The British designer Oliver Spencer has always had a distinctly local outlook: so much so, he prefers the term ‘shopkeeper’, fostering his London-based label through his outposts across the city, and the communities he has forged in each. All the more so as his choice of neighbourhoods – Marylebone, Soho, Shoreditch and Bloomsbury’s Lamb’s Conduit Street – are those known for being close-knit, and (largely) impervious to big-name chains.
That said, Spencer, who began his career on London’s Portobello Market selling second-hand clothing, is also an avid traveller, using these journeys to inspire his seasonal collections. Recent outings have drawn on trips to Lech-Zürs – the Austrian ski resort known as the ‘cradle of Alpine skiing’ – and the colours and architecture of Cuba and Colombia, the latter inspiring his S/S 2023 collection, which was photographed on the colourful side streets of Colombian port city, Cartagena.
And a new venture cements this love of travel even further: a print magazine titled Secret Trips, founded by the designer alongside a slew of writers, editors and photographers who ‘all grew up criss-crossing the world with dog-eared guide books stuffed into backpacks’, as the blurb describes. Wistful in feel, it favours the off-the-beaten track: across the four issues so far, there have been horseback journeys in the Andes, bar crawls through Albania’s secret nightlife scene, and a countdown of the best treehouses you can stay in around the world.
Which is all to say that when it comes to the accoutrements of travel, Spencer is to be trusted. Case in point: a new travel bag, created in collaboration with Secret Trips, which might well be the year’s best (so far). Drawing on the ‘rugged elegance of military holdalls’, the leather weekend bag is designed to hold the essentials for a 48-hour trip, though it could equally be used as on-flight hand luggage alongside a larger checked-in suitcase. Robust in construction and vintage in feel (much of Spencer’s oeuvre draws on vintage garments), it features a spacious interior and two external pockets.
Spencer says the design came from straw-polling the Secret Trips community to drill down exactly what was needed in a travel bag. ‘We’ve created a weekender that embodies the spirit of adventure and craftsmanship,’ says Spencer. ‘This bag is designed for those who seek quality and versatility... the blueprint came from looking at vintage military holdalls as well as the classic Gladstone doctor’s bag. We borrowed elements from each and gave them a distinctly contemporary look.’
Oliver Spencer’s new leather ‘Weekender’ bag is available from oliverspencer.co.uk, £645.