Happy Pharrell’s first Louis Vuitton Men’s show!! Ahead of the polymath dropping his highly anticipated SS24 offering as creative director of the house, he released his equally as highly anticipated first campaign, and it did not let down, featuring none other than fashion icon Rihanna! In other fashion week news, we also have the lowdown on everything Pitti Uomo and the best of London Fashion Week Men’s. Then, just in time for this summer heatwave, Kim K’s scorching hot SKIMS Swim comes to London for a unique pop up experience; Jordanluca brings his club-ready shades to Machine-A; and Gray Sorrenti takes the Studio FY7 x New Balance trainer to the beautiful Nepalese coast. Finally, UGG and The Elder Statesman showcase their upcoming collab, Margaret Howell and Fred Perry reunite and KNWLS brings back its iconic it girl photo series Proxy. Here’s what’s in fashion.
What went down at Pitti Uomo
Of all the pit stops on fashion’s calendar, Pitti is the most traditional, attracting the menswear hardcore, buyers and sprezzatura Italians wishing to flex their Kiton two-piece in the stately grounds of Fortezza da Basso. If anything, it’s stealth wealth’s ground zero, serving up exquisite tailoring and genteel designs in a classic trade show format. More clothes, less fuss.
Of course, times have changed, and the occasion garners more than just Milanese buyers, but a whole swathe of sartorially concerned patrons. As such, blockbuster names from Planet Mode – Fendi (read our Fendi Men’s SS24 review here) and ERL – presented guest shows, plus a specially commissioned artwork by the latter’s designer, Eli Russell Linnetz. The installation in question, Make Believe, remodels the statue of liberty in brilliant turquoise, emerging from the ground and girded with scaffolding and cut-out skyline workers — the perfect prerequisite to Eli’s theatrical Americana fest that followed on the runway.
Big dogs aside, the fair was rife with serious craft collections, such as the J8Quality project, which spotlighted some of Japan’s finest manufacturers through designer Masato Koyama’s lens. Sunline factory served sturdy linen tailoring in baby-food yellow and navy, complete with peaked lapels so dense you could grapple with them. Elsewhere, the Miyatakeori factory offered skewed European tailoring with a lapel-free, kimono front and zig-zag stitched hems. Breast pockets were missing in action, while seams cut across the waist diagonally for an East-West crossover guys growing out of gorpcore can add to their ‘archive’ (see also, parent’s loft).
But don’t fret, stubborn gorpers, for the aptly titled “I Go Out” space was decked with urban rambler essentials, kicking off with Snow Peak. Steel billy pans? Check. Thermos mugs? Check. The park ranger combat gilet with walkie-talkie holder and salopette-style fastening for your fit pic in Snowdon? Check!
Jokes aside, the Yoshi-green shell jackets, scored with subtle, folded seams and taped zips perpendicular to the breast, felt like a subtler alternative to your now-ubiquitous Arc’teryx Beta jacket you and everyone else will wear to Glastonbury.
Facing Snow Peak, a new name hailing from Hong Kong, Nilmance, announced itself as proud owner of the next it-jacket, showcasing specially treated coats that ticked off hype-worthy criteria including iridescence, luminescence, crumpling, and a distinct burn effect on the outer. Casual highlights included dress shirts perforated across the back like sportswear, primed with invisible zips for a welcome hint of femininity – gorpettes, take heed.
Other notable mentions dotted across the fair included the Arena X Fendi swimwear (who doesn’t need a double-F logo swim cap?); Napapijri’s ‘A History of Details’ exhibition, which documents North Pole explorer-certified jackets in all their glory; and the ultimate curveball that was Juicy Couture‘s Y2K cabin, brimming with diamanté accessories in Paris Hilton pink and platform flip-flops.
Alternatively, if you’ve finally decided to buck the billionaire bore-core trend, then Brunello Cucinelli’s pleated shorts and unspeakably priced espadrilles are coming out for SS24. JB
Margarett Howell reworks the Fred Perry archive
After the success of their first link-up in 2019, a collection inspired by tennis, British labels Margaret Howell and Fred Perry are back for a sequel. This offering is again defined by sportswear, with the former looking to the latter’s archive for a new men’s and women’s offering. “I enjoyed sports and athletics at school and when I began designing clothes, sportswear was a source of inspiration – photographs of sports men and women in action for example,” Margaret said in a statement. “Also, I grew up with the name of Fred Perry so to collaborate with the Fred Perry company and their expertise of manufacture, I feel, is a happy match!” Classic Fred Perry pieces such as the polo tee and dress, a slim leg track pant with ankle zip detail, a ribbed sweatshirt and sports socks, come in a clean, earthy palette of black, off-white and dark khaki, then subtly embroidered with the signature Fred Perry laurel wreath in the same colour. Then there’s the standout of the collection: a classic fleece sweatshirt vest in a rich, burnt-orange tone. Grab it all from Margaret Howell stores and online when it becomes available on 19 June! TG
Jordanluca brings sharp, slick sunnies to Machine-A
With summer unequivocally here, sunnies are of course of the essence, and there are few pairs that we currently covet more than Jordanluca’s XP1s. Debuted by the London-based brand for their sizzling SS23 show in Milan, the slick shades are the ideal fit for any looking to bring a hint of Matrix-y neo-noir to their fairweather looks. With their wraparound silhouette, available in black and silver and featuring the brand’s unique ‘thorn’ lens design, they’re also the shade to be seen booping about the club in. Get yours via Machine-A or the Jordanluca site. MS
Kim K’s SKIMS opens a pop-up in London’s Selfridges
Kim and SKIMS take Europe! That’s a show we’d watch. The beloved, body-positive shapewear brand founded by the most famous woman in America has opened its first ever pop-up in Europe, taking over the iconic Corner Shop in Selfridges, London. Bringing SKIMS Swim (Kim sure does love a pun) to the continent for the first time ever, the immersive conceptual retail experience – designed by Willo Perron – hosts diving boards, fun palm tree structures and delicious custom SKIMS ice cream by Chin Chin Labs that all transports you to a cool and breezy poolside in LA, a place that knows how to handle a heatwave far better than us Brits. At the same time, you can shop all the latest swimwear cuts in a variety of coverage cuts and colours to make you feel your sexiest and most comfortable in the water, including the bubblegum pink shade bikini Kim is sporting in the campaign. What’s more, while the space will only be running until 8 July, the plan is for SKIMS to open a permanent installation within Selfridges later this summer with plans to conquer more of the UK and EU with standalone stores in the next three years! With its NYC pop-ups reportedly having two-hour long queues just for entry; run, don’t walk, to Selfridges to get your poolside look for the summer! TG
Saul Nash SS24 mens was filled with sun, sand and speedos
Many second-generation migrants born in the West who have visited their parents homeland will know the feeling of confusion as you’re surrounded by a culture you’re both tied to and very separate from. One in which you should seamlessly blend in and yet your clothes and mannerisms make you stand out, or at least make you think you do. At the same time, you’re learning new things about yourself and your identity and the cultures that defined the household you were brought up in. That was the basis behind Saul Nash’s SS24 collection entitled Intersections. The London-based designer of Guyanese, English and Mauritian descent recollects on a trip to the stunning African island in the Indian Ocean his father’s family is from and the way in which the many cultures he’s from were evident in what he wore. “When you visit these places, you’re wearing western clothes, such as your tracksuit or shorts that you would wear in the city. But in these countries, you’re wearing it on the beach. This collection is about that mis-fitting of identity in places we identify with,” Saul says in a statement.
In a sand-covered basement at the ICA in London, filled with a heavy heat not often found in the UK, models meandered along the runway – occasionally sitting down to chill or dance while others passed – in speedos, rubberised swim caps, googles, streamlined swimsuits and LUAS branded towels perfect for a dip in those crystal Mauritian waters, the colours of which echoed through the entire collection. Imbued the vibrant London street style garments over those pieces, though, were references to multiple other culture’s within Saul’s background. The Hindu river goddess Ganga – the most prominent religion on the island and the one of Saul’s fraternal grandfather – is mirrored across the panels of an oceanic blue and metallic silver track set. Bold, colourful flying fish embroidered on wool jackets and baseball caps speak to island life whilst also nodding to the national dish of Barbados (where his mother was born). Then, tight sports tees with marbled blue-tones reflected coastal waters while the leaves and spikes of tropical pineapples form the basis for magenta-hued swatches on sand coloured shorts and puffer jackets. This was Saul embracing all the cultures that make up his identity and a celebration of the “mis-fitting of identities” and the beauty that can come from it. TG
Av Attev SS24 is inspired by Mick Jagger’s iconic outfits
Looking back over the canon of men’s style icons, there are few who have dressed with quite the same swagger as, you guessed it, Mick Jagger. One designer who wholeheartedly agrees on that front is Antonio Vattev, the eponymous founder of London-based menswear label av vattev, with the legendary Rolling Stones frontman serving as a perennial source of inspiration since he started out three years ago. SS24 sees the designer continue his exploration of Mick’s repertoire of era-defining looks, from the frilled white frock he famously wore on stage at Hyde Park in 1969 to the slim checked suits he regularly sported off stage. Rather than a literal interpretation though, the star’s cocksure style translates to slim-fit plaid jumpsuits, lace-up poplin shirting with campy, 70s point collars and paillette strewn vests skirts. Elsewhere, leather jackets and capacious checked wool suiting feature av vattev’s signature overlapping Jukebox closure, and the designer’s pattern-cutting nous makes itself strongly felt in pieces composed from bands of shredded, grommeted denim. Even if you haven’t got moves like Jagger, at least it’s now a bit easier to look like you do! MS
Martine Rose SS24 celebrates London’s overlooked communities
The exploration of London’s local communities, and the locations key to their continued existence, has always been a pillar of Martine Rose’s namesake brand. It’s an ethos that has always made itself felt in the clothes – lovingly crafted homages to characters spotted at Clapham Common’s open-air afterhours, City diners, Afro-Caribbean produce markets and gay cruising clubs – but its arguably in Martine’s shows, invariably staged in the very locales from which she draws inspiration, that it truly comes to life.
This season was no exception, with London’s fash pack traipsing up Highgate Hill to a local community centre, not too far, in fact, from Martine’s current studio in neighbouring Crouch Hill. Stepping in from the sticky summer heat, you were immediately transported to the 70s and early 80s, when working men’s clubs like these thrummed with life, serving not only as daytime hubs for the communities around them, but as impromptu nighttime wellsprings for the city’s youth culture, as Martine explained post-show: “Before club culture was what it is now, people co-opted community spaces and ballrooms and put on nights there,” memories that were faithfully conjured by on seeing a crowd that included Daniel Lee, Neneh Cherry and Mustafa The Poet necking chilled pints of Stella in the space’s red-lit, sweaty haze. Read the full review here. MS
UGG links up with The Elder Statesman for AW24
What do footwear brand UGG and quiet luxury label The Elder Statesman have in common? California, craftsmanship and comfort. For the latter’s Pre-Holiday 2023 collection, the two LA brands partnered on footwear and accessories inspired by heritage UGG styles but in The Elder Statesman’s laid back chic aesthetic. The UGG Classic Ultra Mini is turned into a sleek sheepskin boot while the Tasman X was the jumping off point for a waterproof clog with a supple cashmere sock liner. Then there’s outdoor slides inspired by UGG Scuffs, now embellished with colourful darning embroidery and unique patchwork sheepskin, alongside a backpack and hat in a similar warm, knit style. You can check it all out when the full The Elder Statesman collection becomes available to purchase in October of this year. Mark your calendars! TG
Gray Sorrenti lenses Studio FY7 x New Balance in Naples
The Studio FY7 x New Balance trainer – the second collaboration from the two brands, the first of which was inspired by the sand dunes of Algeria – was already a shoe offering deeply embedded with mediterranean vibes in its deep turquoise and aqua-blue hues on the tongue and signature logo, then highlighted by a pearly white outline reminiscent of oceanic spray. But for its campaign, Gray Sorrenti took the trainer to the other side of that sea, lensing it in her hometown of Naples. Adorning the feet of 20-year-old Antonio, we follow as he explores the Southern Italian City he’s grown up in, wandering Pallonetto Santa Lucia, walking along the walls at the port, sitting at a local barbershop and splashing around in the waters. Through these photographs, a symbol of unity between both countries and continents on either side of the sea, Gray captures the sense of play and free-spirited adventure that is intrinsic to the trainers themselves. TG
Riri is the first face of Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton Menswear
If ever you’re looking for a way to turn up to your new job with a bang? Well, take a leaf from Pharrell’s book. This week, the legendary musician, entrepreneur and, now, menswear designer at Louis Vuitton debuted his very first campaign in his new gig, offering a hint of what we might be able to expect when his first collection drops next week at his first Paris show — which, no doubt, will be a major crescendo during the forthcoming men’s show. More than just dropping a campaign, though, he’s dropped a campaign with the one and only Rihanna, posting a photo of himself nonchalantly posing before a massive billboard on the Musée d’Orsay of the superstar on his personal Instagram account. Sporting a black Damier check leather shirt, Riri is seen balancing a bevvy of bright monogram bags and a Togo leather LV coffee cup, all while heavily pregnant — go off! If this is a sign of the sort of energy we can expect to see at Pharrell’s first show next week, then this new era for the house can’t come sooner. MS
KNWLS put their it girls in SS23 for a new photo series
A brand is nothing without the faces attached to it, and there are few brands in London with as fierce a cast of faces associated with it as KNWLS. To celebrate the community that has coalesced around it, the brand has released PROXY 2.0, a celebration of “the familiar and fascinating” visages that have become ciphers for its emboldened, unabashedly feminine vision. Shot by Arnaud Lajeunie, and styled by Georgia Pendlebury, KNWLS’ long-term stylist, the project sees a cast of it girls including Alva Claire, Mia Regan and Xen Hur styled in looks that match their own personal aesthetics from the label’s SS23 and AW23 collections, as well as iconic pieces from the archive. Alongside these images, there’s also a series of stunning selfies, which each of the KNWLS muses snapping candid pics of themselves in and around a gorgeous house in the British countryside — just the impeccable vibes we’re manifesting for ourselves this summer! Check out the full photo series on the KNWLS instagram. MS