Famous for blending nondescript exteriors with design, two iconic Roman spaces have become the backdrop for Gucci Men’s Tailoring Pre-Fall 2017 campaign. Featuring the 16th century Spezieria di Santa Maria della Scala and the 20th century Libreria Cascianelli, spaces chosen for their visual similarity to the collection, the new images are designed to clash, thrusting heavily saturated beauty against black and white disparity. Shot by Ari Marcopoulos, the campaign is an impressive update to a line brimming with natural and historical grace.
It’s common knowledge that a hotel is only as good as its amenities. Though spas are relaxing, eateries may be enticing, and athletics provide physical stimulant, this summer it’s all about one thing—the pool. Prepare to dive head first into the globe’s very best watery getaways, all you’ll need to pack is a bathing suit.
1. Kenshō Boutique Hotel & Suites: Mykonos, Greece
Image: Kenshō Boutique Hotel & Suites.
The Kenshō Boutique Hotel & Suites, a Grecian getaway nearing Olympian proportions, promises an “awakening experience,” extending from its 5-star accommodations through to its state-of-the-art “night pool.” Complete with angelic lights and recliners overlooking the Aegean, for those looking to swim amongst the stars this might be your only chance.
MOST WANTED (pg. 32) features the ten most desired items you must have this season, a series of bags, tech, shoes, and more, from the likes of Gucci, Balenciaga, and Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci.
Image: Nao Fujishiro for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
NEW ARRIVALS (pg. 52) details the latest collaborations and launches in fashion and art, including Acne Studios’ Blâ Konst denim line, Louis Vuitton’s Fragment collaboration, and Bottega Veneta’s latest footwear.
Image: A.P. Kim for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
Image: Louis Vuitton.
Image: A.P. Kim for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
SCENE (pg. 60) From cultural shindigs to downright blasts, the most fashionable fêtes of this past spring had everyone begging for more.
Image: BFA NYC.
Image: Jeffrey Fashion Cares.
Selected features include:
DAYS AHEAD (pg. 42) Summer’s line-up of well-rounded attitude signals a brighter, more-inspiring future for all.
Image: Daniel Clavero for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
SOFT TOUCH (pg. 64) Dusty pastels and muted tones make up today’s must-wear color codes.
Image: A.P. Kim for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
SWEET REPRIEVE (pg. 80) Away from all else, they were here, together. They were protected.
Image: Jack Waterlot for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
SEEKING GLORY (pg. 92) Primed with composure, this season’s most courageous sportswear is alive with activity.
Image: Cyrill Matter for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
CONVERSATIONS (pg. 104) G-Star RAW’s new creative head Aitor Throup and musician Sergio Pizzorno reminisce about their friendship.
Image: James Anastasi for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
WAYFINDER (pg. 110) Young phenom Martin Garrix resolves a path of his own creation.
Image: Matthew Priestley for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
DAY AND NIGHT (pg. 116) Restaurateur Eddy Buckingham harmonizes brilliant hunger with stylish holisticism.
Image: Jonno Rattman for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
AFRICA RISING (pg. 122) In his new namesake, Gabonese designer Teddy Ondo Ella designs for graphic, not geographic, appeal.
Image: Etienne Gilfillan.
EASY DRIFTER (pg. 128) Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau finds happiness amidst the chaos of change.
Image: David Roemer for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
Image: David Roemer for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
FIELD STUDY (pg. 140) London outfit Cottweiler dreams a new future for the ancient world.
Image: Johanna Nyholm for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
HOWL IN THE DARK (pg. 148) Sculpted tailoring with the rebellious attitude of a new time, Kris Van Assche’s inciting eye looks deep into Dior ’s history and then beyond for the house’s next season.
Image: Cyrill Matter for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
NEAR NIGHT (pg. 160) Left to the shadows, there was no alleviating his worried mind. All he had to save himself was time.
Image: David Roemer for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
BAD BEHAVIOR (pg. 172) To live like this seemed all but instinct—they knew no other way.
Image: Byron Mollinedo for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
SAVING FACE (pg. 184) Dare to go bare for spring with the help of these luxe shaving accoutrements.
Image: A.P. Kim for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
EAU SIR (pg. 186) This season’s best scents are inspired by everything from well-worn books, to an erudite collective, to water.
Image: Nao Fujishiro for ESSENTIAL HOMME.
SLEIGHT OF EYE (pg. 192) A new room at Treehotel near the arctic circle transcends all else.
Image: Johan Jansson, courtesy of Treehotel.
The Summer 2017 issue of ESSENTIAL HOMME magazine is available for purchase online today and on international newsstands as of June 6, 2017.
About ESSENTIAL HOMME magazine: ESSENTIAL HOMME is a US-based bi-monthly style source for affluent, successful, and fashion-forward men who are passionate about high quality, high-end luxury fashion. ESSENTIAL HOMME has been published since 2010, and past cover stars include the likes of Theo James, Michael Shannon, Luke Evans, Adrian Grenier, Tinashe, Alexander Wang, Daniel Radcliffe, Future, Hugh Dancy, Theophilus London, Sullivan Stapleton, Kellan Lutz, and Ian Somerhalder.
Alessandro Borghese, one of Italy’s most coveted gourmands and the judge of “Junior Masterchef Italia,” brings his culinary genius to New York with a refreshed menu at Obicà, the city’s first-ever mozzarella bar. Just before launching the new range, the chef sat down with ESSENTIAL HOMME to discuss the legacy of Italian cuisine and how to it translates to American audiences.
ESSENTAL HOMME: What’s the concept behind the new menu at Obicà?
Alessandro Borghese: Food to share. My idea was that you go to eat, not only for the food but for the experience: to chit-chat, to exchange opinions. I said, “let’s find a concept that’s “food to share.” Many little dishes on the table, conversational dishes. In Italy it’s called “piccoli piatti,” and now we’re doing the same thing in New York.
Image: Alessandro Borghese.
Image: Alessandro Borghese.
EH: What are some of your new delicacies?
AB: I wanted to develop hemp flour pasta. It’s done with a vegetarian ragù, various vegetables, anchovy extra virgin olive oil that I developed, basil, and, of course, delicately smoked mozzarella cheese. Fantastic taste—earthy, vegetarian, and very interesting with the smoked mozzarella. It’s that borderline idea of something fun and transgressive. And it’s healthy.
EH: Obicà is New York’s first mozzarella bar. How does your menu celebrate the cheese?
AB: It’s all about the mozzarella. Three times a week we ship it fresh from Italy with three versions: delicate, intense, and smoked. We put them on all the various dishes; always 100 percent buffalo milk.
Image: Alessandro Borghese.
EH: You were born in San Francisco but grew up in Italy. Do your American roots influence your Italian cooking?
AB: Italians are individuals, very much about the self. In the States you learn how to group up and work in a bunch. That group works for one purpose.
EH: Do you think Italian food is evolving?
AB: For myself and all my colleagues that work in Italy, we’re going back to [our] roots—more produce, less nouvelle cuisine, if you want to put it a French way. I’ve always been a traditionalist. Substance on the dish must be priority, the taste. Eighteen to 20 year olds, they come into my kitchen and I say, “Cook me a simple spaghetti al pomodoro,” and they don’t know how to do it. If you don’t know the basics you can’t innovate.
EH: What’s next for you?
AB: I’m going to LA tomorrow, for Obicà LA. Then the opening of my new restaurant in Milan, in front of City Life. I’m also starting off a new TV show for Sky, and then developing a new concept of Italian healthy food to export around the world.
Slide into spring with the season’s favorite footwear option, the versatile slip-on. Whether a partner for Caribbean yachting or rooftop cocktails in Belize, this low-cut go-to will never disappoint. Easy to pair and always appropriate, discover how the hottest designers reinterpret this ankle-exposing must.
1. Bottega Veneta
Image: Bottega Veneta.
Known for its intreccato pattern, Bottega Veneta utilizes a more concentric look for its suede slip-ons. Breaking apart the body with alternating colors of grey and navy, its a smoky iteration that offers a textured compliment to a toned down ensemble.
Sneaker in medium grey and dark navy suede with caiman details, $1,400, BOTTEGA VENETA. Available at 800-845-6790.
Rapper Machine Gun Kelly brings an effortless cool to John Varvatos‘ Fall 2017 campaign, showcased in these ESSENTIAL HOMME-exclusive behind the scenes images. With the same hell-raising tenacity of previous iterations, the latest pairs the fiery MGK aesthetic with Varvatos’ old school ease in a burgeoning partnership, the “Bad Things” crooner also having walked in the designer’s show for the very same collection.
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.
G-Star RAW
G-Star RAW shed 360-degree light on its latest eyewear collection in a short clip detailing the new, retro-inspired shades. With a larger lens and dynamic frames, the pieces follow suit of the brand’s Spring/Summer 2017 campaign to project an edgy flair and a stark rebelliousness from the label’s Head of Imagination Pharrell Williams.
Craig Green
After subverting the season with a new Core collection—meant to ground the company in staple pieces—Craig Green showcases its Spring/Summer 2017 looks with abandon. Available at Dover Street Market NY, the collection rallies against tradition with a closed front/open back design, deconstructing garments to their barebones minimum to highlight the precision and constructive skill of the label.
DSQUARED2
Swimwear gets a Canadian update as DSQUARED2 highlights its latest graphic beachwear. A cleaner look than its most recent runway, where acid wash and fishnet tops reigned supreme, the swimwear and matching accessories offer a more streamlined wardrobe. The eye-grabbing palette, with its bolt of shocking orange and masculine army green base, make the trunk’s inhibitive persona known.
Jordan Fisher
Alabama-born artist Jordan Fisher shared an on-stage look at his Wango Tango KIIS FM concert, joined by fellow performer and friend Olivia Holt for the sunny spectacle. The singer, known for roles in projects like “Teen Beach Movie” and Fox’s “Grease: Live,” not to mention a quick stint in “Hamilton,” has seen quite the year. His next venture, singing the National Anthem at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic event in New Jersey’s Liberty State Park, only solidifies his rising star.
Drawing inspiration from the inimitable charm of British country estates, The Stafford London unveils its redesigned Carriage House suites, a remodeling intended to make guests feel both at home and pampered in aristocratic luxury. Designed by Alexandra Champalimaud, the eleven suites embody a refined country style nestled in St. James’s, one of London’s most elegant and regal neighborhoods.
Image: The Stafford London.
Once the former stables of British nobleman and politician Lord Francis Godolphin, the suites emphasize space and comfort, combining modern art with elegant, traditional touches. Custom mirrors, wall coverings, and a mixture of tile and stone creates an English manor atmosphere, with warm tones for the bedding and upholstery. Commanding attention are the tall oversized headboards set beneath walls painted with a brush stroke texture, lending the rooms a personalized, handmade quality. A quiet, cobblestone courtyard divides the suites from the main hotel, an atrium open to guests and viewable from the rooms.
Image: The Stafford London.
Luxe five-fixture bathrooms offer double wash basins, deep-soaking tubs, and sleek glass showers, all encased in cream-colored stone walls and white marble floors. Enhancing the luxury are the heated towel racks and indulgent toiletry collection made exclusively for The Stafford London.
Image: The Stafford London.
The crowning jewel of the suites is The Gatehouse Room, formerly the hotel’s cherished Guv’nors Suite. The multi-floor townhouse is available as a one-, two-, or three-story suite, the latter two featuring a dining area and private lift. Soft velvets layer into bold patterns, offering a finer, delicate, and supremely luxurious ambience. These rooms boast fireplaces, romantic four-poster beds, original hay hoists, and historic timbers from the wrecks of Royal Navy warships, an exceptionally unique and historic addition. “The heritage of our Carriage Houses has been honored and updated for the modern day,” says Stuart Procter, the hotel’s general manager. “With timeless touches that are sure to continue the suites’ legacy of being some of the most luxurious accommodations in all of London.”
Image: The Stafford London.
Completing the ultimate Stafford London experience, the hotel also unveils its The Game Bird restaurant, helmed by renowned chef James Durrant. The restaurant’s décor departs from the country charm of the Carriage House suites, instead opting for classic London luxury, boasting wood paneling, fire places, burgundy leather chairs, and marble pillars. Celebrating traditional British cuisine, the menu features such decadent tastes as Norfolk black chicken, Clarence Court egg, bacon jam, pickled mushrooms, Orkney sea scallops, and roasted cauliflower.
Historic, charming, and opulent, the Carriage House suites and The Game Bird restaurant are sure to make guests feel “more British than the British.”
The Carriage House suites and The Game Bird restaurant are open now at 16-18 St James’s Place, St. James’s, London.
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
Baha Mar’s Cloud 9
Though its namesake resort may be labeled as the “Shallow Sea,” Baha Mar‘s Cloud 9 cocktail is anything but. Already an award winner, the concoction was mixed by bartender Derrick Blackmon to celebrate the opening of Baha Mar in the Bahamas, providing the perfect in-hand companion for the impending summer holidays.
HOW
Ingredients:
2 oz. Gin
3 oz. Soursop juice
1 oz. Coconut-infused syrup
1 oz. Lime juice
Image: ESSENTIAL HOMME, Plymouth, Goya, Torani, and Jugo de Limon.
THEN
Combine ingredients into a shaker and shake vigorously. Strain over ice and garnish with fresh grated nutmeg, fresh coconut, and mint.
Alessandro Michele’s Gucci is one of constantly blossoming flora and fauna, a thriving Eden where vibrant design can interact with the external world in both harmony and disparity. This methodology translates beyond just textiles and cuts—the historical house has made strides in rebranding its image into a driving force for contemporary inclusion. Taking this ideology one step further, Gucci attempts to subvert tradition by partnering with online luxury retailer Mr. Porter, crafting a direct-to-buy line of 43 pieces that utilize an Italian/English hybridity to ground visually loud garments within relatable parameters.
Image: Mr. Porter x Gucci.
Image: Mr. Porter x Gucci.
Image: Mr. Porter x Gucci.
Image: Mr. Porter x Gucci.
Image: Mr. Porter x Gucci.
Image: Mr. Porter x Gucci.
Image: Mr. Porter x Gucci.
Spanning across men’s ready to wear and embracing the fashion house’s iconic tiger and bee logos, the vibrant colors and repetitive patterns are not uncommon for the brand—similar tropes can be seen in both the Pre-Fall 2017 and Spring/Summer 2017—though fashion collectors will be pleased to see an updated yellow label will accompany each piece, a differentiating exclusive. Clearly emerging from Gucci’s statement-making ideal, though here infused with Mr. Porter’s British sensibility, the collection toes the line between riot and regality with expert precision.
The Mr. Porter x Gucci capsule collection is available online now.
Givenchy offers its aristocratic elegance in therapeutic form with the opening of Spa Metropole by Givenchy in Monte-Carlo, the brand’s latest retreat. Built within the opulent walls of the Hotel Metropole, a seaside palace that combines Belle Époque luxury with modern resort comfort, the spa devotes itself to indulgence and Mediterranean charm.
Image: Hotel Metropole.
Image: Hotel Metropole.
Designed by architect Didier Gomez, the spa opens with marbled interiors accented by décor that reflects serenity and the fashion house’s couture designs, such as the embossed white and gold walls. The retreat boasts ten treatment rooms, including a sauna, hammam, caldarium, nail studio, and state-of-the-art fitness center. Taking the experience to the next level are the chromatherapy bathtubs, sensory showers, guest-chosen playlists, and unique Givenchy services, including the anti-aging L’Intemporel facial and Celestial Body Interlude scrub. A Givenchy beauty store showcases the brand’s products, including fragrances that can be incorporated into the spa treatment. Combining the exquisite charm of Monte-Carlo, the hotel, and the monumental style of the French fashion house, Spa Metropole by Givenchy promises a unique engagement with the science of relaxation.
The Spa Metropole by Givenchy is open now at 4 Avenue de la Madone, Monte-Carlo, Monaco.
Though Parisian label Berluti has dressed men in the most iconic patinated leathers for over a century, since partnering with watchmaker Hublot in 2016 the house has boasted an entirely outfitted wardrobe, from head to toe to wrist. Revisiting their inaugural joint release, the new watch—the Classic Fusion Chronograph Berluti—releases in honor of the French brand’s 120th anniversary, adding a distinctly visual drama to the accessory. Designed by Olga Berluti, a direct descendant of the brand’s founder, the timepiece retains its familiar history with leather tanned to be moisture-free. Available in both all black and scritto king gold, the chronograph touts the customary sapphire crystal construction and anti-reflective treatment, set between embossed indexes of the Hublot logo. Arriving in a bespoke box with a leather care kit to assure the Venezia straps and dial last as long as the Berluti legacy, the piece is as much a technical achievement as it is a timecapsuled marker of history.
Image: Hublot x Berluti.
The Hublot Classic Fusion Chronograph Berluti is available online now.
