Despite launching in 2007 and being available now in over 26 territories around the global, COS still feels very much like an amazingly stylish secret, which never fails to impress people when you wear an item of their impeccable apparel, you ALWAYS get positive compliments. Collection of Style (COS), is for men and women who want modern, functional and considered design. Each of their stores is placed in a carefully considered location with a design concept that preserves buildings’ original features whilst creating a modern gallery space for the collections.
Always exploring the original concept of favouring style over fashion, COS appreciates timeless design that lives beyond the season. Merging traditional methods with new techniques and innovative fabrics, COS creates fashion pieces that look and feel at once timeless and modern.
For Summer, they have teamed themselves with an equally stylish partner, in MRPORTER to produce a capsule collection of 23 limited edition pieces to offer a complete wardrobe of menswear essentials in seasonal greys, burgundies and hues of deep navy.
Entitled, The Modern Traveller, its for a contemporary, goes without saying, stylish man, where travelling is a regular part of his professional and personal life. The collection was created with this philosophy in mind: lightweight, wearable pieces in quality fabrics. The collection facilitates movement and adaptability with its streamlined simplicity and functionality, while remaining true to the contemporary style COS is known for.
Martin Andersson, Head of Menswear Design, COS who commented on the collaboration;
“In addition to sharing similar brand values, we feel that MR PORTER is a pioneer in their area of expertise. In this contemporary setting of the ‘information age’ they continue to lead in adapting the latest technology, information sharing and pioneering design-led fashion. For ‘The Modern Traveller’ we wanted to create a collection that reinterpreted function for every occasion – a collection where the tailored suit can take you from a business meeting in NYC to an art gallery opening in the evening.”
Key pieces include the slim-cut tailoring in classic single-breasted styles, available in deep navy and burgundy. The sharp silhouette is also prevalent in the outerwear pieces and shirting; with clean lines and grey tones representative of the stark architectural inspiration behind the collection. The considered clothing teamed with classic footwear and luggage options delivers a well-rounded range; a head-to-toe wardrobe solution for the man of not only today, but tomorrow.
We caught up with Sam Lobban, Senior Buyer, MR PORTER to discuss how this project came about;
Why work with COS? What makes this collaboration a good fit for MR PORTER?
It all stems from the fact that many of us at MR PORTER are big fans of COS. We have a lot of respect for the brand’s ideals and integrity, which very much falls in line with ours, and it all comes across in the product’s quality and design that is very much in a class of its own.
How did the project come about?
Through the respect and general fandom, we thought it could be interesting to reach out to the COS team and see if they’d be up for doing something special together. I got in touch with Marie Honda, COS CEO, and it went from there. Marie was very keen from the outset, and I think there was clearly a level of mutual respect and admiration from both sides for one another’s brands.
How did the design process work? Was there a lead on the creative or was it more of a meeting of minds?
From a broader concept level, it was completely collaborative. It began with meetings between Marie and Ann (COS’s Head of Men’s), MR PORTER’s Style Director Dan May and myself, all talking about if we were to do a capsule, how would it look? What was the purpose? What started off as a MR PORTER collection of COS essentials and best of’s in the spirit of both brands, evolved into the concept of dressing our collective global customer. What we created is a full wardrobe for our global traveler, in a palette of chic navy, grey and aubergine. A little note, the colors of the collection are partly inspired by the Scandinavian twilight sky.
What sets this collaboration apart from other capsules MR PORTER has launched?
We’ve done a number of very special exclusive capsules to date on MR PORTER.. This will always be a distinct point of differentiation in our product offering, and we’re grateful to have excellent, collaborative relationships with our brands and designers. That said, this collection with COS is the first time we’ve ever reached-out to a brand that we didn’t already carry in order to create something unique from the beginning– it’s a true collaboration of two companies with a similar ethos.
Will the collection continue into another season?
What we’ve created here is a complete collection in concept and scope, borne out of the genuine alignment and ideals of two like-minded brands. We like to think we hit our goal with this launch collection, and who knows how else we might want to align in the future.. We’re quite thrilled with what we’ve accomplished here!
Any key pieces in the collection that you’d like to shout about?
Although I’m of course partial to the whole collection, some stand-outs include: the travel suit jacket and pant in lightweight wool; the aubergine Mac; and there’s a nice print story on the shirting and t-shirts in the collection.
