Bill Amberg has been hand-making bags and experimenting with quality leather since 1984, but most recently made some waves with his collaboration with Johnnie Walker Blue Label on an overnighter, traveller, and weekender collection. While Bill Amberg had been previously known for working within the confines of environmentally sustainable practices, it left many loyalists confused when he released his Shuttle briefcase, in alligator. Even though we love the leather collection, we’ve also long been fans of their canvas collection with leather trims such as their Selvage Collection and this new collaboration with Monocle. Made in England, these limited-edition nautical-inspired bags are available in Hot Mustard or Lightning Blue. Most notably, and arguably, the reason we’re posting in the first place, is the complimentary set of patches, including the Monocle emblem, and a stencil so you can personalise the bag with your initials in a way that goes above Louis Vuitton’s Mon Monogram service – maybe not in terms of quality, but certainly in terms of ingenuity. Available here.

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Lucas Ossendrijver and Lanvin have seemingly and quietly gone about experimenting with some additional, out-of-character details as of late. In the Spring, we showed you Lanvin’s green ‘pearl’ model, on top of the previously released silk and velvet models, and while these high tops above aren’t nearly as opulent, there is something new here with the metallic eyelet pieces. To its core, it’s still Lanvin’s classic laced high trainer, only in a combination of jersey felt and suede, and equipped with the usual Lanvin rubber sole and calf skin lining. You either love it or hate it. Available here.

Mountaineering gear continues to make its way into the city with reliable, outdoor gear maker, Kelty and Japanese shop LostHills teaming up on a backpack. Kelty, no stranger to the experienced mountaineer and doing it since 1952 (they even have a dedicated military/tactical collection), worked with LostHills to handmake this tear-drop performance bag, in black, navy and brown. Well thought out, it comes complete with a long zip pull up top, so you can grab something out of it without taking it off. Available here.

We all know Starck‘s work. He’s a famous designer and household name, but when you list some of the items he’s created in the past like the watch, toothbrush, chair, shoes, you come to realize that it’s all fairly utilitarian. He’s very realistic about this though, as you can hear at his Ted talk from a couple of years ago. Where he used to create attainable everyday objects in a better way, he has been designing some ultra high-end super yachts as of late, such as his Motor Yacht ‘A’ for a Russian billionaire, Andrey Melnichenko. Working with builder Feadship out of the Netherlands, they have now managed to create a classic reinterpretation of sailings glory days – The Wedge Too. At 215 feet the ship includes a complete owners deck, three VIP cabins, 4 guest rooms and facilities for 20 staff members. Stark explains, “I am an environmentalist and a left winger: yachts are among the most daftest capitalist toys imaginable…I decided I might as well at least help her create something different; a yacht that is not a mountain of gold. So I designed something that was timeless and elegant…”

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From their Twitter and blog to you, comes word of Opening Ceremony‘s collaboration with all American classic Keds. While mostly known for their own amazing shoe collection (their Desert boot is a certifiable winner), Opening Ceremony has previously collaborated with K Swiss on a casual footwear piece. We’ve always loved Keds for the simplicity and cost, but have often found them lacking in personality, so we jumped at these new patterns. OP explains, “In keeping with our penchant for internationalism, each Keds collection will look to a single country for inspiration. First on the roster: The United States. The premier collection of unisex Keds and Pro-Keds incorporates emblems of classic Americana, like bandana prints, denim, chambray, and bright primary colors with nautical striped laces.” Look for the line out on September 10th in correlation with their Fashion’s Night Out festivities.

You’ve no doubt already seen the OKI-NI.com banners or shout-outs somewhere along the way of your online travels. In a relatively short period of time, they’ve moved beyond online shop to influencer. They’ve become a premier destination to source the latest from the menswear brands you know and breaking the latest brands you don’t know. We caught up quickly with Creative Director for Oki-Ni, John Skelton to talk about possibilities of a physical London shop, future collaborations, and what brands are doing it right now.

LH: We’ll start easy, who’s the guy in the all the pictures on the OKI-NI.com site and where did the name come from?

JS: The guy in all the pictures is Dan.  The reason we decided to use him as our model is because he is a friend of ours that wears the product that we sell anyway and that’s what we wanted.  Just one of us, that’s really into it. oki-ni means “cheers” in a the Japanese Osaka dialect.

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UNDFTD wants to hook one of you up with a NEW ERA CHAMPION STRIKES CAP
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Jean jackets in general are hit and miss. We remember them as boxy, unfitted and raw but after reading a blurb in Valet, we’ve been doing some rethinking. It might be time to start looking for a new traditional Fall classic, and there’s a lot of great options out there and many are reasonably priced, including a few by Levi’s. Another we’re really liking is this collaboration between Levi’s and Robert Geller, the result of Geller winning a $50,000 cash prize and the opportunity to create a limited-edition collection for the Levi’s for being named the GQ Best New Menswear Designer in America back in February. The coat above is slimmer fitting, as to avoid that Shawshank-look, and comes with a removable blanket liner. Winner.

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Not sure if everybody else is feeling this way, but designated camping gear seems to be making the rounds as of late. It’s not just the plaid, upscale hiking boots and hunting vests and jackets that are making their way into the city, different canvas bags and packs are coming along with it. Call it ‘Glam-ping”. Fjällräven‘s Vintage 20 L backpack features a functional retro design with a top load with genuine leather straps and a safety pocket in the top lid. In the past, Fjällräven backpacks used authentic tent fabric but the company has since evolved to using refined waterproof polyester and  breathable cotton. Available in light khaki and olive green. You can find Fjällräven bags in specialised outerwear shops or online here.

Humanthesizer is the product of electronic musician Calvin Harris, Sony Music UK, and Bare conductive body ink, who turned 15 bikini models into a giant human synthesizer. Check out the video to see them perform Harris’s latest single, Ready For The Weekend.

Peep this amazing 6 minute short film for Johnnie Walker whiskey featuring Robert ”Begbie” Carlyle walking the hills of Loch Doyne in Scotland recounting, in full detail, the story of how the Scottish farmer turned his product into the world famous brand it is today. Other than the great story, it was filmed in one continuous shot! It took Robert 40 tries to finally get it right.  Credits go to BBH and HLA from London, directed by Jamie Rafn, creative and copy from Justin Moore.