As London Collections: Men draws to a close this evening, it’s clear that menswear is a fashion sector is the ascendant: the shows attract mainstream press coverage with celebrities peppering the front row, and throughout London, men’s boutiques and the menswear departments of the big stores are flourishing. 

So who is the man buying designer menswear and how is he choosing to spend his money? 

According to Darren Skey, head of menswear at Harvey Nichols, their typical male customer ‘spends 20 per cent  less frequently than the female customer, but when he does buy, he spends 25 per cent more in the transaction, returning to buy every 30 days across fashion and accessories.’

Givenchy is a top draw for those clued-in, affluent men shopping in Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge once a month, and Skey says, ‘We often sell out of key styles and have to make re-orders, despite having the largest Givenchy offering in the UK.’

Of course, men are still spending on suits but Skey says Harvey Nichols has seen a ‘huge leap’ towards the sportswear trends of bomber jackets and trainers, and cites a pair of Christian Louboutin high-tops as a product that performs consistently well. 

"The typical male Harvey Nichols customer spends 25 per cent more in each transaction than his female counterpart"

Look at any of the images coming from this week’s catwalk shows at LC:M and you’ll see that designers – both those directly influenced by streetwear like Katie Eary and the more traditional houses like Burberry, who showed a collection crammed full of casual separates this afternoon – are taking note of the fact that men are now willing to spend significant amounts on dressing for downtime.

At LN-CC, the so-cool-it’s-appointment-only east London boutique that stocks menswear alongside womenswear and books and music, they have built an edit of sportswear-influenced menswear but although there aren’t three-piece suits for sale, LN-CC is a store dealing in labels at the very top end.

Jack Cassidy, head menswear buyer at LN-CC says, ‘The labels that do the best for us are Lanvin and Balenciaga, we like to mix sportswear and tailoring so the looks aren’t classic – they’re progressive – but they’re clean and refined, and serious brands like Lanvin and Balenciaga do that. Rick Owens does that well too.'

"The new well-dressed man is no Patrick Bateman type, aggressively spending on brash, conspicuous suits"

Because a lot of the store’s business takes place online, suits were never going to be a big seller for LN-CC – ‘It’s hard to get the sizing right online, the jacket might be a different size to the trousers,’ says Cassidy – and tailored separates are the boutique’s strongest sellers. ‘Jackets and outwerwear are probably what most people spend their money on,’ he admits, ‘but we are starting to see a shift towards people spending a lot on one statement or out-there piece.’

Running a business that does most of its trade online means LN-CC is catering for men in the US, Australia and Asia as well as the UK, but Cassidy says the styles demanded don’t differ significantly from region to region. ‘It’s a misconception that certain nationalities will buy differently or at least that’s not our experience,’ he says.  ‘We do take different nationalities into account when buying our sizes, we’ll get small through to large, a wide range, but we don’t see particular patterns in what people buy from where. We connect people throughout the world who are looking for a particular aesthetic.’

There is one cliché that rings true, even at the highest end of men’s fashion, and that is the notion of a girlfriend or wife accompanying their partner to the shops for an outfit overhaul, and Cassidy says that an increasing number of couples and families are making appointments at the Hackney store. ‘The couple take half an hour on each side of the store, the man looking at menswear, the women at menswear, while their kids look at the books. Everyone is happy.’

And that’s the thing about this new well-dressed man; he’s no Patrick Bateman type, aggressively spending on brash, conspicuous suits that scream money and status, but rather he’s a laidback guy who doesn’t work in a bank, a guy who doesn’t have to wear a tie or boast about restaurant reservations. He’s a man who loves fashion for all same reasons we women do, and designers are beginning to give him exactly what he wants.