Small Batch Watchmaking With Big Personality The Racing GCC Mechanical Collection There are enough new watches launched every month to make even the most obsessive collector stop paying attention. New dial. New color. New “limited edition.” New collaboration nobody asked for. And then there’s HOFFMAN. I’ve become a fan of this independent brand precisely because it doesn’t seem interested in flooding the market with watches simply to have something new to post on Instagram. H

FORMULA 1 isn't just about fast cars. Brands Love It. Sponsors Pay The price F1 has become a traveling luxury circus where cars happen to go 200 mph between champagne parties, watch launches, celebrity sightings, $10,000 hospitality packages and paddocks filled celebrities. And luxury brands absolutely love it. Why? Because F1 has assembled an extraordinary concentration of wealthy, aspirational, young and globally connected consumers. Monaco, Miami, Las Vegas, Singapore and

Sometimes a compliment runs deep inside of you. For me, this is one. Thank You BASTA! I’m incredibly thrilled (and genuinely honored) to have Va Bene Style recognized by BASTA!, an Italian Lifestyle Newspaper. Any recognition is gratifying, especially when you’ve poured your personality, opinions, time and probably too much espresso into building something. But when that recognition comes from Italy, it carries a little extra weight for me. I am enormously proud of my Italian

And It's A Simple Tote The 5-Tote in Denim Just when you thought Gap’s greatest contribution to civilization was the perfect gray sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, the company has managed to create something genuinely buzzy: the Five Pocket Tote. And people apparently lost their minds over it. Gap launched its new GapBag Collection on September 8, with the Five Pocket Tote as the obvious star. The concept is ridiculously simple, and that’s precisely why it works. Take the famil

How a great American shoe brand traded swagger for foam soles. Always a Sale There was a time when Cole Haan was cool. Not Gucci cool. Not Ferragamo expensive. Cole Haan was American-successful-guy cool. Great loafers, handsome wingtips, beautiful leather and just enough polish to tell people you had graduated from whatever square-toed disaster you wore in your first job. The Cole Haan Standard Cole Haan once had a point of view, but today, walk into a Cole Haan store and try

It's taken a while, but the turnaround is happening Starbucks,Meet Your Customers For a few years, Starbucks seemed determined to prove it could destroy one of the greatest consumer concepts ever created. It had coffee. Comfortable chairs. Good music. Friendly baristas. That wonderful smell. And millions of customers happily paying six bucks for something that costs roughly eleven cents to make. Naturally, they screwed with it. Under a hand-picked CEO. who told staff that his

It's quite a time in Luxury. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? There is a lot to talk about Wintour blew it. Saks went bankrupt. Lululemon needs rescuing. Quince is coming. Used is cool. And Ralph Lauren may be the sanest guy left in the room. Fashion and luxury are having one hell of a moment. Unfortunately, much of it resembles a very expensive cocktail party where half the guests are drunk, nobody knows who's paying the bill, and Anna Wintour is still shuffling place cards. Let's

The U.S. Open Has Become A Timepiece Haven Federer Loves The Crown Forget the scoreboard. Some of the most interesting action at this year’s U.S. Open is happening about six inches above the players’ hands. Tennis and watches have always enjoyed a rather cozy relationship, but the 2026 U.S. Open is looking increasingly like a horological arms race. Rolex remains the sport’s 800-pound gorilla, but Jacob & Co., Patek Philippe and Gerald Charles are making sure the Crown doesn’t

The Once Popular Brand Is Stuck In a Downward-Dog There was a time when Lululemon could slap its tiny logo on a pair of black leggings, charge $128 and watch suburban America stampede toward the register. Those days appear to be doing downward dog straight into the floor. Lululemon just delivered another ugly quarter. Revenue fell 4% to $2.4 billion, comparable sales dropped a brutal 9%, and sales in the Americas—the market that built this stretchy little empire—fell 8%. Amer

DOING SWISS WATCHMAKING A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY Artigiano by Arsène Lippens There is certainly no shortage of new independent watch brands. There is, however, a shortage of new brands that give you a reason to remember their names. Arsène Lippens is becoming one of them. The Geneva-based independent combines traditional Swiss mechanical watchmaking with bold color, contemporary design and, most intriguingly, genuine Italian textiles. It’s serious watchmaking without taking the e

I Feel Better But I Miss The Martini! The Standard Let me start with this: I didn’t quit drinking because I had a drinking problem. I quit because I wanted to see what would happen. I like drinking. Not getting drunk (haven’t done that since high school) but just drinking. There’s a difference. I love an ice-cold, (Grey Goose please) very dirty martini before we head out for Friday-night dinner not only because it sets up the evening, but because martini’s in Palm Beach ar

Anna Wintour, John Galliano and Fashion’s Convenient Case of Amnesia Galliano Tribute Cancelled *LESS THAN 12 HOURS AFTER THIS ARTICLE WAS POSTED, THE MET'S ART AND COSTUME INSTITUTE/S BOARD CANCELLED THE GALLIANO TRIBUTE OVER SEVERE BACKLASH. THE CHOICE TO EVEN CONSIDER THE EVENT SHOULD DRAW EVEN MORE SCRUTINY. READ THE UPDATED PIECE BELOW: Well, congratulations, fashion. You’ve officially run out of people to honor. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute (on kne

Does Anyone Make a Better Jean Than Levi's? King Of Denim There are cheaper jeans than Levi’s and there are certainly more expensive jeans than Levi’s. There are jeans made from exotic Japanese selvedge denim, jeans that feel more like sweatpants, and designer jeans costing enough that you may hesitate before sitting on a park bench. And then there are Levi’s. More than 150 years after Levi Strauss helped turn riveted work pants into an American institution, Levi’s remains th

A Whisper On The Wrist The New Cricket All watches tell time. Some watches tell everyone you have money. But some, like the Vulcain Cricket Titanium, tells everyone you have taste. Vulcain has never been interested in playing it safe, and the Cricket Titanium is proof that the brand still knows how to have a little fun. It is handsome without being precious, sporty without screaming “I own a yacht,” and mechanical in the most gloriously old-school way, because the Cricket is

Entry Level Relevance Location, location, location! The mantra for good retail. Pair that with price and product and ostensibly, you have a winner. Today, the most powerful brands are competing for something considerably harder to put together: cultural relevance. That is why Retail Boss’s recent analysis of M·A·C is so revealing. The beauty giant made 11 major moves in the first quarter of 2026 alone, combining celebrity partnerships, fashion collaborations, activism, physic

For Many Brands, It's Still Chasing Summer Vacations What is Q2 2026 telling us? The latest Lyst Index (https://www.lyst.com/the-lyst-index/) is out for Q2 and if there is one overriding message from fashion consumers, it's simple: We're hot. We're going somewhere dreamy and please stop showing us wool coats in July. 2026 Q2 Searches Chanel remains No 1. Chanel could probably release a $2,000 beach towel and have a waiting list by Thursday. Its Coco Beach and Métiers d'Art 2

The Snobs, Pageantry and Pony Moms of the Hamptons Classic The Pony Mom Illustration by Trivia Draws Every summer, as August burns itself out and Labor Day looms like a threat to linen pants, the Hamptons Classic Horse Show gallops into Bridgehampton, and with it comes an elite stampede of high-society posers, passive-aggressive riders, champagne-sipping nouveau snobs, Pony Moms and influencers Wouldn’t know a crop from a crop top. Some will tell you the Classic is one of the

When Your Guy Starts Losing You A Lost Legacy? I voted for Donald Trump twice. I supported him, defended plenty of what he did and still believe his presidency challenged a Washington establishment that desperately needed challenging. It still does. I’m still in his favor, but I'm tired, and I suspect a lot of conservatives are tired too. Tired of Trump, Trump, Trump. Every issue becomes about him. Every criticism becomes disloyalty. Every setback is somebody else's fault. At

There are reservations, and then there are reservations. One is something you make on an app three weeks in advance, selecting 7:15 because 7:30 mysteriously disappeared while you were typing in your credit card number. The other begins with, “Hey, it’s Joseph. Any chance you can squeeze us in around eight?” “Of course. Come on by.” That is the glorious little world of being a regular, and I’m convinced it remains one of life's most underrated luxuries. Being a regular isn't

Isaac Mizrahi Comes Home to Target Issac Mizrahi Some designers make fashion, but not many make fashion fun. Isaac Mizrahi has always belonged in the second category. His return to Target (this time as the retailer’s first Creative Director at Large) feels less like a corporate appointment and more like an old friend coming home. An old friend who knows exactly where the good stuff is hidden. But there’s another reason Mizrahi’s return is so interesting. Target may be the ret