As suiting returns to the foreground of the fashion landscape, Berluti‘s Summer 2020 collection made sure to explore the versatility of traditional tailoring in all its glory. Double-breasted suits were updated with embossed leather while some blazers were made sleeveless and elongated into an alternative layering piece, showcasing how tailoring can be incorporated with more contemporary flair. Brighter colorways also amplified the menswear staples to new heights — even the leather shoes were embellished with contrasting color accents — and a calligraphic print normally reserved for shoes and other leather goods was applied to several shirts.
The Celine Spring/Summer 2020 marked the end of another fashion week in Paris, but the show was also the site of a bigger loss. For Hedi Slimane’s third show for the French label, the designer seemingly abandoned his sartorial signature: the skinny jean. The statement pant that he had premiered during his time at Dior in the early ’00s, further expanded during his stint at Saint Laurent where it became a cult item, and later ushered in his inaugural collection at Celine last September was nowhere to be found in the most recent presentation. Instead, the designer opted for a looser flared cut in assorted washes and pant styles. Rest assured, there were plenty of other Hedi-isms on the floor as the show was a tribute to ’70s counterculture. Leopard print, rock-star tailoring, and plenty of leather reminded the audience that this was indeed a Slimane show, though the designer seemed curious to explore new territory within the familiar. A lighter color palette echoed this sentiment, with sunnier hues and more relaxed-but-still-fitted tailoring showing a different side of the same rock-and-roll coin — like when punk kids from suburban high schools become hippies in college.
It seems as though every other day a new ’90s trend pops up to fulfill the societal demand for all things nostalgic and familiar — whether it’s a reboot of a popular TV show or a capsule collection that celebrates some of the best and worst trends of the era. Over the past few years, countless designers have referenced the decade to varying successes but the recent AMI Spring/Summer 2020 show was a perfect demonstration of how to use inspiration from the period and give it a contemporary spin. The French label’s latest collection offered a crisp range of cropped trousers and relaxed blazers that perfectly evoked effortless minimalism of the decade (led by Calvin Klein and Helmut Lang), while a selection of lustrous leather pieces — long trench coats and button-downs left unbuttoned — felt current. Also, it makes the case that chain wallets might be one of the bigger trends of the year. Pops of color, including hot pink and blood orange, elevated the collection of perfect unisex essentials which look like they could be worn in any decade.
A tropical interpretation finds the classic Fratelli Rossetti loafer updated in true summer form. The newest Brera shoe is a soft and shiny calfskin leather piece that features a woven technique that creates a snakeskin illusion. Additionally accented with agile tassels and exposed side lacing, the new era of the loafer is set for the season.
The Fratelli Rossetti Brera loafer is available in select stores and online now.
Expanding upon its noteworthy accessories assortment, Saint Laurent has launched a new range of functional products for men. Out now, the NUXX line is a limited range of the designer’s bags and other compact accessories made out of nylon for durability. Despite the material switch, the collection of pieces retains the label’s signature rocker edge, with minimal branding incorporated into the monochromatic range. Some highlights include a duffle bag, a clutch, a fanny pack, and a wallet with a chain — see for yourself in the image above.
The NUXX line is available in select stores and online now.
Florentine leather brand Il Bisonte just opened a New York City store and unveiled its “Worn With Love” initiative, which will assist its loyal customers in caring for their cowhide leather pieces. The project is special product care, repair, and restoration service available in-store at the new Bleecker Street store and online. Proper care is absolutely essential to ensure that the product ages properly.
Cowhide leather has been vegetable tanned in Tuscany for centuries and the process is truly a meticulous practice that leaves no two pieces alike. Over time, the leather reveals unique patinas maturing, like a good bottle of red wine. And since 1987, Il Bisonte has provided that remarkable quality in all its pieces.
The new platform will offer users a chance to share their stories and comment on those of others in regards to their pieces, building a community of leather-lovers around the world. Vintage lovers will also be able to sell their own Il Bisonte products through the channel.
“Worn With Love” is now live online and at 381 Bleecker St, NY 10014. Check out a few of their leather accessories below.
For the fourth release, Berluti and Hublot have once again married the integrity of both firms in truly exquisite fashion. The new Classic Fusion Chronograph Berluti watch series is powered by a HUB1143 caliber and is available in King Gold or titanium, with either a rich brown or cool grey color leather strap — the material has a softly aged look that leaves it with a slight ombre appearance that only enhances its charm.
Additionally, each watch is packaged in a deluxe leather box and case that is inscribed with Berluti’s signature “Scritto” script, which was inspired by an 18th-century French letter that founder Olga Berluti won at an auction. The attention to detail and craft ensures that the packaging is just as remarkable as the watch within. There are even instructions on how to care for the leather inside the case. With a limited run of only 200 models being released this summer, Classic Fusion Chronograph Berluti is a timepiece for the ages.
Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe and Berluti’s managing director Marc Nicolosi unveiled the watch in New York on April 30th with a special event at World of McIntosh in SoHo, where friends of the brand and other guests were treated to a performance by slam poet J .Isaak.
Classic Fusion Chronograph Berluti will launch in Japan from 21 June – 20 July, and globally the next day.
Ahead of the release of its Pre-Fall ’19 collection, Dior is launching a capsule collection with sculptor and artist Hajime Sorayama. The new limited range of leather bags, t-shirts, and sweatshirts perfect for summer focuses on Christian Dior’s affinity for flowers and his time spent in Japan. Delicate floral prints are balanced out with illustrated robotic dinosaur graphics (one of Sorayama’s signatures) on quite a few of the pieces, showing a natural combination of the French designer’s legacy with Sorayama’s strong and distinct style.
The Dior x Hajime Sorayama collection is available in select stores and online now. Take a look at some of the pieces below.
Another callout to early ’00s nostalgia, Maison Margiela is releasing a series of messenger bags. The new NDN bag (which stands for Neo-Digital Native, which roughly translates to traveling and freelancing millennial) is a lightweight and sumptuous deer leather piece that is durable, an effortless mix of functionality and design. The accessory (available in a smaller and XL style) can also be outfitted into a backpack, with a strap that doubles as a belt, and the larger model is equipped with a pouch for all your on-the-go needs.
Max Poglia is the man behind the eponymous New York-based lifestyle brand which produces a compilation of handcrafted knives, bottle openers, leather bags, and loom-woven blankets plucked directly out of a cabinet of curiosities.
“I’m not very curious about these modern materials,” Poglia explains in a soft Brazilian accent, wearing his signature pinch-front cowboy hat. “That’s the beauty — you cannot control my products.” Made from natural materials including leather, wood, and bone, the pieces then set off on a journey of their own, aging in a unique manner. “Maybe they’re not the most practical ones, but I hope we are making products that you want to keep.”
As Poglia is making pour-over coffee on a rainy afternoon in his workshop in Bushwick, managing director of the brand Caleb Fechtor explains, “We don’t need to slap a trend on it to make it relevant.” Poglia is not local, sustainable, or handmade by trend, but by essence. “Even though consumers don’t necessarily understand what eco-friendly is versus artificially produced, they understand it aesthetically. They see natural materials, and it comes through that this is way more than just the product.” It’s this commitment to the highest level of artisanry that’s led to collaborations with Clos19 and Cooper & Thief, among others.
Born and raised in Brazil, Poglia moved to Milan before settling in New York. With a graphic design background, he helped chef Jody Williams open the Greenwich Village country-French staple Buvette, and later the Bedford Post Inn for actor Richard Gere. “I started to discover all these little corners of New York and things that I had seen since I was a little kid were super valued here, somehow.”
Back home, his grandfather owned a shop which would give out simple keepsake knives to their patrons on anniversary years. Poglia followed suit and made a knife with reclaimed wood, bone, and carbon steel cut from blades. His product was a sleek collector’s staple piece. It was then that Gere and his wife proposed that Poglia launch his knives exclusively for their inn.
From there, social media engagement grew and Poglia launched other products, including his leather “hat-holder” bag. His products are each related to his own needs, to connect the dots of his life’s trajectory. “In my culture, they call us gaucho,” he says. “There is this relation in a very organic and simple way. We get these stains in the leather, we get these marks from the animals, and we find the same marks on our blade.” It’s a story of a cowboy in New York, “lost in his own mess,” as Fechtor says.
Travel remains an integral part of Louis Vuitton‘s legacy — you simply can’t walk into an airport without being surrounded by the brand’s signature monogrammed brown leather luggage. The French designer carries this passion for exploration with the Tambour Horizon, a new watch with innovative new features that makes traveling easier than ever before.
Technically speaking, the watch is stocked with new technology for maximum convenience. The face of the timepiece groups crucial details (hotel and flight bookings, mainly) and departure times together to basically provide the wearer with a travel itinerary on their wrist. The Tambour Horizon is also equipped with a City Guide function, which provides tourist recommendations and addresses for 30 cities around the world.
Customers can personalize the watch with custom faces featuring classic brand imagery and the soft leather strap can be embellished with their own initials. By referencing their own legacy, Louis Vuitton has crafted a fine watch for the future.
Supreme continues to expand its influence with its latest collaboration with Timberland. Launching today, the newest collection between the two streetwear giants takes the popular Timberland 3 Eye classic style and updates it with a stylish leopard-print makeover in calf-hair. The bold footwear is also available in all black for a more subdued look. Supreme is known for its frequent high-key collaborations (which have a tendency to sell out instantly), and its partnership with Timberland is a perfect balance of daring street influence with a durable traditional shoe, ensuring that it will last long beyond the hype.
The Supreme x Timberland 3-Eye Classic Lug shoe is available online now.
