Accessories: Backpacks, Suitcases, Goggles, Sunglasses, TechnoWatches, Elegant Watches
Backpacks, Suitcases, Goggles, Sunglasses, Techno Watches, Elegant Watches
With the exception of Boss’s fashion-ised sailor-style duffle bag – best worn offone-shoulder when on the town – all of these bags are designed to be seen from behind. That makes the backpack a singular item in the menswear category: for unless taken off it is a piece there to be seen rather than to see: all the wearer appreciates is its weight on his shouldlers. There are plenty of positive arguments for the backpack: chief amongst them that it keeps your back straight and (vitally) your hands free. The only person it inconveniences is whoever is unlucky to stand behind you at rush hour. The backpacks presented here all represent excellent options for the posture-conscious man looking to equip himself for the city – or even an expedition to further afield.
Let’s roll. Four-wheeled hard-shell suitcases are the ultimate convenience in modern luggage. The toughest of them can even be sat on then used as transport in the airport. Everyone needs one. But what does your suitcase say about you? Are you a luxury classicist à la Goyard? Are you a retro-aluminium head who appreciates the metallic sheen of Fabbrica Pelletteria Milano’s excellent example, or will you sully the shiny perfection of your Off-White x Rimowa example by slapping a Supreme sticker on it? Tumi offers you more modernist, less obvious option, and Samsonite represents a more neutral retro iteration. You’ll have time to consider your choice while waiting for yours at the carousel, and praying the luggage guys haven’t beaten the crap out it.
Only very very rarely do ski or snowboard goggles make it down from the mountain and into street-level usage. Really, if ski goggles were ever going to take off it would have been in 1997 – but even the recently-departed Notorious B.I.G. (RIP) and Puff Daddy’s compelling donning of them in the video for Mo
Money Mo Problems couldn’t make goggles break the big time. That means a pair of goggles - or technical shades, or sherpas if you opt for the Oakleys or Smiths here - should be reserved strictly for the piste. So when making the decision, think about how they look second and how they fit and feel first. Does the lens filter suit your outlook? Is the headstrap comfortable? Adopt this functional approach to finding your new-season set of goggles, then go enjoy the snow.
Selecting the right pair of sunglasses demands consideration. First and foremost, do they fit your face? There’s no point picking a pair that looks great on the shelf if their arms have to stretch beyond 90 degrees to fit over your ears. Working out what lens shape to opt for depends on your own face’s shape. So try, try and try again until you find a shape that complements yours. Frame material and colour is much more subjective - as is brand. There is something to be said for specialist eyewear brands such as Linda Farrow and Laps Collection by Italia Independent. But a pair of designer frames is a straightforwardly entry-level tactic for displaying your brand affiliation of choice. Just make sure they fit your face - otherwise even the coolest pair of high-design shades won’t save you from looking like a dork.
With their bold cases, attention-seeking details, a touch of colour and increasingly sophisticated functions, some chronographs are defying the prevailing, and slightly repetitive, vintage trend to take on new technological and aesthetic challenges. For the 25th anniversary of the Royal Oak Offshore, Audemars Piguet has issued a daring version with a camouflage strap, proving that an iconic object doesn’t necessarily have to be classical. There are also plenty of timepieces with specialist functions, such the “RM 39-01 Aviation” by Richard Mille. This flyback chronograph was designed as a flight navigation instrument, with a hand showing coordinated universal time (UTC), or rather the time standard used to calculate all the time zones around the world. (Micol Bozino Resmini)
In the realm of traditional-appearing dress watches, the race continues to conceive increasingly slender models. Bulgari stands out as one of the most creative brands with its Octo Finissimo. An ultrathin automatic watch, its octagonal case measuring just 2.23 mm thick was inspired by the Basilica of Maxentius in Rome. The allure of extra-thin timepieces has also seduced Breguet, whose Classique 7147 model has a 2.4-mm-thick case with a transparent sapphire-crystal caseback and features a dial in Grand Feu enamel. The Monsieur de Chanel is another watch that conceals its complex mechanisms behind a linear design. It is Chanel’s first watch to be fitted with an in-house movement, which took five years to develop and is covered by two patents. (M.B.R.)