HACKETT London @ FW2014 Collection

HACKETT London FW2014/15 collection celebrates the age of stylish travel. Picturing ‘The Leading Man’ as global traveller, the collection dresses the different incarnations and characters of ‘The Leading Man’ on their travels around the globe, drawing heavily on the luxury Hackett Mayfair collection, including hooded shearlings, reversible padded suede jackets and luxury knits. CEO, Explorer, Travel Photographer and The Graduate; all of the facets of Hackett’s Leading Man are represented with transitional and functional pieces.

Centred around a golden age of travel, the collection embraces the lifestyle of the man who may have a formal dinner in the country through to the man with a meeting in the city, anywhere from Scotland via Hong Kong to New York. Of course, some of Hackett’s ‘Leading Men’ will move seamlessly from one character to another as their day (and night) unfolds. Needing a wardrobe that adapts and works, many pieces have been developed with crease-free fabrics and lightweight deconstruction. Layering takes a prominent role with detachable linings and reversible coats offering versatility. Standout pieces include a slate-coloured, reversible blazer with nylon on one side and wool on the other and a hooded, shaved shearling coat in a rich moss colour.

  

Hackett Mayfair has also taken a new advanced direction in tailoring, incorporating new blocks to create a more refined and elegant silhouette. In addition, Hackett Mayfair now offers a deconstructed suit with a butterfly half-lining to create a lighter more contemporary fit. Highly luxurious fabrics and trims have been used, with great attention to detail to encapsulate the essence of the timeless tailored suit.   

Accessories within Hackett’s Mayfair collection include a formal range focusing on  classic gentlemen’s work and city bags made from British semi-bridal leather with Hackett navy and city grey edge dyes. Custom designed brass hardware features Hackett’s signature bowler hat and umbrella logo and the collection expands into small leather goods including desk accessories, hip flasks, cigar cases, travel cases and games. ‘Rothbury Tweed’ is a contemporary travelling collection of men’s bags in tweed and leather, exclusively developed for Hackett in Scotland, with vintage brass hardware, adjustable handles and traditional Sam Browne belting.

<Poet> 

A young poet, such as John Betjeman or Philip Larkin, is imagined on his travels around England writing about his romantic journey. The travel theme, be it by foot, bike, bus or motorbike, continues as we chart his exploration and discoveries. The university cities of Oxford and Cambridge provide plenty of inspiration in a collection rich in tweed yarns and autumnal colours. Standout pieces include the check, tweed and soft flannel trousers and cable sweaters. Outerwear highlights include duffle coats, gilets and reversible nylon/tweed jackets. The sponsorship of the Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race, London Rowing Club, the continued collaboration with Cooper Bikes and winter and summer polo are all featured within this section of theFW2014 collection.

 <River Tweed> 

The River Tweed and its bountiful salmon fishing, running through the Borders of Scotland, provides the inspiration for a young man’s rite of passage where a father educates his son in the art of fly-fishing. Making the old new: waxed jackets are given a more modern feel with nylon and exclusive Made-in-England tweeds and corduroys from Lovat and Robert Noble, in rich heather colours, are used throughout the collection. A tongue-in-cheek look at the traditional Hackett signature of Fair Isle knitwear is reinterpreted in printed and twisted yarns and neck-ties are decorated with fishing fly motifs. Accessories include scarves by Johnstons of Elgin, cuff-links from Toye, Kenning & Spencer, neck-ties by Stephen Walters & Sons and shoes by Sanders and Cheaney.

<Winter Harbour> 

‘Winter Harbour’ is a trip to the wilds of North East England. The dark brooding sky and grey choppy sea gives birth to a neutral collection of brown heather, cream Aran and navy Guernsey-style knits. Slub yarns, offer layering options, and herringbone tweeds are mixed with intarsia chunky hand-knits and classic peacoats in this warming and timeless collection.

A staple is the ‘Aston Martin Racing by Hackett’ Collection – British engineering provides the inspiration for this dynamic new collection. Inspiration is also taken from classic motor racing of the 1960s, with the collection becoming less graphic, but with the injection of reflective silver. Signature colours include orange and bright blue (reminding us of the colours always painted around the radiator grills of racing Astons), as well as greys and black in a collection celebrating speed and breaking records. Accessories include the AMR duffle; a compact and contemporary gym/grip bag shape, it has a unique and vintage inspired rope handle. The side, seatbelt-style straps allow for folding over a coat or sliding onto the handle of an airport trolley. For the first time, there is a 15-piece ‘Aston Martin Racing Performance’ collection, which is super technical and offers breathable and water repellant fabrics.