If Longchamp is a woman, she’d definitely be one of those colourful and rambunctious personalities you would find in Advanced Style. That’s not shade, but more of a compliment. Because at a ripe age of 70, the French house is looking more fashionable than ever – with Kendall Jenner as its reigning campaign girl to boot.
At the recent press presentation for its F/W ’18 collection, artistic director Sophie Delafontaine – and the granddaughter of Longchamp’s founder Jean Cassegrain – has combined the brand’s leather goods heritage and its forte in making bags in a collection that’s inspired by strong, powerful Amazon women.
The result is a playful outing of outerwear, youthful and trendy updates on its classic bags and an impressive collection of boots with tinges of ’70s bohemia. Here, we highlight some of the surprises you may find from the F/W ’18 collection when it hit stores next month.
#1: You can wear its fur coats in tropical Singapore… sorta.
Well, at least when you’re indoors where our air conditioning can be arctic. The secret to these summer-worthy fur lies in the fact that these pelts are paper light and not heavily lined. In fact, fur is something that Longchamp customers are demanding.
In an interview with Vogue.com, Delafontaine reveals that the brand only uses fur that comes from animals that are eaten like rabbit and sheep – a move that might placate the animal rights camp. She says: “I have no mink, no fox. Just like the leather, it is only coming from animals that are already being slaughtered.”
#2: You’d be doing a lot of flipping
That’s because the coats can be easily turned inside-out. On one side is a lightweight shearling coat, but flip it the other way and you get a coat with equestrian prints. It’s a thoughtful design feature that gives you more mileage and space in your wardrobe. And since the shearling is not chunky, it’s a great travel piece that won’t take up too much space in your luggage.
#3: The print will play tricks on your eyes
Each season, Longchamp creates a special print that lands on most of its products – and this year is no exception. At first glance, the tesselated design looks like a camouflage when it is actually made up of images of a jockey on a galloping horse which is the brand’s trademark logo.
#4: It’s our new favourite brand for boots
Let’s be honest, the brand is not typically your first pick for footwear. But things could just change judging from the crop of suede riding boots it showcases for Fall. Choose from three different heights for the boots which come either unadorned or with flourishes or details like braids and fringes.
#5: There is a cute-as-bunny line of bags
These luxurious babies are dubbed the Give Me A Hug collection and made from super soft rabbit fur. Available as a bucket bag and backpack, these super plush numbers accessories double up as great presents
#6: These pouches can be converted to bumbags
For F/W, Longchamp debuts a mini camera bag series with quilted suede to its Mademoiselle Longchamp flap bag collection. The belt loops in the back side of this bag mean you can easily transform this into a belt bag – turning the design from something cute and girly to something street and trendy.
#7: There’s a 2-in-1 jacket
This suede field jacket will speak to you if you’re into androgynous cuts and something more utilitarian in your dressing. But it will definitely earn brownie points for the fact that it hides a detachable nylon and shearling parka inside. And did we mention that the shearling collar is detachable too?
