Plus Nick Fouquet’s “magic” mushroom leather and Greg Lauren’s twisted tuxedos
Words by MAX BERLINGER, LAURA BURSTEIN and ELIZABETH VARNELL
Photo by Brad Dickson.
A Man’s World
Entering Louis Vuitton’s first men’s boutique in California, newly opened on Rodeo Drive, may inspire the immediate impulse to attempt a handstand. Giant Man, the massive baseball-cap-wearing sculpture doing just that—designed by the company’s late artistic director Virgil Abloh—is set inside the two-story split-level space. The piece extends from the floor toward the 17-foot ceiling near Marisa Ferreira’s vibrant acrylic painting on mirrors and stainless steel. The playful works join Alex Proba murals inside the light-filled space replete with all the house’s métiers, from Abloh’s final ready-to-wear collection to shoes, leather goods, accessories, fragrances by master perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud and watches including the limited-edition Tambour Twenty. Just 200 of the automatic chronographs—with specially engraved casebacks—are released to commemorate the design’s 20th anniversary, and the latest model includes the original Tambour’s unique sculpted round case. Pair it with a Monogram canvas trunk such as the Coffret or Cotteville, which can be personalized and hot-stamped on-site 420 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-309-6006; louisvuitton.com.
Sea Change
The new Tag Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 GMT may still depict a scaphander diving suit on its steel caseback, but it has adopted a whole new color palette. The Swiss watchmaker’s automatic “toolwatch”—an instrument of choice for surfers, divers and time-zone crossing adventurers since its inception in 2004—is now even more readable. A two-tone rotating bezel is cast in fade-resistant ceramic with deep midnight blue representing the evening hours and brilliant white for the day. The timepiece’s Calibre 7 movement has a power reserve of up to 50 hours, there’s up to 300 meters of water resistance, the crown is still screwed and protected, and now the rhodium-plated seconds hand has a yellow lacquered tip—luminous to aid divers—rounding out the new hues riffing on the sky, water, crashing waves and sun. tagheuer.com.
So Sixties
Porsche pays homage to the 1960s with the limited-edition 911 Sport Classic, a rear-wheel-drive, 992-generation 911 Turbo fitted with a manual transmission. Wide rear fenders, a ducktail spoiler and a modern take on the iconic “Fuchs” wheels harken back to the classic 911s of the air-cooled era. Notably, Porsche designers eliminated the typical Turbo’s rear air intakes on the side for a cleaner, purer look. The signature paint is inspired by the factory color Fashion Grey, first used on the Porsche 356. Other retro details include gold-colored lettering and an old-school version of the Porsche crest. Inside, Porschephiles will recognize the Pepita-patterned upholstery, accented with cognac semi-aniline leather and open-pore wood, reminiscent of the mahogany veneer trim offered from 1964 to 1967. Pricing starts at $273,300, with dealer deliveries expected late this year. porsche.com.
Get Your Kicks
Founded in 2005, the sneaker reseller Flight Club has been instrumental in cementing Fairfax Avenue as ground zero for L.A.’s streetwear scene, with a reputation among hypebeasts hunting down special-edition kicks. After a two-year pandemic-produced hiatus, the buzzy footwear shop is back, and it’s bigger and splashier than before. Among the industrial concrete walls, shoes are lit and featured like works of art. At the center of the room is a brutalist rectangular slab for trying on shoes—CEO Eddy Lu told the Los Angeles Times the new, grittier urban look is a reference to the highways and streets of the city. 535 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A.; flightclub.com.
Photo by Aysia Stieb.
Shroom Service
Look around and you’ll see mushrooms everywhere these days. Not just on the ground, mind you, but in drinks, food, wellness products, medicine and now sneaking into art, home design and, of course, fashion. The latest example comes from Los Angeles-based milliner Nick Fouquet, who has teamed up with MycoWorks on a Reishi capsule collection of toppers made from Fine Mycelium, a proprietary fungi-based leather alternative that is free of any plastic or animal byproducts. The designs include a fedora and a panama style which feature a band of mushroom leather around the rim, plus a bucket hat fully constructed from the groundbreaking material. (Luxury brand Hermès has worked with Fine Mycelium on a version of its beloved bags.) “Our clients want luxury made from materials that feel good and that they feel good about,” Fouquet says. “MycoWorks’ Reishi is the only leather alternative we’ve seen that matches the beauty, quality and functionality of traditional leather—it feels organic and rich and has a beautiful, worn patina that we showcase through this collection.” nickfouquet.com.
Photo by Emmanuel Sanchez Monsalve.
Twisted Tuxedos
Designer Greg Lauren creates his unmistakable looks by breaking down classic menswear references and rebuilding them. This season, he set his eye on black tie, artfully deconstructing tuxedos, tailcoats and ruffled shirts. “Working and creating on the West Coast, the mood of this season came while staring at the ocean in the fall, sitting on the beach in colder weather and imagining a pair of tails born from that,” Lauren says. “What would that look like—or more importantly, what would it feel like?” The result is rakish and relaxed red-carpet dressing for the post-COVID age. greglauren.com.
A Cut Above
With its Gucci wallpaper, eye-popping yellow wainscoting and plush Takara Belmont leather chairs, Aanuko in Culver City trumpets that it ain’t your granddaddy’s barber shop. (Hotel lobbies and 1980s New York inspired the design.) The difference is more than aesthetic: the shop, opened by the grooming masterminds at Hanz de Fuko and Blumaan, is packed with perks beyond haircuts and shaves: you can get a drink from the quaint café and take an Instagram-worthy snap at the in-house photo studio. “[It] is a place to play, connect and thrive,” says David Alfonso, co-founder and CEO of Aanuko. “Where the barber and client unite in creative inspiration, and new friendships are formed.” 5790 Washington Blvd., Culver City, 424-417-2592; aanuko.com.
Cali Style
In 2016, Leszek Garwacki and Courtney Ormond launched laCalifornienne by hand-painting the dials of iconic vintage timepieces in sunset colors and swapping the straps for more spirited options. Now the company is bringing that whimsical touch to its own line of watches. Daybreak is a sleek, Swiss-made unisex model with a steel, gold-plated or rose gold-plated case. The vegetable-tanned leather straps come in all manner of stripes as well as simple, buttoned-up black. (The company also makes straps for the Apple Watch.) lacalifornienne.com.
Feature image: LaCalifornienne.
This story originally appeared in the Men’s Fall 2022 issue of C Magazine.
Discover more STYLE news.
See the story in our digital edition
