Spend your beach vacation - or pool time – in style, with these elevated takes on off-duty essentials.
Spend your beach vacation - or pool time – in style, with these elevated takes on off-duty essentials.
01 EASY DOES IT
For those who like their seaside vacations, it’s easy to take the notion of being a beach bum all too literally. After all, dressing up might be the last thing on your mind, when you’re thousands of miles away from the office. Good thing, then, that Berluti’s capsule collection of beach essentials makes it easy to look stylish with minimal effort.
The summer kit includes almost everything a beachgoer might need: espadrilles, swim trunks, a tote and a polo shirt. They are no run-of-the-mill vacation gear. While the espadrilles feature the jute rope soles characteristic of such footwear, their uppers are not made from regular old canvas. Instead, they are crafted from kangaroo skin, a supple skin that Berluti usually uses to line its exotic-leather shoes. The shoes also come in a jacquard textile version featuring the brand’s Scritto calligraphic motif.
A pair of racquets completes the collection, and offers snazzy incentive to do more than lie back with a cocktail in hand. A collaboration with high-end beach equipment makers Beach Access, the brightly striped wooden racquets come with a ball made from wood, leather and rubber. #01-13 Ngee Ann City.
02 IN TRANSITION
Typically comprising more wearable and less season-specific pieces, collections that bridge the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter clothing seasons have become increasingly important. Now, Bottega Veneta has launched its first men’s pre-autumn collection, offering what creative director Tomas Maier describes as “a lightness… that can be worn right through the summer to the first months of fall”. Shadowdyed cotton, Japanese denim, needle-punched wool and waxed leather are among the different fabrics and treatments used for separates that come in rich shades of blue, olive and burgundy. #01-04A Ion Orchard.
03 COVER STORY
Few items have the transformative ability and versatility of a blazer. Whether you’re throwing it over a polo shirt and jeans, or even a tee and tailored shorts, the blazer immediately puts the “smart” into otherwise casual ensembles. This season, Dunhill celebrates the navy blazer, a wardrobe hero piece since the early 19th century, when English collegiate rowers wore it as a mark of their membership in a specific rowing club. Wear the brand’s single-breasted wool version just about anywhere – just don’t try to match your trousers to it. (Leave that matchy-matchy business to your suits.) #01-10 Paragon.
04 DIGITAL FOOTPRINT
E-commerce has long been a boon for busy but fashion-loving folk. The latest to join the online fray: luxury shoe retailer On Pedder, which recently launched its e-commerce site. To differentiate itself from the competition, On Pedder has also made Pedderzine, its seasonal catalogue-magazine, shoppable: Click on an item featured in the fashion spread, and you’ll be taken to the specific product page. For now, the men’s selection available online is relatively small, and mostly focuses on smart-casual pieces from well-regarded names such as Giuseppe Zanotti, Neil Barrett and English shoe label Mr Hare (pictured). www.onpedder.com
TAG, THEY’RE IT
Salvatore Ferragamo and Moncler are among the brands that have begun putting radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags in their products to battle counterfeiting.
