Leopold’s easy elegance
Relaxed sportswear pieces and sharp formalwear for SS09/10.
Out of Melbourne comes menswear label Leopold, always a reliable, refreshing mix of classic tailoring and contemporary styling. Designers Shandor Gancs and Boyd Parry put in the hard yards to establish the brand, which we’ve seen at the RAFW showings for the past few years, and last year they won the Australian Fashion Award for Best Menswear Designer.
For Spring-Summer, Leopold offers up a blend of sportswear and formalwear that can be combined to create easy, elegant looks for any time of day or occasion. As everywhere this season, the palette is based around black and white and every shade of grey, which they supplement with shots of colour coming though in metallics, cobalt blue knits and the signature Leopold red. Here, Kollektor’s pick of the collection.
Shorts run the ganut from swimwear trunks to thigh length in denim and cotton to knee length in micro houndstooth or Prince of Wales check.
Striped tops with deep V-necks come in bold black and white or charcoal and grey. Lightweight knits in waffle-weave Italian cotton, with 70s-inspired shawl neck detailing, come in cobalt blue, grey and black, and also as a simple cardigan style. The hoodie draws its geometric pattern from Charlie Brown’s famous zigzagged top.
That Spring essential, the zip-up jacket, comes bomber style, as a shiny red patent motorcycle jacket, and in a fully lined metallic Mondrian-inspired print.
I think Leopold is really hitting the mark with its suiting, which can be taken apart and worn as separates with ease. The two-button City suit features a wider notched lapel than previous years for a hit of retro styling, while the Bond tux and blazer have satin shawl collars and unexpected details.
The Leopold’s Empire flagship store is at 1 City Square, 44-86 Swanston St, Melbourne. Details of stockists in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide are here. Online shopping is available through the Leopold site here.
Paul Hayes 2009.