Sunny Side Up: Yellow Assumes Spring’s Spotlight

Bright, bold, and blond: Yellow outshines nearly all else as this season’s powerfully colorful wake-up call.

Image: A.P. Kim. Wool felt peacoat, $2,340, STELLA MCCARTNEY. Similar styles available at StellaMcCartney.com. Floral print sweatshirt, $260, AMI ALEXANDRE MATTIUSSI. AmiParis.fr.

FULL HOUSE

To entertain the extreme or simply draw an eye, start off with a head-to-toe statement in this flashy hue.

Image: A.P. Kim. Coat in helios fluid light gabardine, $2,600, shirt in citrine organic spring cotton, $590, pants in helios fluid light gabardine, $950, BOTTEGA VENETA. Available at 800-845-6790.

LEVEL UP

Take brazen and add blinding. A whiff of gold—either as an accessory or a full-on layer on top—will conspicuously elevate.

Image: A.P. Kim. Printed wild moto jacket, $2,000, COACH 1941. Available at select COACH Men stores and Coach.com. Printed shirt, $79.50, TALLIA ORANGE. Available at Macy’s. Scorpion pajama pant, $943, OFF-WHITE C/O VIRGIL ABLOH. Off—White.com. Sean sunglasses, $525, TOM FORD. Available at TOM FORD boutiques nationwide and TomFord.com. Model’s own jewelry worn throughout.

Image: A.P. Kim. Bomber jacket, $200, TALLIA ORANGE. Available at Macy’s. Pajama set in yellow and white, $345, PALM ANGELS. Saks.com.

BOTH SIDES NOW

With the brilliant highs of yellow come the glorious lows of it in contrast. Look to navies and deep blacks for an attractive rivalry.

Image: A.P. Kim. Yellow coat, $2,830, navy shirt, $630, multi-pocket bag, $1,750, SALVATORE FERRAGAMO. Available at Salvatore Ferragamo boutiques nationwide.

SIDE KICK

Grab a bag that gives some pull. Brightly colored accessories can rejuvenate any ensemble with a dose of memorability.

Image: A.P. Kim. Polo neck jumper in scarlet, $990, loose fit culotte in black, $600, J.W.ANDERSON. J-W-Anderson.com. Tote in pebble grain leather, $1,390, THOM BROWNE. Available at Thom Browne, NYC.

STRONG PACKAGING

Opt for outerwear that will stand out when needed but that also can be slipped off in a time of necessary subtlety.

Image: A.P. Kim. Jacket in contrast ribbing in sulfur yellow metis goatskin, $8,350, tank top in white crepe cotton, $770, straight narrow trousers in mahogany fancy weave cotton, $650, HERMÈS. Available at Hermès stores nationwide, 800-441-4488, and Hermes.com.

LIQUID GOLD

Highlighted in yellow, ultra-loud leisurewear takes on a nostalgic quality, recalling the spirited deviance of the ’90s.

Image: A.P. Kim. Embroidered track jacket, $260, embroidered track pant, $120, TOPMAN DESIGN. Available at TOPMAN, Fifth Ave NYC and Topman.com.

Styled by Terry Lu
Models: Alexander Barna and Nick Hadad at Request
Grooming by Alicia Campbell at See using True Botanicals
Associate Market Editor: Ellie Rogers
Photo Assistant: Jonathan Florez

Weekly Instagram Roundup: Florsheim, Alexander Wang, and More

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This week’s complete social snapshot, distilled for your pleasure.

From the hottest celebrity parties to the regretful morning-after shots, ESSENTIAL HOMME‘s Weekly Instagram Roundup brings all of the hottest designer, model, and trendsetting pics from the week directly to you. After all, no one has time to scroll through anything but the best.

Alexander Wang

For those looking to break free of the oncoming summer doldrums, ESSENTIAL HOMME December 2016/January 2017 cover star Alexander Wang has you covered. Unveiling #WANGOVER: The Guide, the designer releases his weekly manual to Manhattan’s many offerings, from the chillest to the hype-est, to make sure your Instagram remains fully boosted. Follow this wild-child wellness plan at your own risk.

Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein shared a look at its most recent swimwear release in a shoppable post of fresh, grayscale youth. Featuring the volley short, with its multi-pocketed design, the label shows off its tendency towards layering with a uniquely pieced together reinvention of a classic favorite, shot by photographer Willy Vanderperre.

Gucci

Donald Glover, Childish Gambino himself, attended the Gucci Cruise 2018 runway this week in pieces from the label’s Spring/Summer 2017 collection, including those coveted Ace sneakers. In an elbow-rubbing, who’s-who affair, the Alessandro Michele-designed line featured monograming, intense draping, thick layering, and every color under the sun for a collection dripping in self-awareness. Walking in the Palatine Gallery at the Palazzo Pitti, the show follows in the pop-Renaissance aesthetic first started by the house in 1982.

Dior Homme

Kris Van Assche reconstructs a classic staple in Dior Homme‘s Fall 2017 shoe collection. Crafted from black calfskin leather and a “newave” print, the Derby shoe is a hybrid pack leader, bridging the relaxed vibe of the accompanying canvas trainer with the sophistication of the broken glass laser loafer. A perfect pair to ground any streetwear ensemble, this daring kick is not for the faint of heart.

Florsheim

Having just passed its 125th anniversary milestone, Florsheim took to the streets of the East Village to celebrate with a live model exhibition throughout the Manhattan locale. Culminating in an all-out feast at Out East, the downtown seafood haven, the event toasted the Chicago brand’s legacy alongside Death & Co., the NYC brooding, gothic hideout.

Follow ESSENTIAL HOMME on Instagram at @EssentialHomme.

It’s Been a Long Week: American Whiskey’s Take Me Swiftly

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Image: ESSENTIAL HOMME, American Whiskey.

As true believers of the work hard, play hard mantra, we present you with It’s Been a Long Week, a weekly column aimed at awarding some liquid appreciation to you for just being yourself, dammit. Make a glass or two on us, you deserve it.

WHAT

American Whiskey’s Take Me Swiftly

American Whiskey‘s Take Me Swiftly cocktail, a fermented favorite from the New York eatery’s mixologist Joey Vargas, provides the perfect predecessor to The WhiskyX, a first-ever celebration of its namesake’s distilled history. Taking place June 8th at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, the whiskey walkthrough will snake through the past, present, and future of the smoky treat for an encompassing look behind the gentleman’s favorite.

HOW

Ingredients:

1.5 Low proof rye whiskey
0.5 oz. Apricot liqueur
0.75 oz. Lime
0.75 oz. Honey syrup

Image: ESSENTIAL HOMME, Canadian Club, Rothman & Winter, and Le Sirop de Monin.

THEN

Shake and strain into a glass over ice and top with supplemental sparkling wine as needed.

ASICS x JYUNI Reteam for Black Collection

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Image: ASICS x JYUNI.

Two Japanese labels, ASICS and JYUNI, team to pull Tokyo-heritage menswear into the mainstream with a new unisex collection of athletic-wear. Dubbed the JYUNI Black collection, the release—seven versatile pieces, from hooded jackets to knit shorts to everywhere in-between—covers the athlete in full-body unison from head to toe.

Image: ASICS x JYUNI.

With precariously placed pockets and minimal detailing, the collection breaks free of the sporting giant’s tiger-striped, splashy tendencies to strip the aesthetic to its barebones. Inspired by the quick pace of Tokyo, while integrating the time-oriented mindset of JYUNI, “twelve” in Japanese, the line provides a breathable antithesis to the heavier White collection created between the pair earlier this year. The hexagonal design ethos—color, construction, silhouette, material, graphics, and function—offers a full reinvention, bridging the divide between streetwear comfort and Olympic-level functionality. Urban, simple, and prepped for action, the Black collection is a harmonious balance between strength and sleek delicacy.

The ASICS x JYUNI Black collection is available online now.

Acqua di Parma Releases Ingredient Collection Travel Sprays

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Image: Acqua di Parma.

Befitting a fragrance line born of a voyager’s heart, Acqua di Parma‘s Ingredient collection releases new travel-savvy bottles perfect for on-the-go workaholics and high-flying adventurers alike. Featuring all six of the original scents—Colonia’s Oud, Leather, Ambra, Quercia, Ebano, and Mirra—the set dances around the Mediterranean for an all-encompassing olfactive trip. Marrying design with product, the fragrances are housed in an embossed, leather case with hinged top, protecting the traditional spray nozzle of the refillable bottles that click into place for quick spritzes as needed. Wrapped in a soft, matte leather that mimics a certain archeologist-turned-explorer aesthetic, the release is a stylish travel campion based on the original scents’ fan-favorite, masculine mixtures. Hefty, dramatic, and with notes as ranging as amber, sandalwood, and lemon, the fragrances are locationally defined, stoppering locales for powerfully transportive experiences.

Acqua di Parma’s Ingredient collection travel sprays are available online now.

Karen Walker Launches First Men’s Eyewear Line

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Image: Karen Walker.

Karen Walker steps across the gender divide to finally bring men’s eyewear to her delightfully out-there label, having spent the better part of the past two decades providing her unapologetic lenses to Hollywood’s feminine elite.

Image: Karen Walker.

Undisputedly masculine, the new line—quite rightfully named Monumental—bears all the eccentric markers of the New Zealand brand, shedding none of its unusually quirky charm. Taking methodology from ’30s simplicity and tense ’50s perfectionism, the line features clear, black horn, and tortoiseshell acetates, as well as smoke, brown, and green polarized lenses. Even the accompanying campaign, starring musician Connan Mockasin, features historical references to masculinity, the bird topper a nod to Julius Caesar’s preferred depiction of societal stature. The bold new lenses, as promised by Karen Walker herself, act as an inaugural foundation, an initiating release that will branch off into exciting new ventures as the upcoming seasons arrive.

The Karen Walker Monumental eyewear collection is available online now.

The Porsche Design Tower Brings Contemporary Luxury to Miami’s Sunny Isles

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Image: Porsche Design.

Jutting 60 stories into the skyline of the whitewashed shores of North Miami’s Sunny Isles neighborhood is a sleek, black tower seemingly more fitting for the urban landscapes of Hong Kong or New York than South Florida. The Porsche Design Tower, which celebrated its grand opening this spring, breaks the mold of the seaside city’s architectural identity as an example of ultra-contemporary residential living imbued with the DNA of Porsche in its every facet.

Image: Porsche Design.

Designed by architect Sieger Suarez and developed by Dezer Development, engineering plays a central role in the tower’s identity, with the pièce de résistance, naturally, being a car lift inside a glass shaft that rises through the center of the building and escorts cars from a discreet basement entry directly to the private garages attached to each unit. Aside from the feature’s stealthiness, it’s awe-inspiring to behold vehicles whizzing up and down through this central artery in the lobby.

Image: Porsche Design.

The skin of the tower is constructed entirely of glass, a material that sets it apart from the concrete or stainless steel buildings for which Miami is known. “Glass is extremely hard, it can be easily cleaned, and it stays the same,” says Roland Heiler, the company’s chief design officer. “It doesn’t corrode in this sort of environment as other materials do.”

Image: Porsche Design.

Consisting of 132 units—each with their own private jet-powered plunge pools and summer kitchens on the terraces—the building also boasts amenities like a club room that features several sports simulators and pools on both sides of it so that residents can sun during all times of the day. While the tower exudes a slightly masculine vibe, the neutral tones of the interior design and well-considered use of materials like stone and leather make it a luxurious crash pad for anyone lucky enough to reside within its walls.

The Porsche Design Tower is open now at 18555 Collins Ave, Sunny Isles Beach, FL.

Belstaff Launches First Eyewear Collection

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Image: Belstaff.

British label Belstaff releases its inaugural eyewear line, partnering with Melbourne-based Imatta on the 18-strong collection. Known for its artisanal quality production, the eyewear manufacturer offers up a lineup of Beta Titanium, hand-waxed leather, and Japanese acetate elegance to pair with the rough-and-tumble label’s explorative history.

Image: Belstaff.

With classically arched aviators sitting beside space-age structures and ’60s flower-power geometry, the silhouettes toe a delicate line between vintage and contemporary design. Offered in a range of contrasted colors, the pieces utilize Italian-produced goods to frame the wide-eyed lenses, contributing to Belstaff’s rich, global heritage.

The Belstaff eyewear line is available online now.

Weekly Instagram Roundup: Philipp Plein, Salvatore Ferragamo, and More

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This week’s complete social snapshot, distilled for your pleasure.

Philipp Plein

Around the corner from the glitzy red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival, Philipp Plein debuted his latest resort collection, La Jungle Du Roi, in a celeb-filled, pool-side bash. Highlighting prim florals and anarchic graffitis in a line born of a Warhol/Koons pop bliss, the designer shared this behind-the-scenes look of model Miles McMillan prepping for the big event.

Salvatore Ferragamo

Salvatore Ferragamo offered a look at one of Hollywood’s rising new stars, Brenton Thwaites, donning its two-buttoned, ebony brown suit for the NYC premiere of his new “Pirates of the Caribbean” film. Following a demanding press trail, the actor joins the growing roster of celebrity Ferragamo faces, most recently its fragrance ambassador Ben Barnes.

Jordan Barrett

Model Jordan Barrett joined fashion editor Carine Roitfeld onstage for the annual amfAR Gala Cannes, held in the luxe Hotel du Cap Eden Roc. Surrounded by industry contemporaries, including Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin, the group raised 3 million Euros for the charity after walking the Golden Age of Hollywood-themed runway.

Follow ESSENTIAL HOMME on Instagram at @EssentialHomme.

It’s Been a Long Week: The Green Cadet

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Image: ESSENTIAL HOMME, Mouton Cadet.

As true believers of the work hard, play hard mantra, we present you with It’s Been a Long Week, a weekly column aimed at awarding some liquid appreciation to you for just being yourself, dammit. Make a glass or two on us, you deserve it.

WHAT

The Green Cadet

When strolling along the French Riviera at sunset, it’s best to do it with a Green Cadet firmly in hand. This envious cocktail, concocted using the official wine of the Cannes Film Festival, Mouton Cadet, does away with routine for a delectably sweet treat that is sure to have you seeing stars.

HOW

Ingredients:

4 fl. oz. Mouton Cadet Sauvignon Blanc
0.6 fl. oz. Sugar cane syrup
1 lime peel

Image: ESSENTIAL HOMME, Le Sirop de Monin, and Mouton Cadet.

THEN

Fill a large wine glass with a dozen ice cubes and build cocktail.

Dior Homme Releases Short Film for Blacktie Eyewear Collection

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Video: Dior Homme.

In a new short film from Dior Homme by frequent A$AP Rocky collaborator Dexter Navy, the brand’s Blacktie eyewear collection stands center stage as rhythmic lights and pulsating angst writhe against the sleek-cut, timeless shades. Featuring three styles—DiorTailoring, DiorChrono, and DiorGenese—the reflective specs are constructed to emphasize the modular Dior Homme emblem brushed along the side in silvered metal. The film, much like its optical star, is oversized and intoxicating, a flickering glimpse at a sight unseen.

Thomas Sabo x Mercedes-Benz Collaborate for Special Edition Ride

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Image: Thomas Sabo x Mercedes-Benz.

German engineering reveals its universal clout as jeweler Thomas Sabo and Mercedes-Benz collaborate for an updated A-class PEAK automobile model. A high-octane upgrade to the vehicular favorite, the release is split between two differing color palettes: white, dubbed Glam, and black, named Rebel—both bearing the jeweler’s logo on the roof crosspieces, hubcaps, and fender plaques, but with delicate differentiations throughout the subtle paintwork detailing.

Image: Thomas Sabo x Mercedes-Benz.

Glam, for instance, is enveloped in the same filigreed Arabesque motif of the jeweler’s Glam & Soul collection, highlighting a more gentle elegance that ebbs and flows across the vehicle’s body. Its antonym, Rebel, bears the French fleur-de-lis markings of Thomas Sabo’s Rebel at heart line, dripping with the same deepened drama as the sterling silver collection and offering a more intense edge. Of course the desirable diamond grille and alternating sport/efficient handling are ever present, as is the record-setting four-cylinder engine that can rocket the vehicle from standstill to acceleration faster than ever. Releasing first in Nuremberg, the jeweler’s hometown, before moving into spaces worldwide, the new collaboration is a release that hovers between elegant purity and hardened hell-raiser to bring a bit of visual drama to Mercedes-Benz.

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class PEAK Thomas Sabo Edition is available exclusively at Nuremberg dealers now.