Burberry and McQueen Open Menswear Stores in London
There are two exciting new openings for the stylish men about town this week. Today, Burberry has opened its long-awaited standalone menswear boutique in Knightsbridge. You’ll remember reading about all the techie additions in the label’s Regent Street Store: the Brompton Road offering is no different with more than 100 screens and 50 speakers creating the audio-visual wow factor in store. As well as the technology, this shop stocks Burberry’s largest selection of tailoring in the UK. And if you’re after something really special, you can indulge in their fantastic new tailoring service. There’s a choice of three fits (slim, modern and classic) and more than 40 seasonal fabrics: make your choice and a suit can be measured, tailored and delivered in just 48 hours. The Burberry Menswear store follows hot on the heels of the new Alexander McQueen menswear store on Savile Row. For the first time in the label’s history, this shop stocks the full menswear collection in one place, from ready-to-wear suiting to accessories. Look out for the funky design features – skulls, claws and military chic in the shop – and don’t miss the bespoke area downstairs when it opens next year. London lads now have no excuse for looking anything less than super-smart.

The Best A Mo Can Get, 1-30 Nov
Just in time for Movember, The Best a Mo Can Get Barbers is opening at 10 Newburgh Street in Carnaby this week. The barber will be open seven days a week throughout the month of Movember, offering free ‘tache touch-ups for chaps taking part in the charity moustache-growing month. The pop-up shop is styled on a 1940s club, with a traditional barber upstairs, and a bar decked out with leather seating, poker, backgammon, dominoes and chess sets, plus ping pong and pool downstairs. There’s live entertainment planned throughout the month, including gigs, DJ sets, whiskey tastings and cocktail nights. Visit Facebook.com/GilletteUK for the latest updates.

Harrods Christmas Parade, 3 Nov
Finally for this week, are you ready for Christmas in London? Harrods certainly is, with its famous annual Christmas parade taking place this Saturday. The streets of Knightsbridge will be filled with Father Christmas and his amazing helpers; this year’s theme is Disney, so look out for your favourite Disney Friends plus giant teddy bears, street dancers, and real reindeer taking part. The parade starts at 8am, and will weave down Brompton Road before culminating in the opening of the famous Harrods store at 9am. Don’t miss it!

During the swinging 60s, the understated traditional suits of Savile Row were considered boring and the fashionable flocked to menswear boutiques on Carnaby Street for brightly coloured suits and shirts. When Nutters of Savile Row opened in 1969, the two worlds collided. Rock stars, artists and the stylish embraced Nutter’s bespoke suits because they were fashionable as well as beautifully crafted.

The exhibition includes suits, jackets, sketches and a couple of pieces of knitwear. Some of the suits are very much of their time, made from velvet or satin, with flares and flouncy trim. They are the sort of outfits worn by celebs on those old episodes of Morecombe and Wise. But the Fashion & Textile Museum understands the zeitgeist and these suits feel unexpectedly fresh and exciting.

As well as fans of fashion, tailoring and style, this exhibition is also perfect for music fans as suits have been loaned by stars like Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Cilla Black and Elton John. Nutter made astonishing jumpsuits for Elton’s 80s tours, as well as a coral flared jumpsuit for Neil Sedaka which is amusingly 70s. It says a lot about Nutter’s star-attracting style that one of The Beatles turned up at the exhibition’s private view last night. (Ringo! Very exciting.)

Admission also includes entry to a small photography exhibition of work by Justin De Villeneuve featuring Twiggy at the legendary London department store Biba.

Tommy Nutter is on at the Fashion and Textile Museum from 20 May to 22 October 2011. Adult £8, concessions £5. www.ftmlondon.org

To celebrate British Wool Week, the Campaign for Wool have filled Savile Row with grass and sheep! If you’re fanatical about fashion, you’ll probably be aware that wool tailoring is enjoying a massive resurgence in popularity, thanks in part to Matt “The Doctor” Smith‘s Harris Tweed jacket and Benedict Cumberbatch dashing about as Sherlock Holmes in an Inverness Cape. Savile Row is the perfect place to check out the latest menswear trends and indulge in a little bit of luxury.

The Exmoor Horns and Bowmont sheep were happily grazing in the sunshine in central London this morning and will be there all day. Next to the sheep is an exhibition by R Gledhill, who card and spin British wool into yarn which then gets spun into cloth which is then used by Savile Row tailors to make bespoke suits.

All those big boxes of unspun fleece were so soft, colourful and tempting it made me wish I’d popped my spindle in my bag this morning so I could spin a few meters!

If you’re popping along to see the sheep, you might also be excited to know that many of Mayfair’s most distinguished tailors, including Hardy Amies and H.Huntsman & Sons have opened their studios and archives to the public today so you can find out what goes on behind the scenes.

I took a tour of Anderson & Sheppard with Managing Director John Hitchcock who guided me round the shop, office, changing rooms and workshops and showed us (some London College of Fashion students joined in) the details on some funky purple and yellow plus fours suit which won the 2009 Golden Shears competition. John also told us about Alexander McQueen‘s time at Anderson & Sheppard.

You can pop along to see the sheep and enjoy the open day till 6pm tonight. If you can’t make it there are events happening all week, including wool themed windows in many shops across London including Selfridges, Jaeger and Jigsaw. You can follow the design trail at the Design Centre Chelsea Harbour to find out more about wool for your home.

Find out more about The Campaign for Wool, British Wool Week and why wool is the ultimate in sustainable, biodegradable and luxurious fashion at www.campaignforwool.org

Sad news yesterday: London designer Alexander McQueen was found dead at his Westminster apartment.

The so-called the bad boy of fashion, Alexander McQueen became a hugely influential force in the fashion industry, and his death is being mourned across the world.

He was born Lee Alexander McQueen, the youngest in a family of six kids, the son of an East End cab driver. Schooled in Stratford, McQueen remained proud of his working-class London roots. At the age of 16, McQueen began working as an apprentice at Savile Row tailor Anderson & Sheppard, then moved to Gieves & Hawkes on the legendary street. He also worked at Angels and Bermans, theatrical costumiers on Shaftesbury Avenue. In the 1990s, he completed an MA at Central Saint Martins.

In many ways, Alexander McQueen’s styles were typically London: rebellious, irreverent, creative and pragmatic.

US Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour called McQueen “one of the greatest talents of his generation.”

“He brought a uniquely British sense of daring and aesthetic fearlessness to the global stage of fashion. In such a short career, Alexander McQueen’s influence was astonishing – from street style, to music culture and the world’s museums,” she said in a statement. “His passing marks an insurmountable loss.”

His death comes just days before London Fashion Week, where he will be sorely missed.