It’s funny how certain brands fall in and out of favor with the fickle mistress of fashion. There was a time when wearers of Gieves and Hawkes smoked nothing more than Old Holborn. Now, of course, with a youthful diffusion line, the Marlboro ultra-menthol-extra light has replaced the meerschaum no doubt. Or something more chemically ‘interesting’. There was also time when the only time you’d see a YSL logo was four seconds before the wearer of a lurid polo shirt with the classic Yves logo emblazoned on the chest pummeled you for looking at his bird ‘funny’ at a Fulham game. Now, Yves Saint Laurent is back. And cooler than ever, apparently. Serious tailoring (with commensurately stern prices) abound, which fits in with the Dior renaissance of lean shapes that only really look good on gangly youths and heroin addicts. But they’re not the only ones to be back in the limelight.

Lanvin, Aquascutum and even Daks, perennials of your uncle’s wardrobe are back with a vengeance. The one thing that ties them all together? The guest designer. Simply take a tired old brand that nobody would touch with a clothes peg and haul in the arriviste with big ideas and a dash of zeitgeist. Gucci set the trend with Tom Ford. Givenchy before Galliano? Forget it. Christina Dior was dead on its feet before it found renewed vigor in the shape of Hedi Slimane. And now Galliano again.

So, it’s no accident that Aquascutum has teamed up with the coolest man on Savile Row, Nick Hart. His label is affectionately named after his son Spencer Hart and boasts some of the world’s most admired leading men as clientele. His temple of all things ridiculously cool houses some of the most achingly beautiful and refreshingly simple clothes and man could wish for. Roped in to invigorate the ailing bastion of English gloom, latterly known for its tragic Japanese golfing outfits, he’s done a great job. After all, guest designers always get a great deal of creative freedom, alongside what I would imagine is a not inconsiderable salary. My wife bought me one of his suits for my birthday and it makes me look thinner, with less of a stoop and bigger shoulders. That makes him a bloody genius in my book.

The coolest tailor in the world right now (accordingly to everyone who wears a lot of black in Manhattan) is a guy called Thom Brown. And the least fashionable store in the USA, nay world, is Brookes Bros. His new collection, entitled Black Fleece, for the purveyors of Harvard standards and stalwart Americana suiting is going to be the true test of talented guest designer vs. hideous brand. Where do you draw the line, though? Will the Madonna collection for H&M be followed by The Klaxon’s range of headbands specially designed for a relaunch of C&A? Who knows? I’m just biding my time in the knowledge that, one-day, my Matalan tracksuit will rise again as the coolest thing in my wardrobe, under the expert guidance of guest designer Karl Lagerfeld. Perhaps.