The latest in designer and driver collaborations — click here for an interview with Formula One champion Mark Webber about his work and the Porsche x BOSS collaboration — Tommy Hilfiger is releasing a capsule collection with Formula One racer and global brand ambassador Lewis Hamilton. Dubbed TommyXLewis, the new collection is a mix of extreme sport and everyday style. Based around a color palette of rich warm neutrals, the collection infuses some street elements, like sneakers and beanies, with more contemporary preppy-attire, like plaid shorts and rucksacks and plenty of shirts, that the American designer has built an empire on.
The TommyXLewis will be available in stores and online on September 2.
BOSS has a long history working with athletes, so its recent partnership with Porsche should come as no surprise. In addition to outfitting Porsche’s Formula E team (as well as its teams around the world), the two German brands released a collaborative collection of contemporary pieces for non-racers. But keeping in theme with the driving fantasy, retired Formula 1 champion Mark Webber is the face of the accompanying campaign.
Webber first worked with BOSS in the late ’90s. Despite associating with different teams throughout his lengthy career, he cites the designer as keeping him grounded. “BOSS kept feeding me and I kept buying BOSS even when I wasn’t associated with the brand,” he says. When news broke of the partnership, his involvement was a no-brainer. “I sort of see it as the band being back together,” he jokes. “I’m sure it’s gonna be a hit.”
Born in Australia, the veteran racer has had a lengthy career behind the wheel — in 2013 he retired from Formula 1 and two years later won the FIA World Endurance Championship before officially retiring from the sport a year later. As the face of the Fall/Winter 2019 campaign, Webber acknowledges the convenience and poise of the brand’s menswear. “They’ve always been pretty timeless and sporty. For me, I like that it’s strong and bold — it’s a very wide wardrobe for me.”
Unsurprisingly, the collection effortlessly captures the action and coolness of traditional driving gear and gives it a sophisticated and practical twist. This is evident in the classic leather motor jacket and subtly sleek black sneakers. Since this is also a sports-inspired range after all, there are plenty of performance-inspired pieces too — polo shirts and knitted pullovers are equipped with zippered necklines for optimum convenience. The collection is full of minimal yet clever design details that fuse the excitement of the sport with the contemporary polish of BOSS.
“HUGO BOSS and Porsche both stand for innovation and perfection,” CEO of HUGO BOSS AG Mark Langer said in a statement. “We have already cooperated successfully in the area of motor sports over the course of recent years and decades. That is why I am delighted that our cooperation will now reach a new level with the future-oriented Formula E series.”
Later this year BOSS will dress Neel Jani, who’s driven for Porsche since 2013, when he races in the upcoming Formula E sixth season. He also notes similarities between the car brand and designer. “Precision is everything in racing,” he says. “And so it is with BOSS. You have to know what you like and I think it’s that philosophy that both share that makes it [the parntership] work.”
This past weekend, Tissot hosted the US race (Round 9) of this year’s World Superbike 2016 Championship at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, serving as the official timekeeper for the notorious, high-speed event.
Image: Tissot.
Twenty-four global champs competed in the two-race series, where fan favorite and Tissot ambassador Nicky Hayden—who previously who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006—made his big return to Salinas, California, unofficially the American biker’s home track and one of the most difficult courses in the sport. “The biggest thing is so much elevation,” said Hayden of the site’s infamous “corkscrew,” a unique, left-right combination that’s known for its steep drop. “When you’re at speed on a bike, there are a lot of blind corners. You have to go off feeling. That corkscrew is like a four-story drop and you have to anticipate it.”
Image: Tissot.
Partnering for 11 years, each season the noted Swiss watchmaker since 1853 and Hayden have collaborated on a special edition timepiece and 2016’s T-Race Quartz Limited Edition pays a patriotic red homepage to his country, as well as birth state of Kentucky, with blue and white bracelet colors nodding to The Wildcats. “It’s got a lot going for it,” smiled Hayden, explaining his fans’ appeal. The commemorative piece is just a tangible part of Tissot’s technology that powers the world-wide event. Serving as the official timekeeper, the brand has developed a number of complex information technology-based systems to allow all—from spectators to teammates—to follow the bikers at every moment of the race.
Image: Tissot.
The next stage of the World Superbike 2016 is currently underway, Round 10 at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany.
