Introducing Husbands, the French label that’s redefining suiting in the 21st century.

“All people in Paris dress the same,” says Mr Nicolas Gabard. “It’s always a pair of denim jeans, a sweater, a flight jacket or something, and a pair of sneakers. Everyone looks alike. So when you dress in a suit, with sneakers or Chelsea boots or even Gucci horsebit loafers, it’s totally different.” This totally different look is exactly what Mr Gabard is going for. His Paris-based suiting brand Husbands, which takes its name from the Mr John Cassavetes film of the same name, is all about capturing the charm of traditional tailoring and reinterpreting it for a contemporary audience, and bridging the gap between bespoke and ready-to-wear.

The brand has created an exclusive capsule collection in collaboration with MR PORTER as part of our Vive La France campaign celebrating French designers, and is inspired by a time when suits weren’t just meant for office meetings. “Right now I’m quite fascinated by the 1970s,” says Mr Gabard. “You know, when men were going to the office and the nightclub in the same jacket.” Husbands is built around that same sensibility – looking smart but still being able to have fun. “I just bought a fantastic book about Studio 54, and there are so many photos of these guys dancing in double-breasted jackets,” he says. “You can be sexy in a dogtooth jacket, high-waisted trousers and Chelsea boots. That’s sexy tailoring.”

Husbands may be inspired by the vintage aplomb of decades past, but its ethos is very much about looking to the future. “The idea is to be really contemporary,” says Mr Gabard. “If you present tailoring to people as being all about whisky and cigars and Chesterfield chairs, you will touch nobody. You have to say, ‘Come and try it in your own way and wear these clothes how you want to.’” In an age where streetwear rules the runway and traditional tailoring has fallen by the wayside for a lot of men, especially younger generations, Mr Gabard’s aim is to lead the inevitable backlash against the swathes of printed hoodies. To bring men back to suiting, he has an enticing promise. “Keep what you wear really classic, and you will be the sexiest man in the room,” he says.

As far as the clothes themselves go, the appeal is clear. Every Husbands garment on MR PORTER is handmade in Italy and is suitably refined, but in a modern kind of way. The pinstriped double-breasted jacket, for instance, is crafted from rich cream wool, while the navy seersucker suit is light but structured to create a sharp silhouette. The brand’s offering is also built to last, and Husbands’ jackets are lined with cotton-canvas. “When you have something with a really nice construction by hand, with canvas,” says Mr Gabard, “you can be sure that in two years it will still be beautiful, like a pair of John Lobb shoes.”

Mr Gabard stresses that this isn’t only about how good the clothes look or how long they last. “Feeling good – that’s what classic clothes can do, and Husbands is about building a classic, authentic wardrobe,” he says. “It’s about bringing some emotion to the wearer and to change how they feel about themselves by what they wear.” In other words, these are the transformative powers of good tailoring. What more could you ask?

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