and trousers – both parts are made of a cloth of the same fibre but have different but complimentary patterns. Other fabrics undergo innovative dyeing techniques involving ice or glucose washes or blend in unusual ways: a shirt- like jacket in ultra-lightweight wool and starched silk, or a breathable blazer in gabardine and linen. Highlights include a double-breasted cotton jacket in micro- check, tablecloth check or taupe, and its slouchy sky-blue waistcoats. www.royalhem.it

TREND: Deck shoes

Last year, saddle shoes were the fashion choice for men. Now deck shoes – named for the grip invented by Paul Sperry in 1935 that gave good traction on smooth, wet surfaces – suggest the right level of insouciance and a soft, moccasin construction, but keep the feet covered. Thanks to Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Tod’s, the style is undergoing a revival - the first of these, for example, has created its Yucatan and Yucatan High boat shoes in silicone-coated matte leather. Similarly, Adidas has launched its Summer Deck model, a sneaker/deck shoe hybrid with canvas uppers; while men's shoe designer Mark McNairy’s Joe and Donald deck styles and his new collection for Bass Weejun are dressier. Those seeking more directional interpretations should look to quirky independent labels such as Artyz, Kitsuné, Yuketen and Deux Palmes.

TREND: Sunglasses tech

Anything goes in sunglasses now – new launches include camo lenses from Trussardi, hybrid Wayfarer/John Lennon mismatching from Novocaine, superthick frames from Illesteva, even Wrong Size sunglasses from Martin Margiela, in which the lenses don’t fit ‘properly’. But the overarching trend is towards the super- technical. RayBan has its Tech line, Oakley has its Jawbone model with interchangeable nose piece and lenses, and Julbo has magnetically-attached shields to keep out light all around the lens. Most impressive of all is the first model from Italian brand Loro Piana, a collaboration with Barberini, a specialist in solar protection lenses, with their world’s thinnest optical glass lenses bearing 10 layers of anti-glare coating, total ultraviolet and UV-light blocking, and an exclusive ‘rare earth elements’ treatment to give enhanced contrast. www.loropiana.it