
Self-care essential
20 December
The holiday season is upon us and whether you’re a box set fantatic or a hard back book worm, you’ll be angling for something to snuggle up in all festive period long. Lucky for us, avant-garde menswear designer Craig Green has teamed up with The Standard on a series of cotton towel unisex dressing gowns, adorned with the label’s signature strap and band details, which are available not only in the hotel rooms of its Central London outpost, but through its online store too. So whether you’re checking in somewhere luxe, or simply relaxing at home, we recommend you snuggle up in one of these designs pronto.
Writer: Laura Hawkins

Soft touch
19 December
The holiday season calls for the snuggliest of loungewear options, a cuddly category that Loro Piana knows only too well. Now the luxurious fabrication expert has released the first documentary in a trilogy, directed by Academy Award Winner director Luc Jacquet, celebrating the origins of its impeccably soft cashmere. ‘Cashmere -The Origin of a Secret’ journeys to the Altai and Helan mountains, the dunes of the Gobi Desert and the Alashan County in Inner Mongolia, observing the harmonious relationship between herder, Capra hircus cashmere goats and the startlingly extreme weather conditions they exist in. It’s a documentary that makes for absorbing festive viewing, particularly sublime if you’re cosied up in Loro Piana cashmere.
Writer: Laura Hawkins

Great Danes
18 December
It was in the 1950s and 1960s when 200-year-old Danish leather house Dahlman 1807 first began turning heads with their classic briefcase, the ‘Architect’s Bag’, designed by Erik Herløw. Now the brand has spun the traditional form into a collection of women’s bags, which retain their trademark minimalist functionalism and stripped-back Danish aesthetic, but include a striking, gestural strap created by textile designer Margrethe Odgaard. She’s an admirer of Dahlman 1807’s slow-paced, meticulous and ‘nerdy’ design process. ‘We need nerds in our community. It is people like them who provide depth in a culture of consumption that is characterised by superficiality,’ Odgaard explains. The new collection is one that transcends seasons and trends and comprises the Harmonica Bag, Mini Arch Bag and Arch Bag, the latter described by the brand as a ‘real workhorse’ and feminine counterpart of the original Architect’s Bag. Each piece is handcrafted in vegetable tanned full grain leather in Dahlman 1807’s workshop on Copenhagen’s Fortunstræde.
Writer: Harriet Lloyd-Smith

Tulum touchpoint
17 December
In 1953, Christian Dior designed a Mexico-inspired evening dress with a voluminous and gauzy crêpe de Chine, net and organza skirt, printed with delicate scallop-edged details. For Dior’s Resort 2019 collection, women’s artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri nodded to its founder’s fascination with the country, with a collection inspired by Escaramuzas, Mexican female rodeo riders. Now, Dior has opened two-pop up stores in the country, and should you be planning a festive trip to Tulum or Cancun, we suggest you place a visit top of your holiday hotlist. This space, located at the Zak Ik boutique at the Azulik Hotel in Tulum houses exclusive ‘J’Adior Tulum’ pieces, in an utterly absorbing, naturalistic setting. You’ll be coming home with more than you departed with in your suitcase.
Photography: Jaime Navarro. Writer: Laura Hawkins

Powerful narrative
16 December
If you journey to the top floor of Alexander McQueen’s Smiljan Radic-designed boutique in Mayfair, you’ll find Roses, an exhibition dedicated to the narratives behind the label’s horticultural-inspired creations. Storytelling is intrinsic to the London-based label, and it’s the power of evolving form which has inspired McQueen’s latest bag design ‘The Story.’ A sleek style, with a jewellery-inspired handle (a signature of the house), the bag is a celebration of evolving style narratives, and can be worn in a variety of ways: carried using an adjustable top handle, slung across the body or shoulder with a detachable strap, or handled as hardware-focused clutch bag. What narrative form will you give yours?
Writer: Laura Hawkins

To the letter
13 December
Logo mania shows no sign of slowing, and the branded sneaker is a street-wear inspired luxury signature. But may we suggest a sleeker trainer style to add to your accessory arsenal. These retro Lanvin styles, imagined in canvas, calfskin or suede and with tactile fringing — boast the letters ‘JL’ on their upper, in reference to the Parisian maison’s founder Jeanne Lanvin. They bring a graphic edge to an otherwise soft, nostalgic style, and are sure to leave you lusting after no other logo.
Writer: Laura Hawkins