Skinny pants are prominent in Narendra Kumar Ahmed’s collection

Even as you re-configure your winter wardrobe,

fashion designers are already thinking a season ahead. Their look books for Summer 2009 are

bursting with new cuts, styles and colours. And it won’t just be women who will have all the fun shopping for trendy summer gear, men too can expect loads of cutting-edge styles to fill their wardrobes.

A battery of leading designers including Arjun Khanna, Narendra Kumar Ahmed, Dev R Nil and Raghavendra Rathore have interesting looks for men to pick and choose from. Meanwhile Agnimitra Paul and Sabyasachi Mukherjee have also made their debut as menswear designers.

Here’s looking at some trends for the next season straight from designer catwalks.

Trouser story

You’ll need to update your legwear. Next year pants will come in baggy or rock star skinny styles. Pleated pants are the next big thing. So, the Jigsaw Collection by Dev R Nil offers pleated trousers in khaki taffeta and military green pleated pants in batik with geometric cube patterns.

White is the colour for Summer 2009 and Digvijay Singh has a line of kurtas and shirts dedicated to the colour

Skinny trousers will be the way to go. Narendra Kumar has them in his summer collection called ‘The Rise of Fascism’ teamed with sporty jackets.

If you still haven’t got yourself Jodhpur pants then there will be no escaping them next season. Jodhpurs (typically flared above the knee and fitted till the ankles) are Raghavendra Rathore’s forte and his summer 2009 collection is meant for “the adventurous male, who longs for the great outdoors,” he says.

On the other hand, Arjun Khanna has matched his Jodhpur pants with regal sherwanis. He says: “It’s an elegant combination.” Cowls have gravitated to the front of the Jodhpurs in Arjun Saluja’s line and he recommends that these pants be paired with short-sleeved safari jackets.

In Indianwear, even the churidar will get a new look. Digvijay Singh has made an interesting innovation and has put the gathers at the knees rather than at the ankles. Sabyasachi Mukherjee too has designed churidars for men from his ‘Bridal Sutra’ line.

Raghavendra Rathore believes that jackets are versatile and can be teamed with shirts or short kurtas

Colour-coded

For the summer of 2009, designers have a distinctly cool palette. It will be a time for whites and neutral shades like grey, beige and khaki. Singh has an all-white cotton line in his ‘Morning Mandi’ collection. He says: “A crisp white shirt will never go out of style and can be teamed with almost any bottom.”

Dev R Nil are rooting for the batik technique

Rathore too has colours like white, sand, beige, coffee-brown and grey in fabrics like linen, cotton, satin and silk blends. Khanna has woven his collection around lemon and butterscotch in a line replete with summer fabrics like linen, cotton and silk blends. Even Agnimitra Paul has casual trousers and cropped shirts in white linen (and some blacks for effect).

Jackets

Funky to classic — the jacket will rule next season. Rathore says: “Jackets are versatile and multi-utility and can be teamed with just about any shirt or short kurta.” Troy Costa’s lapel-less jackets are worth checking out along with his cropped sporty jackets. Dev R Nil’s jackets are double-breasted with cube pattern embroidery in fabrics like Lurex, satin, linen and stretch cotton.

Zubair Kirmani’s sporty jackets in his ‘The Glocal Male’ line come in grey, beige and white tones with waistbands and multiple pockets. Biker jackets and trenchcoats (yes, even in summer) with drawstrings feature in Narendra Kumar’s line along with single/double-breast cropped jackets with multiple buckles and side pockets.

Detailed details

A colourful scarf is teamed with a tomato red suit designed by Zubair Kirmani

God is yet again in the details. Interesting pocket details are visible in Kunal Rawal’s military trousers in the form of flapped pockets. Multiple pockets (sometimes a dozen on each garment) appear in Rathore’s line of vests and waistcoats.

“Minute details add an extra edge to the ensemble,” says Nil who along with Dev intends to make the batik technique a hot trend next summer while also focusing on hounds tooth. Khanna for his part has given ice-cream effects — by creating ripples and swirls — on the cuffs.

Zips, studs and buckles will be around as details and Kirmani has them in plenty. Narendra Kumar has used metallic buttons and zippers on trouser pockets along with epaulettes (those ornamental shoulder pads used as insignia by military men and women) on jackets that add to the martial look.

Accessories

Funky shoes are not only a killer accessory for women but men can also make a style statement by going for quirky shoes. So it’s time to put away any drab footwear that and switch to something eye-catching.

The designer team of Didier Lecoanet and Hemant Sagar offer shoes in neon colours to complement skinny trousers. Kirmani has colourful strappy sandals for next summer while Rathore advocates the classic Kolhapuri chappal.

Colourful scarves will be another hot accessory and Kirmani has plenty of those. He says, “A vibrant scarf looks super cool when teamed with bright outfits.” The hands-down winners however are the polka-dotted scarves by Rathore that will give your wardrobes a whiff of 1950s fashions for men.