week 7.
French styling, English heritage and Danish charity: what we learned this week
Barbour Heritage+
Currently celebrating a remarkable 130 years in business, Barbour is certainly not short of a decent archive. A brand that for a long time was associated (and somewhat derided) as being a mainstay of the English upper-class huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ set (the late Queen Elizabeth was rarely seen without one of their jackets when staying at Balmoral), Barbour has made a remarkable turn around – primarily through judicious collabs ranging from Watanabe to Ganni – into something really rather cool. Taking things back into their own hands with the Heritage + collection, they rework past details and styles into something relevant and very stylish. The flight and deck jackets in particular are urban rather than country and we love the proportions of the oversized transporter.
A.P.C. Self-Care
For decades now, A.P.C. has been the go-to for understated but stylish clothes that make us all feel a little Left Bank, wherever we may be. But now aiming for the skin beneath the signature jeans-with-turn-ups and crew neck knits, the brand has launched their first foray into beauty with A.P.C. Self-Care, a collection of unisex products that are as practical and well presented as their clothing. Working from top until toe, there is a body lotion, hand lotion, lip balm, body soap and hand soap, all delicately fragranced with orange blossom. As a final finishing touch, there is a cologne too, all packaged in a suitably simple and graphic manner. Ooh La La indeed.
Diptyque “Beauty Alcove”
More French bathroom beautification comes from legendary Parisian candle makers Diptyque who have looked at all the usual rituals we do in that most private of spaces and given us the chance to make them a little more special. Teaming up with Manufacture de Couleuvre, a renowned porcelain producer, they are now selling objects such as toothbrush holders, soap dishes and storage canisters, all featuring the brand’s famous insignia. No more putting your brush in an old chipped glass, this is how they do it on the Champs D’Elysee.
Bareen x Emili Sindlev
Another week, another collab you might find yourself saying but for once it’s good to find one that is simultaneously stylish and is doing its bit to help the world. One of our favourite t-shirt brands (see the article here) has teamed up with Copenhagen It girl, Emili Sindlev to create a capsule collection where 100% of the profits are going to the Red Cross to help in their global humanitarian work. The oversized long and short-sleeved t-shirts and hoodies come in three new colours and are all produced sustainably in Europe and from organic cotton. Helping others whilst looking good is definitely a trend we approve of.
Saint Laurent Babylone bookstore
We all know that reading is sexy so it’s good to hear that Saint Laurent is highlighting the beauty and importance of books, albeit in a very esoteric way, by opening a bookstore on Paris’ Rive Gauche. The so-called Saint Laurent Babylone is a raw, industrial space on Rue de Grenelle that offers creative director Anthony Vaccarello’s personally curated selection of art books, records and magazines (are mags the new vinyl? Let’s hope so!). For some of us, the place brings back memories of Karl Lagerfeld’s legendary 7L bookstore but anything that promotes literature is fine by us.
