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.

Antler celebrates 110 years of British heritage with a new collection

Image: courtesy of Antler
Image: courtesy of Antler

Celebrating 110 years of outfitting some of the world’s most stylish travellers, British luggage-maker Antler is marking the occasion with a collection that celebrates just that. Diving into the archives, the brand has released the Stripe Trunk and Stripe Cabin, updating them with modern engineering, such as the wonders of lightweight polycarbonate, aluminium frames, reinforced corners and Antler’s first-ever replaceable wheels. Whether you’re travelling cross country by car or across continents by plane or ship, the Heritage collection will take you the distance.

Shop the Heritage collection here.

Scuba dive with Swatch’s SCUBAQUA

Photography: courtesy of Swatch
Photography: courtesy of Swatch

Picture this: you’re scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef and a neon jellyfish has attached itself to your wrist. Only you’re not paralysed by its tentacles, just the sheer beauty of Swatch’s new SCUBAQUA timepieces glowing underwater. The Swiss watchmaker released the collection with this innovative jelly material of bioceramic derived from caster oil, giving it that distinct transparency. Five colourways of black, clear, neon egg yolk, red and blue fire are available, designed for taking you from the city to the shore. The SCUBAQUA was created with a robust water-resistent design rated for up to 10 bars. The jellyfish wishes it were this watch.

Shop the collection here; $245.

Loewe x On is back with upgrades you’ll actually wear

Photography: courtesy of Loewe x ON
Photography: courtesy of Loewe x ON

Our favourite fashion-sportswear crossover just dropped its seventh collection — and it’s still setting the pace. Loewe x On returns with Drop 7, featuring an upgraded Cloudventure 2.0 sneaker in five new colourways, designed with fluid lines and high-tech materials. It’s still performance-first, but with just enough design edge to wear beyond the weekend. The ready-to-wear and accessories capsule leans performance-heavy too — think technical layers, oversized silhouettes, and outerwear that look good without trying too hard. Now online at loewe.com.

Timeless and utilitarian: the Dior Privé tote bag

Photography: Michael Comninus; Styling: Grant Pearce

A hero piece of the Dior Men’s autumn/winter 2025 collection, the Dior Privé was a bag to watch when it walked down the runway. Made of supple and refined calfskin, it’s a classic tote construction with two shoulder straps, with its utilitarian character featured in the two large exterior pockets. A contemporary silhouette with a minimalist shape, the interior leather is lined in the Dior oblique print – just so you don’t forget who you’re wearing when your grabbing your things.

Shop the bag here; $6,700.

Auralee and New Balance give the 475 model a refresh

Photography: courtesy of New Balance
Photography: courtesy of New Balance

Auralee and New Balance are menswear’s favourite sneaker collab duo. The last partnership came in the 990v5 model reintroduced in a jewel tone blue and light mocha brown that has since sent resale markets into a scarcity tailspin. We spotted the 475 model’s comeback coming a mile away when it was introduced almost a year ago on the cult Japanese label’s runway in Paris – it seems destined for a similar fate as it arrives in stores this Friday.

How to get your hands on one of the year’s highly-anticipated collabs? A ticking clock on NewBalance.com.au marks the sneakers release for Friday, May 16 at 10 am, with availability also in select New Balance stores.

Shop the new collab here; $200.

Acne Studios teams up with artist Jonathan Lyndon Chase

Photography: courtesy of Acne Studios
Photography: courtesy of Acne Studios

To mark Frieze New York 2025, Acne Studios has partnered with Philadelphia-based artist Jonathan Lyndon Chase on a limited-edition capsule — and an immersive art takeover at their Greene Street store, NYC. The collab builds on Chase’s scenography for the brand’s SS25 womenswear show, blending queerness, domesticity and identity through subverted soft sculptures and bold visual storytelling. The capsule brings that same energy to T-shirts, cushions, blankets, and a denim-inspired take on Acne’s ‘1981’ jeans — each piece printed with Chase’s expressive figures and riffs on the brand’s signature bow.

Available at Acne Studios Greene Street New York from May 7 and selected stores worldwide and online at acnestudios.com from late June 2025.

Related:

Jonathan Anderson joins Dior Men’s. Here’s what to expect

Jack Draper on court style, summer in London and life after winning Indian Wells