French luxury house Longchamp and Hood By Air virtuoso Shayne Oliver will be offering you an exclusive capsule collection of leather goods, ready-to-wear, shoes and garment bags for SS18 - launching in May. After taking on Diesel’s Red Tag Project & helming Helmut Lang’s long-awaited return to form, Shayne Oliver takes on another luxury giant with his signature avant-garde and keen sense for clothes people actually wear.
“I realized the house’s history, but it was the democratic vibe that really got to me,” Oliver introduces the collab. “I didn’t want to overdesign or make it too fussy and complicated”, he told Vogue's Lynn Jaeger. Most notably, the collection features new takes on Longchamp’s iconic nylon and leather ‘Le Pliage’ bag. Its entry-level luxury status and practicality plus its history of standout collaborations have lifted this bag into a staple for everyone from must-personalize-everything teens to Paris’s bourgeois veterans. It’s a new direction, an alternative for the brand’s over a decade-long succesful collaboration with Jeremy Scott.
These pieces are all about the proportions and messing with your preconceived notions of the brand. Sleeves are turned into trompe-l-oeil bag handles, snap button accents adorn leather trousers and colours range from a black to cherry red and pale baby pink. Oliver has also designed a trio of shoes with Longchamp flap detailing and long straps that convert to handles. Items are boldly stamped with the word “HIATUS,” a sly reference to HBA’s current on-hold status (which won’t last for much longer).
Other pieces are marked ‘REALNESS’, a reference to queer cultural hallmark documentary ‘Paris Is Burning’ and classic Hood By Air logo pieces. Another trademark, once relegated to the bags' innards, is now proudly emblazoned on the outside: “Longchamp Paris, Marque Deposée, made in France”. Longchamp is actually one of the last remaining family-owned leather goods manufacturers in France.
Ready-to-wear prices start at $315, bags at $485 and footwear at $695. The Longchamp by Shayne Oliver collection is set to launch on Friday, May 4 2018 at select Longchamp stores and online, before debuting at Longchamp stores internationally in early May.
Images: Longchamp
