Umbro X MTV
Umbro has teamed up with MTV. Tracing a path back to Umbro’s home city of Manchester, the Umbro X MTV collaboration celebrates a time when working class kids, football fans, and students came together in disused warehouses, abandoned office blocks and country fields to rave together.
For Spring Summer ’23, Umbro and MTV revisit the Second Summer of Love with a collection that combines casual sports-inspired silhouettes with a range of graphic prints and colours inspired by the ‘80’s and ‘90’s rave scene. 1990’s visual markers include a fusion logo, intertwining the Umbro and MTV brandmarks alongside a warped all-over checkerboard print. Fabrics too nod to the ‘90’s with a shell suit inspired nylon crinkle plus a polyester micro-let fabric which has been a long-time go-to for Umbro kits and training wear.
Left - Umbro x MTV - Prices begin at £22 for a bucket hat
Featuring in the new collection’s campaign is Manchester band Porij. Musically inspired by the same era which informs the Umbro x MTV collab, NME described Porij as ‘Manchester’s most danceable new band’.
TheChicGeek says, "'Dial MTV' was my life after school for the best part of the 1990's. I still have 'Losing My Religion' and 'November Rain' ingrained in my consciousness. MTV should have
always been a bigger brand that it is and has definitely stood still over the last two decades.
This is fun and I always like an Umbro collaboration. The chequerboard look is giving my pure Deee-lite and my 'Groove Is in the Heart'!"
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Mantero X Octopus
Octopus and Mantero come together for a collaboration that combines the iconic tentacle design with artisanal haute-couture tradition. Mantero is a family company that has been creating, weaving, printing and producing items in silk and other fabrics of extraordinary beauty and flawless quality since the beginning of last century (it was founded in 1902).
Two brands that may seem to have little in common, yet both are characterised by an ability to produce real icons, as well as a focus on products that are 100% Italian from concept to production. Mantero in Como, where talented creatives, artisans and technicians work
together on drawing, finishing, printing and hemming. Octopus in its Varese plant, where prototypes come to life and most of the production takes place, and its new headquarters in Milan where the garments are designed and developed.
The Mantero artists drew four illustrations by hand – two in black&white and two coloured with watercolours – blending the Octopus tentacles with classic nature-inspired motifs taken from the incredible Mantero archive. Octopus then used the Mantero illustrations and printing techniques to create luxury versions of its classic hoodie and T-shirt styles including silk scarves, T-shirts, hoodies, a
Harrington jacket, chinos, and a double-sided silk shirt. The silk garments are printed on both sides using special state-of-the-art printers to obtain a unique effect.
Left & Below - Octopus Mantero Chino Pants - €150, Octopus Mantero Harrington Jacket - €280, Octopus Mantero Hoodie - €150
The Mantero x Octopus collection is available on octopusbrand.com
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Champion partners with Beastie Boys to celebrate ‘Check Your Head’ 30th Anniversary
Champion are proud to announce a collaboration with iconic hip-hop legends Beastie Boys. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their hugely influential 1992 album ‘Check Your Head', Champion has released a limited-edition capsule clothing collection.
The Beastie Boys’ multi-platinum third album is considered a milestone for the band. ‘Check Your Head’ was first album to be produced, in its entirety, by Beastie Boys with Mario Caldato Jr. and their first album recorded at the band’s own G-Son studios in Los Angeles.
Originating from Rochester, New York, Champion became synonymous with hip-hop culture that was so heavily influenced and led by Beastie Boys. As well as their ever-lasting influence on music, it was also the band’s image that permeated the subcultures of the 90s and continues to influence fashion today.
Chris Haggarty, Marketing Director EMEA, Champion commented: “ We are really excited to be able to bring this capsule to life. Champion has been at the heart of music and youth subculture since the early 90’s and this Beastie Boys collection is a perfect way to celebrate one of the most iconic albums of that period ”.
The collection contains 17 pieces including Champion’s iconic Reverse Weave Sweatshirts, in addition to a selection of T-shirts across white, grey and black tones. Laden with a selection of iconography from the album, the capsule serves as a celebration of one of the most influential groups of any era and the artwork they produced.
Left & Above - Prices range from £45 to £95
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M.C. Overalls England’s Oldest Workwear Brand Celebrates its Community Of Crafters
Established in 1908, England’s oldest workwear brand, M.C.Overalls believes in the power of self-expression, nurturing creativity and the value of working hard. Creating durable, gender-neutral and versatile daily staples. Clothes to work hard for the hard-working.
The latest campaign combines the values of the past to champion its current community of creators. The creative explores the brand's mission statement of ‘We Work Hard’ through a literal interpretation of the product being a blank canvas, combining this with analogue photography techniques and using subjects close to the brand and its values.
The brand's distinctive style of heritage workwear staples with a modern twist is just as at home adorning a model on the catwalk in Paris as it is on the back of a brewer in Brixton or styled on a rapper on stage at Glastonbury. Aside from their original 1920’s cuts of classic dungarees and overalls they have explored their heritage with more contemporary pieces like work and coach jackets, durable shirts and versatile sweats. Pushing their foundations forwards by combining time-tested fabrics like heavy denim and breathable polycotton and dipping them in bold hues of Fuschia, Green and Dusty Pinks.
Britain’s oldest workwear brand M.C Overalls dates back over 100 years to 1908. Morris Cooper, a self-taught tailor from Lithuania, established a small workshop on Middlesex St, East London. From there he supplied WW1 and WW2 troops with uniforms, giving the brand a reputation for creating tough, durable workwear. The popularity then rose with artists, crafters and artisans across the country.
Today the brand resides in its flagship store in the heart of Soho on Brewer St. An area teeming with like-minded fashion-forward creatives.
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New Era’s Latest Seasonal Holiday Campaign 'Always On Side'
New Era celebrates over 102 years as the world’s original lifestyle brand with its new Always On Side seasonal campaign. For the holiday 2022 season, New Era cements its status as the go-to brand for headwear and casual apparel for the colder months. With a seasonal offering covering headwear and apparel, New Era’s latest campaign celebrates its history as the brand with the iconic flag logo on the left hand side.
Drawing on the brand’s baseball heritage influence from seasons past, New Era’s latest collection combines vintage aesthetic with a contemporary colour palette. Utilising seasonal tones such as cardinal red, deep navy and off-whites, the new drop breathes new life into retro sportswear casuals. The apparel collection features oversized hoodies, t-shirts, buttoned baseball jerseys and joggers, while the headwear offering includes a wide selection of knit beanies in various colourways, fitted flat-visor 59FIFTYs, adjustable curved 9FORTYs, open-back trucker caps, snapback 9FIFTYs, and embroidered bucket hats.
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Coco Capitan & Belgian ebike brand Cowboy Collaborate
There is a new collaboration between artist and environmentalist Coco Capitan and Belgian ebike brand Cowboy.
Left - Coco Capitan X Cowboy T-Shirt - £40
Coco and Cowboy have collaborated on a limited edition T-shirt to celebrate the positive impact the cycling community has on cities. The T-shirt features Coco’s prose in her signature handwritten style, is made from organic cotton and is GOTS, Fairwear and Oeko-tex certified. All sale proceeds will go to Cool Earth, a non-profit organization, working to protect the rainforest and fight the climate crisis by supporting indigenous communities.
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Duchamp Relaunches
Duchamp, the British luxury brand known for elegant tailoring is returning with a 2022 resort collection this summer, followed by an AW22 collection in September.
A new designer is at the helm; ex-Kent & Curwen Head of Design, and Gieves & Hawkes Design Director, Mark Frost, producing a launch collection evoking the lightness, joy and nostalgia of holidays.
Floor tiles become shirts in a variety of styles, whilst lightweight summer ready linen and cotton poplin add an airiness throughout the range. Silhouettes and fabrication feels relaxed and ready to be lived in, tailoring is evolved and casually influenced, yet garments still utilise expert construction techniques and hand finishing to shift a focus toward comfort and versatility for the wearer. Luxury yarns are reflected playfully throughout knitwear and the inclusion of new products adds to the adaptability of the collection. This sense of approachability for the season brings a refined playfulness to the brand, in keeping with its history, whilst developing a consistent handwriting that is recognisable as Duchamp.
High quality construction and quality fabrics also play a big part in the new Duchamp, which remains recognisable to its previous incarnation whilst effortlessly managing to be progressive.
Whilst categorically a British label, the brand is named after the French artist Marcel Duchamp and was launched in 1989 by Mitchell Jacobs, an Englishman then working as a buyer for Browns. It was originally based on a vast collection of vintage cufflinks that Jacobs had discovered in a Parisian market.
TheChicGeek says, "Duchamp was well known for its formal men's accessories, and was a regular fixture on the men's fashion week calendar.
Right - Duchamp - Stripe Shirt - £165, Swim Shorts - £185
Men's formalwear has changed post pandemic, so the brand returns with something looser and more relaxed. There is a market for affordable, quality and completely wearable menswear for a man who wants to look contemporary without being a slave to trends or novelty.
It's good the brand is relaunching with two collections in quick succession to give a fully rounded view of the new brand. Favourites pieces include the linen summer shirts and intarsia knits."
The 2022 resort collection will be available on the relaunched Duchamp website as of mid-June, www.duchamplondon.com
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