For her Autumn/Winter 2014 menswear collection, British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood turned once more to Earth for inspiration. However, instead of delving deeply and closely into the environmental issues that have preoccupied her lately, Westwood looked at the bigger picture by studying the Earth from space before paying closer attention to its ethnic and cultural manifestations throughout history.

The influence of science fiction and of 1970s pop culture futurism pervaded the collection in the form of geometric shapes, symbols and patterns, as well as in coated and plasticised fabrics where a predominant colour palette of black, grey and burgundy was accentuated by dashes of white, red and gold. Similarly, contrasting images of masculinity as constructed through sartorial and cultural embodiments of the past couple of centuries were brought together in the juxtaposition of a nuanced biker aesthetic with sportswear, urban subcultures and a reinterpretation of suave dandyism.

To illustrate the fusion of influences, leather trousers and jackets with embossed patterns were aligned with track suits, bomber jackets and hoodies. Lace-trimmed garments, bow ties and turtle necks coexisted with trench coats and layered outerwear. In addition, Vivienne Westwood trademark bulbous silhouettes were engendered by combining asymmetrically fastened coats and trousers with wide pleated pants and shorts that came in tightly belted or tapered versions.