Forget the glitz and frippery that is apparent on the page opposite and has marked the slow emergence of women’s fashion from the recession doldrums. When it comes to men’s wear, the world is still overwhelmingly grey.

Grey flannel, grey tweed, grey pinstripe, grey cashmere and grey plaid – you can’t escape the sombre-but-safe shade this season. In fact, Calvin Klein’s men’s wear designer, Italo Zucchelli, served up a whole collection of the tint, running up sharp two-button suits, neatly fitted coats and even matching shirt and tie combinations in shades from dove grey to deepest charcoal. Talk about depressing.

Sir Sri Krishnaraj

But it was not ever thus, as a new exhibition at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum makes clear. Maharaja: the Splendour of India’s Royal Courts, opening on Saturday, serves up a spectacle of shimmering gold textiles, enormous jewels, extravagant peacock feather plumes and a rainbow of vivid colours, all hailing from the wardrobes of men. Given how often fashion takes its cues from cultural events (one season there’s an Yves Klein show at the Pompidou, the next season, there’s Yves Klein blue all over the runways; Mad Men hits TV, and before you know it men’s wear is full of Rat Pack 1960s suiting), it’s tempting to speculate whether this show might nudge men’s wear in a more colourful direction.

“I love opulence, but it has been very much against the grain recently,” says Savile Row tailor Richard James. “We have been here 15 years and I remember a time when we sold bold, bright windowpane-checked suits and had real eccentrics. Sadly there are a lack of those now. It has been a very plain, rather flat period during the recession but things are changing, if slowly. Men are wanting more colour and pattern such as Prince of Wales and dogtooth checks.”

A Chester Barrie suit

Will Palmer, brand director at Savile Row tailor Chester Barrie, agrees that men are starting to veer back to more colourful tones. “Customers are looking for alternatives to grey. In suits, colour is coming through in checks and stripes but the real burst is in jackets. We are beginning to see strong demand for tweed, which is a great vehicle for colour, particularly with bright reds and autumnal tones. For summer, our sports jacket and lightweight selections are strong on berry tones and ice-cool blues.”

As the Maharaja exhibition demonstrates, colour in men’s clothing can be synonymous with confidence. “The dress and jewels worn by a maharaja reflected his power and represented the wealth of his treasury,” says Amin Jaffer, who is international director of Asian Art at Christie’s and acted as consultant curator of the exhibition.

“For these reasons, a maharaja’s clothes and jewels were designed to impress and dazzlesubjects at grand public durbars and palace celebrations.”

“The distinction of style in India has always been the distinction of class and wealth,” says Hemant Sagar, of Bangalore-based fashion design duo Lecoanet Hemant. “Most Indian men want to look presentable but it has always been the rare few who want to be fashionable.”

“While people know quite a lot about Mughal history, less is known about the changing role of the maharajas,” says Jaffer. “There are some amazing objects in the exhibition so we can only hope that designers will be inspired by the range and breadth of craftsmanship on display.”

“The odd flamboyant touch, such as pocket hankerchiefs, are already making a comeback,” says Richard James. “Men are certainly buying less, but they are also buying better. Our bespoke shop is doing very nicely at the moment, and men always want those private opulent touches such as bright linings in suits and coats.”

“I don’t know about opulence, but I’ve certainly noticed that colleagues are getting less embarrassed about showing off new purchases these days,” says an investment banker who prefers not to be named. “People definitely played things down when everyone was losing their jobs. Now it is about appearing confident and looking like you are doing well – that you’re here to stay. Now men aren’t afraid to flash a new Rolex watch.”

‘Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts’, sponsored by Ernst & Young, is at the V&A until January 17 2010 www.vam.ac.uk/maharaja