Inside Robb Report’s September 2022 Issue – Robb Report

Compared to women’s fashion, men’s style has evolved at a glacial pace. In the time it would take for our jacket lapels to widen half an inch, or for pleats to be deemed acceptable on a pair of trousers, women’s silhouettes could expand and shrink at a dizzying rate.

Hemlines would rise and descend like elevators, shoulder pads would come in and out and in again, and handbags would do all manner of peculiar things, and still many of us guys would be wearing exactly the same stuff we did 10 years before.

And then everything changed. Covid revolutionized the way we dress. Whether your wardrobe mantra now is “I refuse to be less than supremely comfortable ever again” or “To hell with it—I’m dressing up just to leave the house!” few of us are approaching style as we did pre-2020. This was on my mind recently as I took in the new collections for spring 2023 in Florence and Milan. Many of the traditional Italian tailoring houses had modified their offerings to deliver what their stylish clients were now demanding: softer silhouettes with increased comfort that still allowed them to look elegant and expressive.

To better understand this new blend, I realized we must go directly to the source. Writer Aleks Cvetkovic asked three of the most interesting Italian labels how their philosophies had changed over the past 30 months. If you, like us, look at Italian men and often wonder exactly how they remain so effortlessly atop the style tree, this story provides some clues for fall and the summer beyond.

For this Style issue’s fashion story, we flew arguably the hottest male model of the moment, Clement Chabernaud, to one of the coldest places, Iceland, to road-test some glorious gear for the coming season. The scraggy terrain and erupting geysers made a suitably dramatic backdrop for the heavy knits and strong outerwear now on offer.

A few years back, when I was living in London, my wife and I drove to the Lake District, 100 miles south of Scotland, for my birthday and a reservation at L’Enclume, the best restaurant in Britain. That was certainly my opinion after a tasting menu that lasted for hours and encompassed 19 courses (including a rather special birthday cake), particularly as it featured a dish of three carrots that defied every attempt to reconcile the extraordinary flavors I was tasting with, well, carrots.

Recently the Michelin Guide caught up and awarded Simon Rogan, the man behind it, his coveted third star. But L’Enclume is about so much more than just an award. It’s helped change the way both Britons and tourists look at the north of England and has done as much for championing locally grown produce as anywhere in the country. There are new Rogan openings in the UK and Hong Kong, and spots coming, he expects, to London and New York in time. Our profile of the chef and his growing collection of destination restaurants can be found here.

Encompassing clothes, interiors, travel, nightlife and more, the latest trend we’ve been observing with interest could be said to have roots in punk attitude and remix culture. It’s how once traditional piano jazz bars at heritage hotels have become newly cool, prompting lines down the block. It’s why designers are lacing their collections with preppy staples reimagined as contemporary streetwear and the reason behind the booming popularity of country clubs. There’s even a TikTok hashtag (obviously): #oldmoneyaesthetic. But when the trappings of WASP privilege are being adopted and championed by those you might expect to find them distasteful, you know something’s going on. Read “Old School’s New Cool” at the link here.

Elsewhere you’ll find bespoke Berluti sneakers, high-tech wine cellars, a $2 million+ reminder of what made Ferrari, Ferrari, and a deep dive into the weird world of art crime.

Enjoy the issue.