Balmania—the excessive craze for anything contrived by fashion house, Balmain. Last spring, Christophe Decarnin of Balmain served up some exquisitely tailored, shoulder augmented jackets spirited by a Michael Jackson meets militaristic élan. No less than a season after Balmain’s SS09 show, did the jackets reappear in a crazed manner. Literally, Balmain coats were on the backs of close every dainty female who were, quite frankly, “head over shoulders” for Balmain.

Now what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, but sadly not this time around. Snapshots from Balmain’s AW09 collection pour le homme are out and the gargantuan shoulders that sent women the world over batty is strangely absent. What we do get are some rather average motorcycle jackets (the zipper detailing is not shabby though, I’ll give them that) and a distressed leather trench (yes, the leg work is done). I know, I know…beggars can’t be choosers, then again, I would have loved to get in on the Balmania epidemic and experience some of this shoulder region accentuation. Till next season I guess…

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Menswear is such a tricky area to get right. If you stick to the basics you’ll be branded as boring. But if you go creative then you’ll only attract a small client base. Yes, menswear is a limiting area and I expect it’s exciting for designers to try and tackle this challenging market. For autumn/winter 09 Carolyn Massey has found the perfect balance between everyday, wearable clothing and more design driven styles, ideal for the adventurous.

Tailored suits were edgy and the long length blazers made a nice change from the usual casual jacket. Capes and high shine jackets were definitely for the more fashion forward man. Bow ties added personality and strangely sat well against the more post grunge looks.