Over the last year H&M has verifiably gained it-girl status. It’s partnered with Charli XCX and featured everyone from Alex Consani to FKA Twigs and Caroline Polachek in its campaigns. One thing it’s always been great at, though, is collaborations with upmarket labels like Stella McCartney and Isabel Marant to name just a couple. Its latest venture is with the creative director of Diesel and Maison Margiela, as well as, of course, the founder of his own eponymous label, Glenn Martens. For the collection, the Belgian designer took H&M best sellers as a starting point before putting his own stamp on the garments. It’s an especially pertinent collaboration, too, because Martens has stated it’s the “last time” he will explore the “super funky and experimental design twists that are such a big part of my creative DNA”. Crucially for such a wide-market brand, though, Martens has ensured the pieces can be dressed up or dressed down, depending on how you want to “perceived” on any given day. Every item from the layered mesh dresses to the oversized tote bags screams wearable with a high-fashion twist done right. Plus, the “family portrait”-themed campaign features the coolest would-be family there ever was, boasting a cast of actors Joanna Lumley and Richard E. Grant to artist Clym Evernden and model Heather Diamond Strongarm. Glenn Martens H&M, you have me genuinely excited.
I promise I haven’t just included this next collaboration due to my northerner bias, but Flannels has just teamed up with Represent for the Legacy Banner Collection. An eight-piece capsule, it captures the transformative role both companies have played in elevating streetwear in the north; Flannels through its careful curation and Represent through its vision and craftsmanship. It carries that elevated artfulness into the collection through carbon finishes, detailing that plays homage to Represent’s hero Angel and Cherub collections, and subtle distressed accents. Besides the clothing, the collaboration also shows off its British craft and culture knowhow with full-grain leather sneakers that embody Flannels’ penchant for luxury as neatly as Represent’s understanding of streetwear. It’s northern fashion celebrating northern fashion, and I’m very much here for it.
The great thing about the gorpcore aesthetic is that it’s equally as practical as it is fashionable, and that’s something The North Face’s Warmth & Protection AW25 collection truly embodies. Comprising three types of jacket, it captures the base function of outwear (namely, to keep you warm and dry) with the elevation of clean-cut tailoring and colourways. As is always the case with The North Face, each jacket contains some fancy technology that allows for temperature regulation, water-repellence and insulation, making the pieces equally as suitable for some hardcore winter activities or simply getting you to work in one, un-desheveled piece. It also makes a point of meeting modern sustainability standards, so you can feel good about yourself when you’re wearing it, too.
Another brand doing winterwear right is South Korean label OPEN YY. Founded by two sisters, OPEN YY has always kept the duality of style and comfort at its core. The Winter Holiday collection is no different. The literal embodiment of coziness, faux fur features on items spanning bags to headbands to coats, while ballet flats are incorporated into shearling winter boots and bodysuits blend with hoodies to create “hoodysuits”. The warm tones and textures tie the whole collection together, giving the overall effect of a warm hug or a sip of hot chocolate in the form of fabric.
- WriterScarlett Coughlan
