Alexander McQueen well not quite exactly, he passed away this year; but his brand is still alive, and it showed in Milan, recently.

The Alexander McQueen fashion house presented its first menswear collection following the designer's death, drawing on archives and the fashion house's British roots in a bid for continuity.

Alexander McQueen's spring/summer 2011 collection was the first solo outing for Sarah Burton, who has worked with the fashion house for 16 years and was named creative director last month. The fashion house may still be seeking its emotional footing since McQueen's suicide in February but found firm stylistic ground in the aristocratic and military tradition of Savile row tailoring district and shopping street.

The collection hits a range of historical notes, from World War I Tommies to uppercrust Eaton schoolboys. "This is the England of Alexander McQueen, a place of eclectic historical and cultural references," the fashion house said in a release.

There were classic trench coats of superlight fabric, over stretch tweed military-style leggings, and linen jackets paired with skinny pants that defy their slim fit with cargo pockets.

Douglas Coupland launches new line of clothing promising to 'explore a new way of seeing Canada'
Madonna's done it, so has Kate Moss – even Liam Gallagher's launched his own clothing line. But at last, fashion is taking a more literary bent as Canadian novelist Douglas Coupland collaborates on a limited collection of clothing and accessories.

From jackets to scarves, caps and bracelets, the Roots x Douglas Coupland line is intended, said the author of Generation X and Girlfriend in a Coma, to "explore a new way of seeing Canada" far removed from "birch bark and moose and Mounties".

"I've never really seen too much difference between writing or making visual art or designing furniture or clothing. It's still my brain – I'm just using different parts of it for different things," said Coupland on the Roots website.

"I began doing writing projects and art and design projects to explore a new way of seeing Canada. Roots is one more way of continuing this exploration. I want to present a wide-open Canadian sense of colour, adventure, communication and openness that defines our country."