CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

Switzerland isn’t the first country that’s comes to mind when you think of sophisticated, sexy loungewear, yes watches, loungewear, not so much, but Zimmerli of Switzerland want to change your mind. For this seasonal collections “Crossroad Stories” for gentlemen and “Shades of Opulence”for ladies, are inspired by the big metropolises, the collections convey a sense of urban life and infinite diversity. Playful patterns encounter perfect lines, dramatic colours contrast sensual pastel shades and cuddly materials complement the finest fabrics for wintery comfort.

Since 1871, this traditional company has been committed to producing underwear that meets the highest expectations of the most discerning clientele. Handmade in Switzerland, the quality of these undergarments remains unsurpassed worldwide. Privileged wearers see and feel this quality immediately. The finest materials, precise fit, supreme comfort – the most pleasant touch tells the connoisseur that this can only be one brand.

The unique, sophisticated and time-consuming knitting process that Zimmerli’s implement is a worldwide exclusive that dates back to the 1930s – which creates the legendary soft touch and extreme elasticity without the addition of synthetic fibres. The subtle cutting technique characterises the luxurious comfort and makes every Richelieu item a unique article, handmade in Switzerland.

Daywear items are available in comfortable cotton- and Modal-blend fabric and in the exquisite Sea Island cotton. The geometry of the metropolises appears on the woven and jersey pyjamas from “Linear Compositions”, while the nightwear of “Perfect Symmetry” shows a quieter design language. The revised loungewear models are striking. Modern, sporty cuts are complemented with sophisticated woven-jersey combinations or labels with quilting seams – unique features that make the wearer an ambassador of true values.

In the second of our series of conversations where we highlight some of the individuals in key positions within leading retailers, who play a key role in shaping the way many of us dress. Today we turn our focus to one of the best known British high Street retailers, certainly the one with the best heritage, Marks & Spencer.

And the person in question is their Head of Menswear Design, James Doidge. Doidge, like the brand he now works for, he too has quite the pedigree. Prior to his current position, James worked as Menswear Design Director at Calvin Klein for 11 years. Before that he worked at such luxury brands including Asprey, Versace and Paul Smith. With this experience, this has given him a wide range of reference points and inspiration that he brings to M&S.

If you could have invented anything what would it be?
The denim jean. It’s such a timeless and versatile piece of clothing, and it’s fascinating to see how it evolves and changes over the decades, reflecting each generation. It’s one of the few items of clothing that looks better as it gets older.

If you had one day to live what would be your biggest regret?
No regrets, every experience – good or bad – makes you a more rounded and stronger individual. You learn for your mistakes and are empowered by your successes.
If I had one day to live, I’d be hanging out with friends and eating food!

What inspires you?
Travelling, both with work and for holidays.
I’ve had the great fortune of working and living in Milan and New York as well as London. It gives you a great perspective and understanding of people and the world.
We travel a lot with work, visiting different cities for market research and inspiration as well as visiting our suppliers around the world. Tokyo is always inspiring on many levels: for style, culture and also the fantastic food.
One of my favourite holidays was surfing in El Salvador, which is an incredible country with fantastic people and nerve-wracking homemade fireworks!

What’s your favourite piece of clothing?
A black wool suit jacket that I bought from a charity shop when I was 16, I still wear it today! The cut around the chest and shoulder are what makes it fit so well.

Who is your style icon?
I don’t have one singular style icon that I look to – I love the dialogue between music and clothes and how each influence one another. ‘The Look’ by Paul Gorman is a great book that explores this subject.

Can you tie a bow tie? If yes, who taught you?
I usually only wear a bow tie when I’m wearing a tuxedo, and think that they sit and look much better when they are hand tied. My Uncle Barry first taught me to tie a bow tie, but there are lots of great guides online and on YouTube that can teach novices how to tie a bow tie!

What piece of style advise do you live by?
Mix and match, wear smart shoes – such as a pair of suede Oxfords – with denim, or a knitted polo shirt with a suit. Wool trousers with a t-shirt and trainers create a clean modern look.

What piece of clothing should everyman have in his wardrobe?
A classic white Oxford shirt. It looks great freshly ironed, or equally good creased and thrown on, and work with suits or jeans. I like to wear mine with a knitted tie, as it doesn’t look too formal with the button down collar.

Have you ever bought a piece of clothing and regretted it?
Absolutely, everyone has at some point, it’s all about learning what suits you and how best to express yourself through clothes. There was a Dior Homme suit that made me look like a Quality Street! There are also a few things I wish that I had bought and didn’t too, one being a Helmut Lang parka in 1999.

If you could give your teenage self advice, what would it be?
Keep on doing what you’re doing and maybe take a few more photos to remember your outfits and haircuts.

Best piece of advise you’ve ever been given and by whom?
“Buy quality not quantity” from my Grandma. Quality comes at all price points – the more expensive it is doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s best quality.

If you could collaborate with one brand, who would it be ?
Apple. It’s going to be very interesting to see what products they diversify into next – how tech becomes more wearable and starts to make decisions for us.

U.S. Retailer J.Crew are building themselves quite the reputation for becoming a go to supplier of Trainers, sorry sneakers for guys who’s after something a little different and a break from the old routine footwear. After working with New Balance on some stonking collabortions, its now the turn of Running shoe legends Asics Tiger to do some re-imagining. The 1907 collections comes with a triple-density sole, Gel cushioning and a split tongue, the ASICS Tiger GEL-LYTE III running shoe was an instant classic when it was introduced back in 1990. Now, in J.Crew’s tradition of reinventing
classic American style, they’ve created four exclusive, limited-edition takes on the iconic sneakers, The Oxblood Leather, the White Buck, the Navy Buck and the Charcoal Suede.

Now if that wasn’t enough for you, this range is inspired by some of the best-selling men’s dress shoes in the 110-year history of Packer. Who ? Packer Shoes was founded by a pair of brothers in 1907, the original Packer Shoes store was a cornerstone of Yonkers, New York. For more than 90 years, this family-run shop supplied generations of customers with dress shoes, work boots and sneakers.

In 2004, Michael Packer, a grandson of one of the founders, put a new spin on the family business: He opened a boutique sneaker shop in Teaneck, New Jersey. The newstore quickly became a global sneaker destination, drawing fans around the world to Teaneck and a second location in Jersey City.
The pioneering shop’s reverence for sneaker culture and relationships with the most sought-after athletic brands has led to a series of exclusive drops and collaborations.

Forget about your Tequila shots or your Jäger-bombs there’s a new kinda shot in town that won’t leave you with feelings of doom the following day or any recollection of how you got home and shouldn’t induce any episodes of nausea. British Brand Absolute Collagen have released the UK’s first beauty shot in a sachet for men. Stud Boxes contains high-grade marine collagen for men that fights against the visible signs of ageing and supports skin, nails, hair and joints from the inside out. Yes that’s right now we can hold back the years without blood sweat and tears.

Each sachet provides the highest concentrated dose of premium peptan f2000 hydrolyzed marine collagen – 8,000mg (8g) in each 10ml serving, which you can either take direct from the sachet or mix into a drink, of your choice, once again maybe leave the Tequila.

Absolute Collagen’s formula is also infused with vitamin C, which works synergistically with marine collagen for optimum skin rejuvenation and tissue renewal. Being a liquid, it is absorbed better into the bloodstream than tablet form and contains no fillers, binders or plastic coatings.

Now why do we need this, I hear you cry, well simply, by the time we are 25 our collagen levels begin to deplete and then by the time we hit 40, thankfully its a long time away for us, we’ve lost around a third of our natural collagen, causing our skin to wrinkle and sag. This is why collagen is a popular ingredient in many branded face creams which work topically.

Decades of research shows that Type 1 fish collagen is absorbed at a higher level into the bloodstream and circulated throughout the body more easily than other types of collagen. In the arena of ingestible beauty products, collagen is now recognised as the star player.  

WORDS BY ISAAC PERRY

One of the most, if not the most iconic faces in publications history, Hugh Hefner will never be forgotten. The founder of the Playboy magazine created in 1953, has dominated the world since its creation and we over at Clothes Make The Man felt it was only right to remember Hugh with some of his best outfits throughout the great years and to thank the man who brought the ‘cool’ back into Pyjama’s.

‘My favourite outfit consists of silk pyjama’s and a custom-made smoking jacket’ this is the outfit that Hugh is best known for, topped with his classic sailors hat, this became his own individual look and contributed to making the icon he is. If on the rare occasion he was spotted out of his pj’s it would be in a pin sharp Italian tailored Armani suit, looking as dapper as only he could.

His personal style adapted from laziness, began when he started working late into the night time and allowed him to realise the comfort of lounge wear, Hugh openly admitted to having 200 plus pairs of silk Pyjama’s, nonthless, I’m not too sure many of us would be able to relate to this. As for the sailors hat, it came from a lack of effort for his hair and through covering it with a hat nobody would ever notice and assume it was part of his character.

Editor’s word:-

I was lucky enough to meet Mr Hefner, or Hef as he preferred to be called, once in the Club at The Standard Hotel, in Downtown LA. He had a real presence about him, which even the most harden, celeb weary Los Angelenos couldn’t but help notice he’d walked into the joint. When he spoke to you, he totally came across as an old school gentleman, just oozing that golden age of Hollywood charm. He was a raconteur and someone you knew would make the perfect diner party guest. My overwhelming memories of this encounter  was the fact that the Entourage of ladies who arrived with him all had blonde Farah Fawcett style hair, yes the black girls, the Asian girls and even the oriental girls. #RIPHef