From The Straits Times    |

Photo: Longchamp

 

Love both streetwear, and the timelessness of a storied French fashion brand like Longchamp? Then pay close attention to the upcoming and limited edition Longchamp by Shayne Oliver capsule collection. Designer Shayne Oliver, founder of the NY-based men’s cult streetwear label Hood By Air, has joined forces with the Parisian luxury fashion house and designed a capsule of travel gear and ready-to-wear in the familiar shapes of Longchamp (think: the Le Pliage), wrapped in the fresh and unapologetically street POV of Shayne Oliver.

 

Photo: Longchamp

 

Key graphics used include the “Hiatus” logo, appearing on one side of Longchamp’s iconic Le Pliage, which has also been updated with dramatically elongated handles. “This  came  from  the  idea  of  having  a  bag  that  was  more  personal  and  having  one  bag  that  was  more  business,” explains Oliver.  “The  Hiatus  side  is  meant  for  having  fun  and  the  other  is  more  business. I  was  trying  to  make  the  Le  Pliage consistent  with  this idea  of  the  new  world.”

 

Photo: Longchamp

 

Longchamp’s own graphic, the words “Longchamp Paris, Marque Deposee – Made in France”, originally hidden within the brand’s bags, have also been blown up and proudly plastered across t-shirts and garment bags by Oliver.

 

Photo: Longchamp

Oliver shows one of the ways to wear the sling bag.

 

Oliver has described multi-functionality as part of his design ethos for this collab – “the collection  is  made  to  be  used  in  multiple ways… this multi-functionality is how I like to live my life” – and this feature is perhaps most strongly demonstrated in the collection’s sling bag, which doubles as an arm sling if needed. “A  lot  of  things  that  were  happening  to  me  at  the  time involved  healing,  including  physically  being  injured.  We  used  the  idea  of  an  arm  sling,  like  a  sling  you  use  when  you  are  healing  yourself,  and  turned  it  into  a  bag  but it  can  still  be  used  both  ways,” he says.

In addition to the classic black and red, a fresh baby pink rounds up the three key colours of the collection, which will be available at Longchamp’s Paragon boutique from 11-31 May. Bags and accessories are priced between $165 to $965, while ready-to-wear and shoes are priced between $435 to $1,950.