What is #menswear talking about? Song for the Mute opens its first Melbourne store, the Loewe Cinematic Universe expands, and more

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.

Song for the Mute opens its first concept store in Melbourne

The Sydney concept store for Aussie label Song For The Mute was always going to be hard to out-design. Set in a Romanesque building with freestanding pods for fittings rooms, the brand has been able to create a singular shopping experience. But the brand founded by Melvin Tanaya and Lyna Ty have recently opened a Melbourne space, and it’s just as cool.

Designed by Will Hickman and produced by Chair Boi, the concept store that occupies 20 Russell Place is minimal by design, making the most of warm tones with refined wood and cream finishings. Paper lanterns dot the space, too, making you notice the balance of natural elements in contrast with the industrial cement ceiling. It’s a fit-out similar to the brand’s Paris 24.2 showroom, complimenting its concept-driven collections.

The brand’s latest chapter, titled the Teardrop collection, is currently available to shop in store. Characterised by “clusters of antagonistic textures, tinges of deep melancholy tones” with a punk undercurrent, it’s one of the brand’s strongest yet. No wonder it’s The Kid Laroi’s on-stage brand of choice.

The store is located at 20 Russell Place, Melbourne.

On Running and Post Archive Fashion are keeping gorpore alive

If there’s one brand right now that’s hitting all the right notes with their collabs, it’s On. The Swiss activewear label has partnered again with Post Archive Faction, melding its performance tech with the South Korean label’s avant-garde design language. Their second collaboration, titled Current Form 2.0, focuses on gear for the trail and snow (Current Form 1.0 was designed for road running and warm weather gear). As with anything gorpcore you’ll find in an urban environ, you may take an interest in these pieces, which are built for spring’s unpredictable weather: running jackets, the Zero Pants PAF, or long sleeve shirts are created for hikers, runner and cyclists in mind. Of course, the focal point are the shoes: the Cloudmonster 2 PAF features On’s biggest Cloudtec ever (those extraterrestrial open squares in the sole the brand is known for; On’s unique cushioning system).

Learn more about the collection here.

Introducing Dior’s B44 Blade sneaker, designed by Lewis Hamilton and Kim Jones

We’ve covered Lewis Hamilton’s best fits before, and among them are some of Kim Jones’ steeziest creations for Dior (a mix of sporty staples and fabrics imagined in couture cuts). So when news broke in July that the French legacy house was bringing on the F1 driver as a guest designer, not only did it make sense, but it was going to be a covetable collection. But it’s perhaps the B44 Blade sneaker that is the focal point of the collection, indeed, the shoe says everything you need to know about this special partnership. Inspired by the sneakers of Hamilton’s childhood in its chunky silhouette, the colours and construction is retro-futurist. Available in glacial hues of purple, aqua green and white, electric yellow, and staples like black and beige, the sneakers balance than fine line between innovative design and everyday footwear. Watch the world go wild for them.

The Loewe Cinematic Universe expands in a new campaign

Jonathan Anderson is booked and busy. In addition to leading the hottest brand in the world, Anderson has been quietly making waves as a costume designer, working on two films by Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (who he counts as a close friend). It’s a cross-pollination of creativity between two singular collaborators, cemented this past July when Daniel Craig appeared in Loewe’s autumn-winter 2024 campaign with shaggy hair and a funky fair isle knit. It’s a transformation so extreme that it ushered in the actor’s post-James Bond era. (Craig also stars in Guadagnino’s Queer, where Anderson served as costume designer).

And this new campaign is a continuation of Anderson’s ‘character study’. Featuring other actors in the Loewe-Guadagnino orbit such as Ayo Edebiri, Richard Gadd and Leo Woodall, the impressive cast of talent is dressed in archetypes. For the menswear, Anderson’s eye for cinematic Americana is at its sharpest in shearling jackets and military-cut pants, or a delightfully unbuttoned shirt. It’s the type of characters the actors pose as for Anderson, who grew up a cinephile in Ireland, all the while sentinel knights hover in the background. It’s a sense of humour the brand has become renowned for, bolstered with shots by iconic German photographer Juergen Teller.

‘Transcendence’: Commas unveils its resort 2025 collection

Aussie label Commas is taking us to Rio de Janeiro, the lively and vibrant city that acts as both a backdrop to and inspiration for its resort 2025 collection, titled ‘Transcendence’. “‘Transcendence’ is an exploration of serenity, a dialogue between texture and light,” says brand creative director and founder Richard Jarman. “The collection celebrates those quiet, almost forgotten moments.”

Knitwear is perhaps the last thing you think of when getting dressed for warm weather, but COMMAS makes a case for it. The use of cashmere and jacquard knits are summer-appropriate materials for their lightweight and soft compositions. For the collection, Jarman used these materials as canvases for prints and embroidery that reflect his interest in light and shadow, and how they interact with the body during movement. These techniques, he believes, are the high note for the collection, as well as a reminder of the brand’s careful craftsmanship.

Nathan McGuire launches a new sunglass collection

Model and creative Nathan McGuire’s label Solid Ochre has released a new collection of eyewear with Sydney-based label Vaanyard. Consisting of four shapes, the pieces are designed in rich textures and vibrant earth hues; as a proud Whadjuk Ballardong Noongar man, McGuire’s greatest inspiration being his connection to Country and always looking for that balance between innovation and tradition. But the synergy found between Solid Ochre and Vaanyard is marked by a thoughtful design processes: frames are created with thick acetate, calling back to classic, reliable eyewear of mid-century Japanese and French styles. We dig.

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