As summer reluctantly gives way to autumn, there are at least a few consolations: proper jackets, substantial boots, better tailoring and the welcome return of clothes that require more thought than what will make me sweat the least.
Thankfully, AW26 has plenty worth getting excited about. Paul Smith has recruited Walton Goggins to remind us how menswear should be done; Crockett & Jones and Red Wing are making a compelling case for boots built to survive more than a few winters; and Ben Sherman is revisiting that most enduring of British outerwear staples, the Harrington.
Elsewhere, Moscot has gone lightweight with titanium eyewear, Troubadour has built a backpack capable of tackling both mountains and Monday mornings, while Montblanc and Acqua di Parma provide the olfactory upgrades.
And because no Square Mile style round-up would be complete without a watch, the newly revived Gallet provides a particularly handsome choice.
Consider your autumn wardrobe sorted.
Crockett & Jones
Vail boot in taupe reverse butts suede with Vi-Lite rubber sole and storm welt, £650
Crockett & Jones isn’t the first name you’d associate with an all-American work boot – though perhaps it should be given the brand has produced hundreds of thousands of pairs of shoes for Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, and Barneys New York over the years.
The Northampton shoemaker is saluting its long-sustained relationship with our cousins over the Pond in its AW26 collection.
Our fave is this Vail boot in taupe reverse butt suede. It’s soft and richly textured (like us Brits), but naturally durable and water-resistant (like, er, the Yanks). A padded leather collar, apron Derby construction and two speed hooks add to the outdoorsy aesthetic, while the reverse storm welt helps keep the weather where it belongs.
Underfoot, Crockett & Jones has fitted its lightweight cleated Vi-Lite rubber sole, making the Vail considerably more comfortable than its substantial appearance suggests. Built on the asymmetric Last 394, there’s plenty of character to the shape, too.
See more at crockettandjones.com
Paul Smith
Donegal fleck wool jacket, £700, and Brierley trousers, £350
Walton Goggins, a pint of Guinness and head-to-toe Paul Smith: that’s an unreasonable amount of cool for one photograph. The storied British brand has yet again nailed the zeitgeist with its AW26 collection and campaign.
The latter sees Goggins receive a series of lessons in how to dress properly. Across four short films, the actor tackles the finer points of menswear etiquette: ties, socks, the ‘Sometimes, Always, Never’ rule of buttoning a suit jacket and, er, remembering to put on your trousers.
The clothes are equally good. Classic British fabrics including Harris Tweed and Donegal wool are cut into relaxed modern tailoring, punctuated by the colourful socks, patterned ties and flashes of the unexpected that have always stopped Paul Smith taking menswear – or himself – too seriously. Turns out the old rules still work. You just need to know when to break them.
Paul Smith dark-grey Donegal fleck wool patch-pocket jacket, £700, and wool Brierley trousers, £350. See more at paulsmith.com
Moscot
The Shmeckel, £525
Moscot is renowned for making eyewear that looks as good as it performs.
Drawing on five generations of optical expertise and more than a century of New York attitude, the new collection comprises six frames spanning handcrafted Italian acetate and lightweight metals. Expect the brand’s signature attention to detail, from raised rivets and acetate temple tips to keyhole bridges, titanium nose pads and Custom Made Tints™.
Our pick is the Shmeckel. Handcrafted in lightweight titanium, its thin-gauge striped metal, confident curves and double-bar bridge give it plenty of presence. Add exclusive temple tips and Moscot’s tinted lenses, and you have a frame with serious swagger. My precious, indeed…
See more at moscot.com
Ben Sherman
Signature Harrington, £110
Few pieces of menswear have travelled quite as successfully through the generations as the Harrington jacket. Worn by James Dean and Steve McQueen, adopted by the Mods and given another outing during the Britpop years, it’s become a bona fide British style staple.
Which makes it a natural centrepiece for Ben Sherman’s AW26 Signature Collection. Drawing on the brand’s long relationship with music and British youth culture, the range mixes signature shirting, textured knitwear and relaxed tailoring with geometric patterns and seasonal fabrics.
Our pick, unsurprisingly, is the Signature Harrington. Simple, sharp and endlessly versatile, it’s the sort of jacket that works with almost everything in your wardrobe. More than half a century after the Mods made it their own, there’s still very little modification required.
See more at bensherman.co.uk
Montblanc
Explorer Infinite EDP, £89 for 100ml
Montblanc’s Explorer fragrance family heads for the desert with Infinite, a new Eau de Parfum inspired by that point where the heat of the day meets the cool of night.
Perfumers Jordi Fernandez and Antoine Maisondieu have created a woody aromatic musk that opens with a bright hit of lemon essential oil before giving way to a specially developed patchouli. Stripped of its earthier tendencies, it brings leathery and cocoa notes, while musk provides warmth and staying power.
The deep-blue bottle gets a Saffiano-patterned leather-effect sleeve and black cap inspired by Montblanc’s ink bottles.
Fresh up top, richer underneath, Infinite makes a handsome new addition to the Explorer stable.
See more at boots.com
Red Wing
8180 Kangatan Moc Toe, £329
Liinus Bergman
Founded in Red Wing, Minnesota, in 1905, this family-owned shoemaker has spent more than a century perfecting hard-wearing footwear, from the original women’s Gloria boot of 1926 to the now-iconic 877 Moc Toe, introduced in 1952.
Its Heritage line continues that tradition, combining premium leathers, Goodyear welt construction and the sort of reassuring solidity that will see this shoe outlive relationships, mortgages and possibly even you.
Case in point: the returning 8180 Kangatan Moc Toe. One of Red Wing’s most sought-after styles, it takes the familiar Moc Toe silhouette and renders it in distinctive green Portage leather, paired with a white Traction Tred Cushion Crepe Wedge sole.
It’s handsome, hipster, and will sell out soon, so grab a pair while you can.
See more at redwinglondon.com
Troubadour
Elemental Backpack, £249
Troubadour has always done a neat job of making practical bags that don’t look like you’re about to climb Everest. Its new Elemental Collection pushes the technical side further, while retaining the minimalist aesthetic.
Our pick is the £249 Elemental Backpack. With 25 litres of space and room for a 17in laptop, it’s built from custom-developed ripstop nylon designed to resist cuts, abrasion and the British weather. Waterproof seams and a removable waterproof laptop sleeve should keep the expensive stuff dry, while broad, running-vest-inspired shoulder straps spread the load.
It’s an adventure backpack you can take into the boardroom without looking like you’ve got lost on the way to Base Camp.
See more at troubadourgoods.com
Gallet
Tribute to Multichron 45, £5,300
Gallet is back. Two hundred years after it was founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the historic Swiss watchmaker has been revived as a more accessible sibling to Breitling – and, importantly, its watches will be manufactured using Breitling’s infrastructure.
The relaunch comprises four collections across three families, all loosely united by a spirit of adventure. There’s the Flying Officer for long-distance travel, Multichron Pilot for exploration, Multichron Sport for speedier pursuits and the Classics, a trio of manually wound chronographs created to celebrate the historic bicentenary.
It’s the latter we’re going to focus on. Each uses the Gallet G09, a customised version of Breitling’s excellent hand-wound B09 chronograph calibre, while taking inspiration from important references in Gallet’s back catalogue.
Our pick is the Tribute to Multichron 45. Originally designed for aviation and motor racing, it returns with compact proportions, a wonderfully stealthy black dial and tone-on-tone subdials. Anti-glare by day and luminescent by night, it’s handsome, purposeful and refreshingly restrained.
It’s proof that sometimes the best way forward is to look backwards.
See more at gallet.com
Acqua di Parma
Cedro Virtuoso EDP, £180
Acqua di Parma’s latest addition to its Signatures of the Sun collection takes cedarwood in a rather more indulgent direction. Cedro Virtuoso is a new eau de parfum built around an unusual pairing of Virginia cedarwood and hazelnut, co-infused for 30 days to create a creamy, textured base.
Perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin adds Calabrian bergamot for a hit of freshness, before the fragrance settles into warmer, spicier and more balsamic territory. The hazelnut is the clever bit: rather than sending things full Nutella, it softens the dryness of the cedar and brings out its richer facets.
The result is warm and enveloping – appealing as the temperature inevitably begins to drop.
See more at acquadiparma.com
