With her menswear line, Phoebe English has developed an intimate language that draws from the personal style of those closest to her. The London designer carved her niche with her complex womenswear before successfully branching out into clothes for men, stripping things back to find a simpler course inspired by the clothes worn by her boyfriend, family and friends.

This season, English will bring her form-focussed pieces to LFWM for her second presentation on schedule (check out our preview of her first here). Here, she reflects on the people who feed her pieces.

Phoebe English FW17

“The menswear collection isn’t usually influenced by external inspirations, it is more myopic than that, it’s built on the men I know and how they dress, how they directly use their clothes on a daily basis,” English reflects. “It is based on reality rather than research and inspiration – the inspiration images that I find are usually to support the people that I know that I am working from.

“Most of the men I know are creative people, so the collection is built on men who are artists or designers themselves,” says English. “Where the colouring and silhouettes are quite traditional for menswear, I have used a more varied selection of fabrics than in previous seasons.

The mens collections are always based on Sam [English’s boyfriend] but I have a couple of other male friends who really enjoy wearing the pieces, so I think they have also come into the collection this time.”

Phoebe English’s FW17 presentation will take place on Friday 6th January at 12:30pm. Stay tuned to HERO for full fashion week coverage from London, Milan and Paris.