

To paraphrase Mr Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”, we’ve seen the best days of the last year destroyed by a lack of stylish options. OK, that probably doesn’t accurately reflect the sentiment of the poet’s magnum opus, but our point remains: not being able to dress up (and having nowhere to go) has taken its toll on our wardrobes lately.

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Inspired by the style, spirit and adventures of the Beat Generation, Mr P.’s latest offering brings some poetry to your summer wardrobe

Dreaming Of Paris And Tangier: Mr P.’s New Summer Collection



Compromises are never easy – and that’s why [Loro Piana](https://www.mrporter.com/mens/designer/loro-piana)’s new collection makes us happy. This past year, comfort has rocketed up the list of what we want from new clothes – ranking somewhere above versatility, functionality and longevity – but this slower, more focused approach to fashion doesn’t mean we’re ready to give up on style, throw in the towel on the latest trends or surrender sophistication in favour of an elasticated waistband (although, they are pretty great).

What Loro Piana has consistently demonstrated since it was founded in 1924 is that you can feel at ease in soft, natural fabrics and relaxed, timeless cuts without having to concede joyful colours or technical treatments. To prove it, here are 10 wardrobe upgrades from the Italian brand’s latest collection that tick all the right boxes.

Compromises are never easy – and that’s why Loro Piana’s new collection makes us happy. This past year, comfort has rocketed up the list of what we want from new clothes – ranking somewhere above versatility, functionality and longevity – but this slower, more focused approach to fashion doesn’t mean we’re ready to give up on style, throw in the towel on the latest trends or surrender sophistication in favour of an elasticated waistband (although, they are pretty great).
What Loro Piana has consistently demonstrated since it was founded in 1924 is that you can feel at ease in soft, natural fabrics and relaxed, timeless cuts without having to concede joyful colours or technical treatments. To prove it, here are 10 wardrobe upgrades from the Italian brand’s latest collection that tick all the right boxes.


Discover the latest SS21 menswear collection from the iconic Italian brand, featuring cashmere sweaters, versatile gilets and Storm System caps

Loro Piana’s New Collection Is The Epitome Of Italian Luxury



With a collection that takes in the likes of Vacheron Constantin, Cartier and Patek Phillipe, Mr Teo Yang is quite the watch connoisseur. His interest was sparked not just by his aesthetic intuition as an interior designer, but in more traditional values, too. “In Korea, a classic watch is one of those things people have a huge appreciation for,” he says. “It doesn’t need to be expensive, but it’s a reminder to value time, and to remember the most special moments. People often exchange them before they marry.”

South Korean interior designer and founder of his eponymous studio, Mr Teo Yang talks us through his fantasy watch collection including pieces from Vacheron Constantin, Piaget and Panerai

My Three Watch Wardrobe: Interior Designer Mr Teo Yang



If you want to know how to take a decent picture, you ask photographer Mr David Bailey. Likewise if you want to know how to polish your [shoes](https://www.mrporter.com/mens/shoes) properly, you ask Ms Olga Berluti, the doyenne of footwear who pioneered innovative colouring and patina methods at [the brand that bears her name](https://www.mrporter.com/mens/designers/berluti).

Good-quality leather shoes can last a lifetime, but only if they’re well looked after. A careful maintenance regime is necessary if you want shoes to retain their appeal in perpetuity – and it also has the added benefit of providing a man with an opportunity for several minutes of [Zen](https://www.mrporter.com/journal/lifestyle/how-to-be-more-zen-715386)-like introspection before he can see his reflection. Ms Berluti walks us through the process, step by step.

If you want to know how to take a decent picture, you ask photographer Mr David Bailey. Likewise if you want to know how to polish your shoes properly, you ask Ms Olga Berluti, the doyenne of footwear who pioneered innovative colouring and patina methods at the brand that bears her name.
Good-quality leather shoes can last a lifetime, but only if they’re well looked after. A careful maintenance regime is necessary if you want shoes to retain their appeal in perpetuity – and it also has the added benefit of providing a man with an opportunity for several minutes of Zen-like introspection before he can see his reflection. Ms Berluti walks us through the process, step by step.


If you’ve invested in a great pair of shoes, keeping them looking sharp is important. Here’s our foolproof guide on getting it right

How To Polish Your Shoes To A Perfect Shine



Everyone has one item – OK, a dozen – sitting on their Wish List, that, for one reason or another, they’ve never managed commit to. It’s either too extravagant to buy for yourself, it’s way beyond the borders of your comfort zone or it’s just outside your justifiable price range. But it’s 2021, and we’ve been through the apocalypse and back again. The stress of impending environmental disaster and the solitude/complete inability to find a moment to ourselves over the past year has brought us a fresh perspective. If we don’t pull the purchase trigger now, we never will. It’s time to get that cashmere overcoat you’ve been fawning over, or the statement knit, or that ridiculously priced ornament for your living room. Go ahead and buy it. Treat yourself. You deserve that ridiculous thing. It will be worth it. #noregrets

If being confined to our homes has taught us one thing, it’s that sometimes it’s worth it to spend money on something that will make you deeply happy when times get tough. 

Staff Picks: The Knockout Items That Will Make You Say “Yolo”



No one truly knows when Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, commences until the evening before. When I began fasting in my early teens living in Karachi, Pakistan, I remember the anticipation that accompanied the sighting of a new moon that heralded the month’s beginning. For 30 consecutive days as the sun set beneath the skyline, my multi-generational family would gather around the dining table that was heaving with platters of nourishing food and recount the day’s activities, share jokes, and invariably talk about what we would be eating for_ _Suhoor/Sehri (the pre-dawn meal) a few hours later. For me, the beauty of Ramadan was embodied in the contrast between the tenacity and austerity of the day’s fast and the fortifying wholesomeness of a communal iftar, which ends a long stretch of hunger and abstinence.

Food is undoubtedly central to the observance of Ramadan. But the essence of the month goes beyond the ritual of fasting – it truly lies in the spirit of sharing, giving and strengthening bonds. How Muslim communities observe Ramadan varies by geography, ethnicity and adaptability to local realities. I spoke to three chefs across the globe, for whom the month of Ramadan assumes special significance exploring how their relationship with food and a focus on community manifests during the month.

No one truly knows when Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, commences until the evening before. When I began fasting in my early teens living in Karachi, Pakistan, I remember the anticipation that accompanied the sighting of a new moon that heralded the month’s beginning. For 30 consecutive days as the sun set beneath the skyline, my multi-generational family would gather around the dining table that was heaving with platters of nourishing food and recount the day’s activities, share jokes, and invariably talk about what we would be eating for Suhoor/Sehri (the pre-dawn meal) a few hours later. For me, the beauty of Ramadan was embodied in the contrast between the tenacity and austerity of the day’s fast and the fortifying wholesomeness of a communal iftar, which ends a long stretch of hunger and abstinence.
Food is undoubtedly central to the observance of Ramadan. But the essence of the month goes beyond the ritual of fasting – it truly lies in the spirit of sharing, giving and strengthening bonds. How Muslim communities observe Ramadan varies by geography, ethnicity and adaptability to local realities. I spoke to three chefs across the globe, for whom the month of Ramadan assumes special significance exploring how their relationship with food and a focus on community manifests during the month.


We speak to three celebrated chefs in the UK, India and Dubai about the dishes they’ll be making over the holy month

What Top Chefs Are Cooking And Eating For Ramadan



You’re here on MR PORTER, so you probably already know this, but it’s worth making it clear all the same: watches aren’t just for telling the time and clothes aren’t just for keeping us warm. Both are subtle (and, yes, sometimes not so subtle) indicators of a man’s personality, his tastes and his aspirations.

How to style your wrist to match the rest of your outfit, with five new watches from Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Roger Dubuis, IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN and Cartier

Dress Code: What To Wear With A Luxury Watch

Highlights



Spring has officially sprung. And, thanks to the lifting of restrictions, frolicking in fields and parks can resume. The problem is the weather might not always be on your side. A coat, however, is too drastic and bulky for this season’s temperamental ways. Sure, it’ll serve you well when the weather takes a turn for the worse, but what do you do with it when the sun peeks out from behind the clouds? Tie it around your waist? There must be a better solution – and there is. Enter the lightweight jacket, fashion’s answer to keeping spring breezes at bay. But where to begin? Here are seven of the best to see you through until summer. 

Spring has officially sprung. And, thanks to the lifting of restrictions, frolicking in fields and parks can resume. The problem is the weather might not always be on your side. A coat, however, is too drastic and bulky for this season’s temperamental ways. Sure, it’ll serve you well when the weather takes a turn for the worse, but what do you do with it when the sun peeks out from behind the clouds? Tie it around your waist? There must be a better solution – and there is. Enter the lightweight jacket, fashion’s answer to keeping spring breezes at bay. But where to begin? Here are seven of the best to see you through until summer. 


The solution to changeable spring weather? A lightweight jacket. Our top picks include chore, blouson, track and denim jackets from Aries, Moncler, Acne Studios and more

Which Spring Jacket Should You Buy?



If you can cast your mind back to the last time you boarded a plane (don’t worry, we can wait), it probably wasn’t all that pleasant. The 0.01 per cent of us who can glide through a private airport to their private jet aside, being packed into a relatively small space that hurtles through the sky at high-speeds is more like a stuffy, smelly endurance test: how long can you keep your cool before you lose it at the small child repeatedly kicking your seat?

An ode to the iconic airport style of Messrs Muhammad Ali, Paul Newman, Mick Jagger and more

 A Tribute To The Golden Age Of Jet-Setting Style 



When he’s not touring as part of one of the world’s most successful bands, Coldplay bassist Mr Guy Berryman has plenty to keep him busy, be it designing clothing for his newly launched line Applied Art Forms, publishing cult motoring magazine _The Road Rat_ or restoring and rallying classic cars. A passion for design underpins his every project, which dates back to studying mechanical engineering and architecture at university, and extends to a fascination with the history and functionality of watches. “I really gravitate towards watches, which have some kind of heritage and a sense of gravitas,” he says. “I like to put on a watch and think just for a second, ‘OK, I’m a submariner or a spaceman or a pilot.’ It’s that sense of occasion that a certain watch can make you feel.” For Berryman, the exercise of choosing three watches for a fantasy collection proved to be a test of resistance to temptation. “I’ve basically blown all of my income on cars, and with watches I’m very cautious. I’ve got quite a small collection because I know that if I let myself go, I could have a lot,” he admits. “With cars, you’re very limited by space, but with watches you can get an awful lot in a cupboard…”

When he’s not touring as part of one of the world’s most successful bands, Coldplay bassist Mr Guy Berryman has plenty to keep him busy, be it designing clothing for his newly launched line Applied Art Forms, publishing cult motoring magazine The Road Rat or restoring and rallying classic cars. A passion for design underpins his every project, which dates back to studying mechanical engineering and architecture at university, and extends to a fascination with the history and functionality of watches. “I really gravitate towards watches, which have some kind of heritage and a sense of gravitas,” he says. “I like to put on a watch and think just for a second, ‘OK, I’m a submariner or a spaceman or a pilot.’ It’s that sense of occasion that a certain watch can make you feel.” For Berryman, the exercise of choosing three watches for a fantasy collection proved to be a test of resistance to temptation. “I’ve basically blown all of my income on cars, and with watches I’m very cautious. I’ve got quite a small collection because I know that if I let myself go, I could have a lot,” he admits. “With cars, you’re very limited by space, but with watches you can get an awful lot in a cupboard…”


Coldplay bassist Mr Guy Berryman picks out his fantasy three-watch collection, with timepieces from IWC, Panerai and Vacheron Constantin

My Three Watch Wardrobe: Mr Guy Berryman



Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, had to navigate a harder corporate dress code than most men. As the Queen’s consort, his clothes had to be impeccable, but nearly invisible. Faultless, without attracting attention. In the seven decades that he stood, literally and metaphorically, in his wife’s shadow, his wardrobe was always beyond reproach, but very rarely eye-catching.

Prince Philip: A Tribute To A Style Icon



As might be expected of someone in his position, Mr John Hackett, CEO of Arena Flowers, is effusive, exuberant, positively evangelical on matters floral. “Flowers are such incredible mood enhancers,” he says. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a huge ceremonial bouquet at a gala or just a simple bunch of daffodils bought from a supermarket, they all serve the same purpose, which is to bring warmth and positivity to an occasion. It could be a major life event, the welcoming of a new season, or just a simple moment of reflection and gratitude.”

As might be expected of someone in his position, Mr John Hackett, CEO of Arena Flowers, is effusive, exuberant, positively evangelical on matters floral. “Flowers are such incredible mood enhancers,” he says. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a huge ceremonial bouquet at a gala or just a simple bunch of daffodils bought from a supermarket, they all serve the same purpose, which is to bring warmth and positivity to an occasion. It could be a major life event, the welcoming of a new season, or just a simple moment of reflection and gratitude.”


“Flowers give us back some of that sense of social connection that we’ve lost,” says Mr John Hackett. Here, he gives his tips for selecting the right bouquet for your home this spring

MR PORTER

THE JOURNAL