Written by Craig Landale in Essentials on the 10th October 2019

Whilst the cold weather of autumn has introduced its arrival there has been some cool product drops to brighten up our days. We have Liam Hodges’ first underwear collection with a Swedish sportswear label, British-made knitwear inspired by Bauhaus’ woven artwork, and a luxury timepiece inspired by a flying boat known as the ‘Spruce Goose.’ So, following on from my September roundup, I’ve compiled a list of my favourite products and releases for the month of October 2019 – enjoy.

Björn Borg x Liam Hodges 

Swedish sports fashion brand Björn Borg have dropped their new collaboration – a limited edition collection with hyped fashion designer Liam Hodges. Liam has been labeled as a designer for the mad and bad ones with influences drawn from the modern male subcultures, English Paganism, Hip-Hop, Skatewear, and Post-Punk. His unique approach to fashion and his British heritage has made him into one of the most interesting designers today. When Liam’s world and creativity collided with the Swedish sports fashion brand, this limited-edition collection came to life.

Genevieve Sweeney Autumn/Winter 2019  

Genevieve Sweeney introduces brand new designs for men in her AW19 collection. Always inspired by the different processes of manufacturing, the collection mirrors the contrast of the traditional techniques and more innovative technology resulting in unique designs. Genevieve was heavily inspired by 1920s and 1930s art, fashion and textiles; the era that first introduced the concept of wearing knitwear outside of traditional clothing and sportswear. This is reflected in her strong use of geometric shapes seen throughout, inspired by Bauhaus’ woven artwork. These contemporary styles paired with Genevieve’s signature use of contrasting and complementary colours make for the brand’s largest menswear offering since launch.

The Bremont H-4 Hercules 

Bremont celebrates the infamous ‘Spruce Goose’, declared a national treasure by the United States House of Representatives. At a time of austerity, one American defied convention to build the largest aircraft in the world. The Bremont H-4 Hercules Limited Edition chronometer salutes this iconic flying boat of the 1940s. Famously known as the ‘Spruce Goose’, the vast silver ship is as legendary as its inventor Howard Hughes. The H-4 Hercules and, to a degree, Howard Hughes’ genius was defined by one minute. One minute of flight on 2nd November 1947. In that time Howard Hughes’ vision for the greatest aircraft ever built was vindicated. It's fitting therefore that the aircraft is being commemorated by a timepiece of this stature. Limited to just 300 stainless steel, 75 rose gold and 75 platinum pieces, the Bremont H-4 Hercules is a sublime fusion of micro-engineering, watch design and aviation history.

Budd Launches Its Inaugural Knitwear Collection 

It was just a question of time until Budd added knitwear to its menswear collection, offering customers cosy knits for the cooler months. The company’s Look-Out Ready to Wear Collection for AW19/20 comprises of sweaters, cardigans and tanks, knitted in Scotland at one of the country’s oldest, family-run heritage mills. Cashmere yarns come via Loro Piana, who famously source their fleeces from the downy underbelly of Mongolian mountain goats. The result; super fine, luxurious knitwear that is sublime to the touch. Budd have worked this cashmere into long sleeve polo shirts, teaming them with light horn buttons. These are perfect worn alone and paired back with jeans for a smart casual effect, or under a sports jacket. Layering is made simple and an outfit given a whole new tone by means of cashmere waistcoats, and cosy weekend feels are brought to the fore with textured, seed-stitch crew necks.

Acqua di Parma Colonia x Gio Pastori  

Acqua di Parma entrusted to the creativity of the Italian upcoming talent and original paper-cut artist Gio Pastori, the new artistic vision for its Colonia fragrance. Included in 2017 by Forbes among the 30 most interesting young creators on the European contemporary art scene, Gio Pastori, an artist with a natural passion for paper, a material that turns in his creations into a lively matter, delicately moves between different worlds. He accounts among his masters Matisse and Tom Wesselmann. His aesthetics can be defined as pop, suspended between an old-fashioned disarming purity and modern digital times. Gio employs the paper cutter in his works as if it were a pencil. The artist follows his own creative inspiration without using a predetermined drawing as reference and creates simple yet powerfully expressive shapes, combining flat forms characterised by bright and bold colours.

Sound that automatically adapts from Jabra 

Danish brand Jabra’s new Elite 85h headphones are engineered for the best wireless calls and music experience wherever you are with revolutionary SmartSound technology. You can personalise your sound experience for different situations with the Jabra Sound+ app. When you pair your device with the Jabra Sound+ app, revolutionary SmartSound automatically adapts the audio experience based on your settings, giving you audio that’s perfectly suited to your environment. For instance, Elite 85h can automatically detect when you are on a train and switch on Smart Active Noise Cancellation, blocking the noise around you, or recognise when you are on a train platform, and enable the HearThrough feature. This is all with up to 36 hours of battery on a single charge. The advanced 8-microphone design gives you effective wind-noise reduction and crystal-clear conversation on calls.

Bolin Webb Prestige Collection 

Bolin Webb brings design excellence to men’s grooming with a prestige collection of multi award winning products. Bolin Webb’s innovative selection of men’s razors and grooming accessories combine contemporary design-led style with high performance, bringing luxury to a daily grooming routine. Bolin Webb’s grooming tools offer a shaving experience like no other. Taking shaving to a new level, the Prestige range from Bolin Webb is the first of its kind. Offering a selection of innovative, premium material designer razors in Smoked Plated Chrome, 24KT Gold and Carbon, each is an outstanding celebration of contemporary design material engineering, providing a performance shave to be enjoyed. All styles in the Prestige collection come beautifully presented as a razor and stand in a luxury wooden black-lacquered box.

AllSaints Watch Collection 

In everything it does, AllSaints acts as a creative catalyst, providing elements to fuel your individuality. From clothes to bags to fragrances and now watches, AllSaints offers a uniform without infirmity. AllSaints’ debut men’s watch collection presents a diverse 20-piece range, which combines style, precision, performance, and attitude. Taking vintage military watches as the starting point, AllSaints adopts its signature use of juxtaposition to create designs in which palettes and materials collide with high-quality watchmaking components. The product range sees iconic classics overlapping with sleek and sporty forms, as well as incorporating signature AllSaints elements such as black biker-jacket leather – each model is timeless as it is new and unexpected.

Liam Gallagher x Nigel Cabourn Collaboration Parka 

Two heavyweights from the world of music and menswear collaborate on iconic piece. Liam Gallagher, one of the most recognisable figures in modern British music comes together with revered menswear designer, Nigel Cabourn, to reimagine a garment that is steeped in military history and British popular culture – the smock parka. Well known for his love of this design, Liam Gallagher looked no further than aficionado Nigel Cabourn, who with 50 years of vintage inspired menswear design under his belt, was the perfect choice to collaborate with on a new parka. Staying true to both of their northern roots, this special piece has been made by Lancashire based Mackintosh using British heritage fabric Ventile, which was originally developed at the Shirley Institute in Manchester specifically for the RAF in WW2.

We feature Björn Borg x Liam Hodges, Genevieve Sweeney Autumn/Winter 2019, The Bremont H-4 Hercules, and Acqua di Parma Colonia x Gio Pastori in October 2019’s Coolest Stuff.