They're Coming For Your Neck
Introducing Shopper: Highsnobiety's new weekly bulletin on what buyers shop, shoppers buy, and editors really think about what's happening in the marketplace. Below is an edit of December 23's newsletter, in which we examine a certain accessory's limbo between functional and decorative. Subscribe here, and head to the Shopping tab for more.
Necks Out
In the eternal battle between form vs. function, the zone of contention always concerns the neck this time of year. Lately, it would appear that as the winter gets colder, the scarves in question are getting smaller. Much has already been made of mocking the tiny, Copenhagen-y cashmere triangles people are replacing those infamous Acne Studios scarves with, or those snakey knits Timothée Chalamet so enjoys throwing over.
But this is simply the natural fashion life cycle: Everything gets bigger and bigger (recall Lenny Kravitz’s iconic blanket-scarf) until, out of nowhere, we decide we want ‘em shrunken (see: pants trends of the past century). What’s more interesting this side of the winter solstice is the broader revival of a fascination with the neck as a muse itself.
Long absent from contemporary menswear, for instance, the once-conservative tie has been celebrating a comeback, in far more (and more interesting) ways than simply as a costume-y add-on to the past year's obsession with '80s power dressing. Neckties of this generation come knitted or with shorts; in mini or XL; on guys and gals; for business and casual.
Elsewhere, rather than leaving neck-dressing up to a separate product, everyone from Phoebe Philo and Rick Owens to Totême, Alpha Industries, Nike's NOCTA and COS are churning out outerwear with extreme collar designs, some even detachable. Now, if you, like myself, were a tween in Europe circa 2010, this is going to make you remember those Bench jackets with that protective velcro neck flap. If you don't, I both envy and pity you.
Shop Neck Pieces
Point being, varyingly weird neck wraps of all sorts are on the rise, and regardless of whether one takes to the supersized popularity of &Daughter's or Our Legacy's undersized bandanas, Prada's scanty stoles and micro pashminas, or even something further fetched, like contrast collars in plush or leather on some of the season’s most coveted coats, what’s exciting is how brands are up to their necks in… necks! There’s never been more interesting ways to keep one’s throat well-guarded — or at least well-decorated — for whatever the elements throw your way.
Open Tabs
In collaboration with Japanese performance apparel experts Goldwin, London-based designer J.L-A.L made a range of quietly mountain-ready activewear staples that do put an emphasis on warmth. How to decide between the knit layered t-shirt, the devilishly well-tailored pants, or the quilted puffer?
If you’re around Stockholm or London, you’re in rare geographic proximity to Howlin's latest link-up with Our Legacy: a capsule of everyday (and thankfully more traditionally proportioned) cashmere goods, from beanies to sweaters to socks, all available only at Work Shop Stockholm/London and Dover Street Market.
The Californian label ERL, must want to banish literal cold feet for good, so it dropped these very un-Californian furry mules. Hairy New Year!
We've said it once, we'll say it again: Bottega Veneta's men's bags are more fun. Exhibit A: the Andiamo weekender.
Men's accessories being superior is a new and rare thing, but the superiority of men's denim, however, is incontestable. First spotted on a colleague at the office, actually, JW Anderson's hot-off-the-press UNIQLO jeans are a great shade of blue, with an even greater cut that's neither too baggy nor too straight.
These barrel jeans by sister company GU aren't as evergreen but just as tempting…
… as are Swedish label JEANERICA's eggshell and brown pants.
And what better to sport with a perfect pair of jeans than a perfect... blue t-shirt?! After finessing the art of the white t-shirt, Lady White Co's Très Bien capsule is a batch of refined classics dipped, instead, in buckets of Yves Klein blue. So, feeling blue yet?
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