NEWS

01 VITAL SIGNS

A peek at next season’s trends via the prism of a top designer’s latest collection.

Distinguished by a certain glamour and an impeccable fit, Tom Ford’s collections have always had a timeless quality even as they incorporate style elements of the now. Through the prism of the American designer’s Spring/Summer 2020 collection – which will arrive at its stores soon – we take a peek at what will be big next season.

SWEET SHADES

Putting a new spin on sportswear, buttery-soft leather jackets and drawstring trousers are rendered in even softer candy pastels.

ROCK-STAR SUITING

Animal prints are not for the faint-hearted. Animal prints in bright pink, green or yellow silk jacquard? Only for the most fashion-forward among us. Covered in vibrant spots or stripes, Ford’s ’80s-influenced jackets actually look fresh, paired with an off-white tailored ensemble.

UNDERWEAR AS OUTERWEAR

Next season, you’ll see a number of brands selling shorts that resemble boxers in their flowy silhouettes. But Ford is going one step further by melding track pants and long johns to create a new relaxed-trouser silhouette. If you’re going to push style boundaries, you might as well be cosy too.

02 BEST-CASE SCENARIO

Just as we thought the Louis Vuitton and Supreme collaboration would be the coolest fashion-and-luggage mash-up we would see for a while, along comes this partnership between Dior and Rimowa. Who would have thought that the Dior Oblique monogram would look so good on an aluminium suitcase? Or that Rimowa’s luggage would look so darned appealing when shrunk to crossbody-bag size? Another highlight from the collection that might come in handy this festive season – the Champagne Case, designed to hold a bottle of Dom Perignon, along with six Dior Maison champagne flutes and coasters.

03 GUY TALK

In fashion, social responsibility can come in myriad forms. Ermenegildo Zegna has teamed up with Cesvi – one of Italy’s largest humanitarian organisations – in a new partnership called “From A to Zegna”. The project aims to promote positive behavioural changes in the younger generation and to build a thoughtful, broader meaning of modern masculinity. As part of this initiative, specially designed #whatmakesaman T-shirts will be sold at Zegna stores, with proceeds going to support Cesvi’s work in protecting and educating vulnerable children.

04 CULTURAL EXCHANGE

Well, this was unexpected. English heritage brand Mulberry has partnered with Swedish contemporary fashion label Acne Studios on a collection of leather goods, and the results are rather charming, to say the least. The piece that stands out most is a hybrid that combines the large origami leather knot of Acne Studios’ Musubi bag with the form of the classic Mulberry Bayswater tote. Other signature features of the collaboration are a multiplicity of straps and outsized hardware, which boldly update Mulberry’s grained-leather bags.