Men, strike a posy

This spring, put thoughts of florals being fey to one side and embrace blooms, says Lee Holmes

It’s a given that flowers, in all their colourful guises, have provided welcome inspiration for the arts. Whether it is Van Gogh and his sunflowers, or Wordsworth and his daffodils, the appeal of the flower is limitless. Even fashion designers are not immune to the allure of a floral print; at the Spring/Summer 2013 menswear collections the runways proved a veritable hothouse of vibrant floral designs.

At both Raf Simons and Wooyoungmi these multicoloured floral patterns were at their most impressive on outerwear, while British designer Paul Smith used a striking red-rose print to dramatic effect on shirts and bomber jackets; all were suggestive of the idyllic English country garden.

At Balenciaga, an audacious tropical-print design updated the urban bomber jacket, and left us in little doubt that this season, the bigger the bloom, the better. Perhaps after last summer’s must-have Hawaiian print, designers have recognised that, this time around at least, teeny-weeny florals just weren’t going to cut the mustard. Only bold testosterone-fuelled prints would do.

Obviously you’ll need to be from the peacock school of dressing to pull this look off with aplomb. And, as brave as you are to wear this look, you possibly won’t have bargained on the unwarranted attention of the honey bee; to them you’ll look like nectar nirvana.

This means that, for most of us, floral should be used only as an accent to what you’re already wearing. Accessories such as bags and shoes are the right way to approach this trend. Even just a floral tie or pocket square is acknowledgement enough – unless, of course, you want to add to summer’s troublesome pollen count.