Cutting back to the fundamentals is a sustainable and simple approach to fashion

• Plus the ultimate men’s capsule wardrobe: the only 22 items you’ll ever really need

When people find out I work in fashion, they usually do one of two things: ask me to evaluate their look – awkward – or ask me, “What’s trending this season?” The second is actually the harder. That’s because, when it comes to menswear, being a la mode is less about some kind of seismic change and more about a twist. It’s a subtle wardrobe rejig: the length of your coat, or whether or not wearing a tie is in, rather than a sudden, dramatic silhouette shift.

A better question would be: how many clothes do I actually need? Thanks to the timeless nature of so much menswear, curating an evergreen capsule wardrobe doesn’t have to be complicated. Paring back your clothes to the very basics can prove divisive – some say there’s no fun in minimalism, while for others a sleek uniform edit is the peak of owning a style. Either way, we should all be aiming to buy fewer clothes, so the items that actually do make it into our wardrobes demand an extra level of consideration.