WELCOME TO ‘What is #menswear talking about?’, a weekly dispatch where we discuss the news, rumours and conversations that are dominating the men’s style discourse, and therefore, our Esquire water cooler chitchat.

Scroll on for this week’s edition.

New Balance gives its ABZORB tech a fresh treatment

Adding to its canon of styles inspired by 2000s-era running culture, New Balance has just announced the launch of the ABZORB 2010, a sneaker that brings contemporary accents to the iconic ABZORB sole unit, which NB heads will recall as being a signature component to many of its most beloved late nineties and new millennium styles. Featuring a diamond-knit mesh upper with Nubuck and synthetic overlays, the style is practically begging to be worn with big, baggy jeans and a polar fleece jacket. The brown, black and British racing green colour combo is fresh, as are the reflective accents on the heel. Launching on May 8 in Australia, it’s slated to become our go-to winter sneaker. Why not make it yours?

Sign up to purchase here.

Venroy is saying Aloha! in 2025

Photography: courtesy of Venroy
Photography: courtesy of Venroy

Venroy might be known for its summer leisurewear that’ll take you from the pool to the pub in style, but in 2025 the Bondi Beach-born brand is casting its imagination further afield to the shores of Hawaii. But this isn’t their usual fare of linens, nor are they going for on-the-nose references and motifs associated with the island state. Taking the theme of “high-nature glam”, the collection is built for hiking glorious mountain ranges while including layers easy enough to shed for when it comes time to hit the beach. It’s gorp-core island kid with a collegiate twist: nylon quarter zips and boardshorts are printed with hibiscus, knitwear to shed or wrap around as a scarf, lightweight bomber and worker jackets are easy layering. Hawaii is a place of polarities when it comes to its terrain; the same can be said for trans-seasonal weather, which Venroy customers on both sides of the equator are currently wading into. This is the wardrobe to do it in.

Shop the collection here.

Photography: courtesy of Venroy
Photography: courtesy of Venroy

Australia’s top footballers are gearing up with Superdry

Photography: courtesy of Superdry

Just in time for puffer season – which arrives, coincidentally, as the AFL and NRL seasons are beginning to heat up – Superdry has launched a new campaign featuring three of footy’s brightest young players: Collingwood’s Isaac Quaynor, Carlton’s Tom De Koning and, from the other side of Australia’s vast footballing continuum, Melbourne Storm’s Harry Grant. Shot on a Melbourne rooftop, the campaign highlights Superdry’s unique position at the intersection of fashion and performance gear – its iconic Everest and Sports Puffers have become the jackets of choice for athletes on and off the field, as well as our winter go-to’s. Watch us cheering from the sidelines wearing the Everest Tactical Parka Jacket in camo at the next Collingwood vs. Carlton clash. 

Shop Superdry’s puffers here.

Celine brings the French summer to you

Photography: courtesy of Celine

“The fragile grace of an adolescence spent under the sun in the Côte d’Azur, that first love . . . The reminiscence of precious moments kept for yourself.” Such a delicate feeling is hard to pin down, but with UN ÉTÉ FRANÇAIS, Celine has bottled it up; notes of bergamot, petit-grain, neroli, gorse and vanilla accords hover on the skin like “a memory that stays engraved in your mind”. Inspired by the free spiritedness of the New Wave generation, this 13th creation in Celine’s fragrance collection is made for those travelling to the South of France this summer – as well as anyone dreaming of precious moments from trips past. 

Shop the new fragrance here.

Golden Goose’s new TRUE-STAR is the sneaker to have on your radar

Photography: courtesy of Golden Goose

With sneakers being shaved ever thinner, Golden Goose isn’t going to miss out on the fun. The brand’s latest TRUE-STAR sneaker takes a stab at the slimline style, inspired by ’60s running shoes replete with ridged brown rubber soles and slim leather upper construction. For the menswear contingent, the sneaker comes in two colourways of white in nappa leather and tobacco suede. The shoelaces also take on a decorative element, thick like the rope you’d use to rock climb, it’s stiff enough to hold a perfect bow. It’s that mix of vintage, worn-in patina with contemporary design that the Venetian label is known for – one that will see this sneaker on every moodboard soon enough.

Shop the Golden Goose TRUE-STAR here; $915.

Canada Goose launches first-ever eyewear collection

More than just the brand behind your favourite slopes-to-street apparel, Canada Goose has just launched its first-ever eyewear collection. Balancing comfort, style, performance and sustainability (each pair is made using sustainable materials), with colour enhancing lenses that make the world around you pop, the range of sunglass and optical styles is finished with design details we know and love the Toronto-born brand for – including its signature disc logo, which takes pride of place on the temple. Our pick of the bunch: The Summit Sunglasses (pictured above). A refreshed take on the ski goggle silhouette, they come with removable temples that can be replaced with an interchangeable strap, so you can quite literally take them from the slopes to the street.

Shop the range here.

Autumn looks good in R.M. Wiliams

Photography: courtesy of R.M. Williams

In a nod to its roots as a heritage Australian outfitter, R.M. Williams’ autumn collection features hardy boots and rugged outerwear – the kind of gear you’ll want to pack for a stylish weekend escape. With knits crafted from luxurious Australian Merino wool, while a rugged waxed suede – a new brand signature designed to withstand the cold, wind and rain – has been added to the collection for the very first time. We’ve never been more excited for the temperature to drop. 

See the autumn/winter collection here.

Six new scents from Brunello Cucinelli

Photography: Brunello Cucinelli

Described as “timeless olfactory poems”, Brunello Cucinelli’s latest range of gender-neutral fragrances captures the classic essence of the storied brand. Titled Incanti Poetici, which is Italian for ‘poetic enchantments’, the collection takes the wearer on a sensory journey – ‘Vie Eteree’, the first fragrance in the collection, contains notes of Italian Bergamot, Citron, Cardamom, Basil, Virginia Cedarwood, while the rich and seductive ‘Ombra Lirica’ is threaded with Volcanic Olibanum, Guaiac Wood, Atlas Cedarwood and Oud. If you prefer to match your fragrance with your mood, Incanti Poetici is for you. 

Shop the collection here.

Merrell’s Hydro Moc gets the House of Darwin treatment

Photography: courtesy of House of Darwin

One functional footwear brand that’s made proverbial lemonade out of fashion’s obsession with outdoorsy gear is Merrell. But its latest collaboration with House of Darwin is easily our favourite yet – the Northern Territory-based outfit has revamped the extraterrestrial Hydro Mocs in three new colours that reflect the natural diversity of the Territory, finished with a bungee-like cord and velcro heel strap for support.  

“The pieces fuse performance with storytelling, inviting wearers to move through landscapes, connect to Country, and tap into a sense of self shaped by nature, community, and culture,” explains HoD founder Shaun Edwards. Also featuring apparel, it’s a limited edition collaboration, so step into a pair before they become the ones that got away.

Shop the collaboration here.

Martine Rose is looking back for Clarks’ 200-year anniversary

Photography: Clarks
Photography: Clarks

When Clarks enlisted designer Martine Rose as its first ever guest creative director, the two were really cooking. Because here you have a heritage British label and a contemporary British designer giving new life to some iconic footwear. The two are at it again with their ‘Coming Up Roses’ collection which will see several iconic models brought under the Martine Rose knife. And we mean that literally; the derby, for instance, features the designer’s mock-croc leather that’s finished with raw-edges as if the poor reptile was slashed (it’s faux), which lends an artisanal, unfinished look fresh from the workshop. Dressy leather shoes are no doubt back in our post-sneaker age, but have a bit of fun with them, no?

Shop the collection at clarks.com.au.

The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm is here to stay

Image: courtesy of Blancpain
Image: courtesy of Blancpain

For watchwears yearning for a smaller Blancpain, the Swiss watchmaker has heard your call. Officially making the Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm a part of its permanent collection, the decision follows the model’s success and popularity amongst more petite Blancpain loyalists. Available with the sunburst dial, the watch comes in four strap variants of NATO, tropic-style rubber, sailcloth, and steel bracelet. Modelled after the titanium and red gold that preceded it in 2023, this steel model is driven by the brand’s five-day, in-house calibre 1315. A self-winding creation thanks to a NAC-treated 18-carat rose gold rotor, made in the original 1950s style.

Tod’s is celebrating the hands that make its shoes

Photography: courtesy of Tod’s
Photography: courtesy of Tod’s

Hands are at the heart of any workshop, and no one understands this better than Tod’s, who’ve been making fashion’s favourite ‘Made in Italy’ shoes since 1900. Now, the brand has launched Italian Hands, to celebrate the culture of the craftspeople who support its workshops. The campaign, which documents and captures the making of the iconic Gommino loafer, has now culminated in a coffee table book for full immersion into the culture of Italian made leather goods that’s alive and well at Tod’s.

Learn more about the project here.

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