Just two weeks into a new year, and already so much to discuss! After last week’s Ye-dominated news cycle, this week, the baton was passed on to one of fashion’s buzziest brands, Bottega Veneta, who literally lit up the Great Wall of China for seven days. Yep. The Great Wall of China (yes, we know Fendi did a show there back in 2007, but it’s still a pretty damn big deal). Hard as it may seem to top that, the fashion wheel keeps on turning, bringing with it a new slate of co-branded releases – including The North Face x Gucci and Mulberry x Nicholas Daley – and a whole new collection from one of London’s favourite designers, Martine Rose. Rounding out this week’s buffet, we’ve also got a new campaign from Ferragamo and a spanking new Alexander McQueen bag. Napkins at the ready, girlies! Here’s what’s in fashion.
Gucci and The North Face take to the mountains again
While we all know that collabs are hot stuff now, it’s nice when we see one that’s more than just a flash in the pan – something with a bit more longevity to it than today’s breakneck news cycle. That’s why we were overjoyed when we heard that one of 2021’s greatest sartorial crossovers had been renewed for a second season – yes, that’s right, The North Face x Gucci. Picking up where it left off, the latest meeting between one of fashion’s best-loved luxury labels and the go-to outfitter for fans of the great outdoors has resulted in a whole new range of ready to wear, accessories, luggage and footwear, all fusing the two brands’ unmistakeable codes. GG-monogram bombers? Check. Hiking boots? Check! A brand new mountain-friendly (well, go trekking with it at your own risk) version of the iconic Horsebit 1995 bag? Check!! So where can you cop, you’re probably thinking. Well, that’s to be revealed, but keep an eye out for dedicated pop-ups in cities near you, where you’ll be able to shop the collection in spaces set up like alpine icescapes. Alternatively, if you’re in New York, Beijing, Tokyo or Shanghai, a dedicated product selection will also be on offer in The North Face’s stores, while limited edit will be made globally available on gucci.com. MS
Ferragamo promises a summer of beauty and opportunities
While menswear may be jetting off to Milan this weekend, Ferragamo is taking us to the Mediterranean! In their new SS22 campaign, produced by artist and director Amalia Ulman and photographed by Hugo Comte, actor and musician Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight, When They See Us) lounges around on deck chairs, yachts and grassy fields in a summer haze, alongside Amalia and their model friends. With a clear style influence being vacation shots of the Hollywood starlets of the 60s and 70s, pastel high-waisted shorts, gossamer white dresses, headscarves and oversized black-out sunglasses adorn their sunkissed bodies. The accessories are the stars of the campaign, though, spanning woven upper mules and chain moccasins, boho clogs and a variety of chic leather goods. On their oceanside getaway, Ferragamo’s latest garment, the strappy ultra-soft bucket bag also makes its debut. With a new film also by Amalia, too, the whole collection is the perfect summer-y antidote to our current January blues. TG
Bottega Veneta takes over the Great Wall
Go big or go home, right? Well after Bottega Veneta’s most recent publicity stunt, there’s barely any point in leaving the house to try in the first place. At a time when brands are competing to put out the most eye-catching campaigns in celebration of the year of the tiger, the Milanese house put itself in a league of its own by taking over a stretch of the actual, literal Great Wall of China. Following on from recent experimental advertising approaches that have seen the brand take over warehouses below the final approach into LAX and an open-air swimming pool in Sydney, this latest example sees the centuries-old defence wall fitted with a giant digital display. As well as the name of the house, it also wishes viewers ‘新春快乐’ – a happy new year – in shades of Bottega green and auspicious tangerine. What’s more, the house has also pledged a donation to the maintenance of the Shanhai Pass, “the Great Wall of China’s easternmost stronghold, historically known as the ‘First Pass under Heaven’”, a release reads. Pretty strong move, if you ask us – good luck to anyone trying to one-up that! MS
Canada Goose’s new overcoats are keeping the planet cold
With the mercury set to drop next week, you might want to wrap up warm! If you’re looking for a new sustainable option, Canada Goose’s HUMANNATURE initiative has got you covered. As part of the brand’s contribution to the fight against global warming, “Keeping the planet cold and the people on it warm”, and a promise to be carbon net-zero by 2025, Canada Goose’s HUMANNATURE capsule offer four new coats made from recycled materials. Undyed to reduce chemical and water usage, each coat comes in a shade of natural snowy white so you can look like Adam Driver at the ski resort in House of Gucci. There are the Ryha and Ryker overcoats, both belted and draped to the knees to keep you snug, and the shorter, high-necked Keifer and Nairo puffers. Now available on the Canada Goose website, the capsule is the brand’s largest collection to date of items made from preferred fibres – that’s organic fibres and sustainable alternative materials. What’s more, the brand plans to transition to 90% usage of PFMs across all their designs in the coming years. We love to see it! TG
Nicholas Daley and Mulberry make sweet music
In further exciting collaboration news, yesterday saw the launch of an accessories capsule co-authored by one of the UK’s most respected heritage brands and one of its most exciting rising stars – Mulberry x Nicholas Daley. A meeting of two craft-obsessed minds, it marks Nicholas’ boldest step yet into the world of luxury leather accessories. For it, the London-based designer has reimagined Mulberry’s iconic Antony satchel, drawing on the 60s and 70s jazz, reggae and rock & roll references that have long made themselves felt in his ready-to-wear collections. Music hasn’t just served as a source of inspiration for the capsule, though – it’s been it’s guiding force. Beyond the five iterations of the Antony – imagined in navy & ochre leather and suede – Nicholas and Mulberry have also created a selection of instrument accessories, including a plectrum case and a fringed saxophone strap. They’re then brought to life in the capsule’s accompanying film, in which Lianne La Havas, Sons of Kemet frontman Shabaka Hutchings, jam with members of Tomorrow’s Warriors – a London-based talent development charity that has fostered the careers of some of the most exciting musicians to have graced the screen over the past three decades. On the hunt for bona fide feel-good fashion? Look no further! MS
Carhartt WIP’s new film takes you inside skate scenes worldwide
Two years in the making, Carhartt WIP’s film INSIDE OUT takes us into the heart of the skate scenes of London, Paris, Milan and Madrid through the eyes of their skate-loving team. Running at 29 minutes long, the Joaquim Bayle directed movie features a plethora of artists associated with the brand such as Rémy Taveira, Ibu Sanyang, Felipe Bartolomé, Matlok Bennett-Jones, and Tolia Titaev. Together, they share the intimacy of skating through raw footage of the intricate techniques and tricks they master and the many times they have to pick themselves up and try again. Premiering in select cinemas across NYC, LA, Madrid, Brussels, Milan, Paris, Berlin, London and Shanghai throughout January, this stunning insight into the skate world will then be available to watch online at the end of the month. TG
Alexander McQueen has given its punky Four Ring bag a new edge
We stan a contemporary twist on a timeless classic. As the iconic Scream franchise makes its way back to our screens this week, Alexander McQueen is bringing back one of their staple bags. The Four Ring bag – a slender leather number with a punky jewelled knuckle-duster attached to the front – has been given a streamlined update, with its once-gothic rings now in sleek gold and silver options, and a body that comes in matte shades of black, tan, white and rose, and a glossy croc print variant. The reimagined look is part of the house’s SS22 collection, which saw Sarah Burton turn to London weather for inspiration on a collection of light, sunny and lacy dresses and diamond-showered blazers, pieced with a raw edginess from leather jackets and gladiator boots. The bag is no different, serving a little bit of glam, a little bit of grunge. Wearable cross-body, over the shoulder or as a clutch, you can check it out now in Alexander McQueen stores or online. TG
Martine Rose gets the party going for SS22
Martine Rose’s collection releases invariably offer plenty to discuss. Whether it’s staging a fashion show in a North London primary school, using a lookbook as an ode to camboys, or enlisting a women’s football team that had been unfairly overlooked with the passing of time, the label have offered some of the most poignant, conversation-starting moments that we can remember. For the see-now-by-now launch of the label’s SS22 collection, the Tottenham-based designer has done it again by enlisting not one, not two, but THREE of the city’s most exciting photographers to shoot the collection’s lookbook. In a surreal, hazy fever dream of an editorial, inspired by halcyon days of rave, Sharna Osborne, Rosie Marks and Camille Vivier shoot a collection that explores the boundaries between reality and artifice, subculture and high kitsch. Trompe l’oeil leather pieces are manipulated to resemble denim washes and denim jackets are cut to look like they’ve been yanked about. Paint-splashed tracksuits echo the styles worn by OG gabber heads, and campy telephone prints – nodding to iconic Athena prints from the 80s – decorate satin trousers and shirts. As ever with Martine, it’s a joyful play of contrasts – a brilliant amalgamation of references and observations that reinstate her reputation as one of the most empathic designers out there. MS