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The sharpest spring fashion collaborations

Hollywood Ranch Market X Wildside
Japan

Influential designer Yohji Yamamoto has unveiled a collaboration between his sub-label Wildside and fellow Japanese brand Hollywood Ranch Market. The six-piece collection is inspired by French workwear – think stretchy, long-sleeve tops, drawstring trousers and sharp chore jackets with French-style rounded collars. Bags are also on offer, including a mini twill satchel and a larger tote. Follow Yamamoto’s styling cues and add a pair of black leather Oxfords for a polished, monochrome look.
wildside-online.com; hrm-eshop.com

APC X Anastasia Barbieri
France

Paris-based apc continues to surprise with its ongoing series of collaborations – or “interactions”, as the brand’s founder, Jean Touitou, prefers to call the capsule collections co-designed with the likes of Jonathan Anderson, Jane Birkin and Katie Holmes. Joining this roster is stylist and former Vogue Hommes fashion director Anastasia Barbieri. “apc is a brand that I’ve known since my youth,” says Barbieri. “I’ve always appreciated its timeless pieces [and] nonchalant spirit,” she adds, pointing to the new classics in her own capsule, from tuxedo jackets designed to be worn from day to evening to gabardine coats and double-denim looks. Also worth adding to your shopping list: a new edition of the brand’s organic olive oil with a raw denim apron to match.
apc.fr

JW Anderson
UK

Loafers have been on the rise for a few years now, slowly but surely replacing the trainer. Irish-born designer Jonathan Anderson – known for his humorous, often surreal approach – decided to take the trend a step further with his new line of Loafer bags, a series of elegant top-handle totes featuring a front panel resembling the penny slot on the shoe. It’s a low-key, practical design but the nod to the footwear brings a touch of the irreverence that’s synonymous with Anderson’s label. The larger size, ideally in brown suede or navy leather, also doubles as a weekender bag.
jwanderson.com

Vacheron Constantin
Switzerland & UK

Vacheron Constantin’s Club 1755, in London’s Mayfair, is only open to the Swiss company’s top customers. “Before collecting timepieces, our clients might collect cigars, cars or art,” says UK brand director Charlotte Tanneur Teissier. So watches aren’t the only design objects on display. “Timepieces are part of a broader conversation and the club offers a space to host that discussion.” 
vacheron-constantin.com

Mover
Switzerland 

Swiss-based Mover has been delivering plastic-free collections since 2021. Its latest innovation is the Vintage Shell+ running jacket. Crafted from a waterproof high-density deadstock cotton with a merino lining, it is warm and breathable. We recommend this eye-catching mandarin shade. 
mover.eu

SR_A Engineered
Spain

Over the past year, Inditex-owned Zara has unveiled an evolving collaboration series with the likes of former Saint Laurent artistic director Stefano Pilati, musician Charlotte Gainsbourg and Budapest-based label Nanushka.

The A Coruña business is now aiming even higher by launching a new label with Samuel Ross, the architect turned fashion designer known for streetwear label A-Cold-Wall and partnerships with watchmaker Hublot. Named SR_A Engineered, this joint venture is a “multidisciplinary studio” rather than a traditional fashion label, spanning clothing as well as furniture, art and industrial design.

Ross’s first project, a menswear capsule focused on performance wear, made its debut during Paris Fashion Week this January and included voluminous parkas, kimono-inspired coats and slides featuring Japanese shiso stitching. “These are clothes for navigating cultural spaces and spaces of work and play,” says Ross. 
sr-a.com

Kestin
UK

“They say that if you’re brought up in Scotland, you’re either a golfer or a fly fisher,” says Kestin Hare at the Edinburgh shop of his menswear label Kestin. And life outdoors informs his Scottish-made knits and workwear-inspired garments, crafted using a mix of technical and natural fabrics, and produced at the brand’s studio in Annan.

Hare inherited this obsession with quality fabrics from his mother, an interior designer; while the technical wear he wore while fly fishing with his father fuelled a love for high-performance garments.

The ambitious designer is working with fabric makers in Japan, while eyeing new markets. “Our biggest growth area is in the US, where many people feel a true affinity to Scotland,” he says. “You can design the best product in the world but if it doesn’t have a story, it won’t work. We’re always developing new techniques in the studio to keep us all ready to venture outside.” 
kestin.co

The Milan bistros, Melbourne cocktails and cosy Dutch hotels to have on our radar

Melbourne Place
Melbourne

“There’s a sameness about many Australian hotels that we wanted to get away from,” says Patrick Kennedy, co-principal of architecture firm Kennedy Nolan. When the practice was commissioned to design a 16-storey hotel in Melbourne’s CBD, it took inspiration from “family-owned properties in Europe”. Melbourne Place has a brick and tinted-concrete exterior that reflects the spirit of the area’s older buildings. “Melbourne has been keen to preserve 19th- and 20th-century masonry buildings,” says Kennedy. “We engaged with those aspirations closely.” The hotel offers 191 guest rooms and suites. 
melbourneplace.com.au

Sandì
Milan

Hidden away on a residential street in Porta Venezia, bistro Sandì has swiftly become a neighbourhood favourite. The project is overseen by chef Laura Santosuosso, originally from Modena, and her partner, Denny Mollica (pictured, on left, with Santosuosso), who takes care of front of house and pulls together an unconventional, ever-evolving wine list.

Sandì – a portmanteau of Santosuosso’s surname and Mollica’s nickname – occupies a beautiful 1960s street-level space that was once a bakery. Original design details have been preserved, including a Palladian marble floor with flashes of pink. In-demand design studio Parasite 2.0 is behind the subtle refurbishment work and the striking metal-and-glass wall at the far end that opens like a kiosk.

Santosuosso has worked at some of Milan’s finest restaurants – from Erba Brusca and Remulass to Nebbia – and has also spent time in Paris. “The menu’s departure point is always Italian regional food,” says the chef. “But there are influences from all of our travels too.” Dishes such as roasted cauliflower in a green pepper sauce are bursting with umami flavour. Other standouts include slow-cooked leeks in red wine, blue cheese and dark chocolate, and cabbage stuffed with red prawns and pork shoulder, served with a flavoursome bisque.

The couple, who have a young son, currently only open Sandì for lunch, except on Fridays when the bistro also serves dinner. The aim, says Mollica, is to have “a place that is buzzing during the day” and to maintain a healthy work-life balance. The à la carte options are excellent but the set menu is undoubtedly Milan’s best meal deal: €25 for three inventive and scrumptious courses. “We want to have all of the comfort of dinner but at lunch,” says Santosuosso. We like their way of thinking. 
Via Francesco Hayez, 13

Hotel Rumour
Leiden

Studio Modijefsky – the Amsterdam-based firm behind the handsome Gitane restaurant and bar, as well as the revamp of the Blauwe Theehuis pavilion in the Vondelpark – is at it again. This time it has transformed a 17th-century carriage house in Rembrandt’s home city of Leiden into the cosy Hotel Rumour.

The hotel’s terrace is dotted with tan parasols. There’s a downstairs brasserie clad in brown terracotta tiles and a travertine bar beneath original wooden ceiling beams. You’ll find texture everywhere, from the smooth sage-hued upholstery of the bar seating to the marble tabletops and bobbly beige stuccoed walls that hint at the age of the building. A staircase leads to La Suite Petite, which is available to rent for private bashes. It has space for 12 people and a private dining option. There’s also the Salone Royale (with room for 100) amid the attic’s atmospheric wooden rafters.

Chef Thomas van der Slikke oversees a bistro with a menu of crowd-pleasers, which range from brunch staples to a dinner of sea bass or steak with a great wine list to choose from. It’s easy to stray into hyperbole when painting such a comely portrait of a new opening but let’s just say that the hotel’s success isn’t just a rumour. 
hotelrumour.nl

Recipe for success: Parma’s prestigious Alma culinary school

Commuting to a palace might be tough but somebody has to do it. Such are the tribulations of Alberto Figna, who admits that he works in “an extraordinary place”. Figna is president and CEO of Alma culinary school, which occupies four floors of the magnificent Colorno Palace, a 17th-century masterpiece just outside the city of Parma that’s known as the “Versailles of the Dukes of Parma”. The venue is befitting of the institution, which was established in 2004 and sees 1,000 students pass through its doors every year – about 20 per cent of whom are from outside Italy.

“Alma is by some distance the largest, most recognised and most important Italian cooking school,” says Figna. His role, which he calls “complicated but also very stimulating”, is to develop the school and increase its international profile. Alma works with a network of global schools, which send students to Italy (on the day Monocle visits, there’s a delegation from Taiwan). It also participates in a venture in Bangkok called The Food School. “Alma is growing a lot,” says Figna. “And we believe that it can also grow a lot in the future.”

Located in the heart of Emilia-Romagna’s ‘Food Valley’ – land of cured ham and Parmesan cheese – Alma has a strong crossover with industry (pasta giant Barilla and tomato-sauce king Mutti are based in Parma), helping to get students into placements and working with guest teachers. There is a core staff of 17 chefs and 26 academic professors who teach international courses in English, as well as Italian-language programmes that cover everything from F&B to baking and pastry.

Figna, who has been in his role since 2023, says that he couldn’t do without his staff, which includes everyone from a café assistant to a graphic designer. They all contribute to creating a place of educational excellence (and where lunch, as you might expect, goes above and beyond). “Alma is a school where there is a great sense of belonging and where the students are very united,” he says. “We believe that they can go on to be the best ambassadors of the Italian way of life around the world.”

Vatican diplomacy tested as US-Cuba deal unravels

Among the flurry of announcements made by Joe Biden at the end of his presidency was something that caught many by surprise: the decision to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. In return, Havana agreed to release 550 prisoners, many of whom were jailed for taking part in anti-government demonstrations in 2021.

Cuba’s economy has been hit by US sanctions and increasingly inconsistent supplies of fuel, funds and food from its traditional allies in Russia, Venezuela and China. Biden’s move promised a glimmer of hope, particularly for Cuba’s fledgling private sector, which has been particularly hard hit by the economic downturn. And though Donald Trump reimposed US sanctions on Cuba during his first day in office, Cuba’s president Miguel Díaz-Canel (pictured, on right, with Pope Francis) appears to have maintained its side of the deal by pressing ahead with the prisoner release.

This is probably because of the standing of the third party that brokered the original deal: Vatican City. “What is interesting in a diplomatic sense is the Holy See’s perceived neutrality,” Michael Higgins, a professor of Catholic history at the University of Toronto, tells monocle. “It’s why countries that have no history of Catholicism still want ambassadors to the Holy See.”

The Vatican has diplomatic links with 182 countries. While its diplomats’ recent attempt to reset US-Cuba relations has been undone, their work has become more valuable as international relations have deteriorated. “In a world that constantly seems on the road to collision, you need stabilising powers,” says Higgins. As the world gears up for a year of potentially complex peace negotiations in Ukraine and the Middle East, the parties involved might benefit from seeking divine intervention.

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Interview: ‘L’Express’ CEO Alain Weill on rebuilding France’s iconic news brand

“There is a fire at L’Express,” said French media mogul Alain Weill when he took the helm of the historic Paris-based news magazine in 2019. L’Express was in a deep financial crisis and one CEO after another had failed to turn around its fortunes. Before arriving at L’Express, Weill had played a key role in building up French radio giants nrj and rmc, and later founded BFMTV (France’s answer to CNN). Six years and several rounds of layoffs later, L’Express is back from the brink.

In 2024 it turned a profit for the first time in years and now has ambitious plans for a European edition aimed at audiences beyond France’s borders. Monocle catches up with the softly spoken, quietly self-assured ceo in the newsroom, noting that his blazer’s red-stitched buttonhole discreetly reveals his status as a knight of France’s prestigious Ordre de La Légion d’Honneur.

Is ‘L’Express’ out of the woods, financially?
It’s not over. I would say that we are halfway there. Today the company’s books are balanced but we must reinvent the future of the magazine. It’s not a mission that is specific to L’Express; it’s an obligation for all titles around the world. AI is coming and free information is both plentiful and high quality.

Tell us about your plans for a European edition.
We already have an audience of subscribers, which is made up of opinion leaders, leaders of the economic world, scientists, teachers, politicians and professionals. This readership throughout Europe is similar: a German business leader has the same concerns as a French business leader and the same desire for information. We want to develop across Europe with talented journalists writing European stories and using technology to publish our content in all 24 languages of the European Union. This will also be a way to attract a younger audience as young people often know Europe better than their parents. They’ve had the opportunity to travel and European values appeal to them.

What will this change look like in practice?
We will have 30 per cent original content but will also develop a relationship with L’Express France. Of the French edition’s content, 70 per cent can be used for the European project, with a Europeanised translation using AI. The content that will come from L’Express France will already be very European and not France-centric analysis or Europe as seen from France. It will come from journalists representing all nationalities of the European Union. And we want to look for the best experiences in Europe. Why does education work in Finland? Why is healthcare better in Germany when per capita spending is not higher? We are already well positioned when it comes to coverage of Europe, liberalism, democracy, science, technology and climate. This is where we want to excel.

How do you balance opinion and news?
When I took over [French FM radio station] RMC, we made it a 100 per cent opinion radio station but it wasn’t partisan. rmc is still a radio station that gives a voice to all French people and allows all kinds of opinions. I think that this is necessary. It does not support one side over the other. Today if you think of [French TV channel] CNews, it is an opinion channel but it supports one political camp. Regulation needs to change because soon TV will be broadcast on digital platforms where there is less oversight. A publication like L’Express is liberal and pro-European; it defends democracy but that doesn’t mean that we can’t give a voice to people who think differently. To make up our own minds, it’s important to subject them to other ideas and other points of view.

You were part of the earliest days of French FM radio. What did you learn from that time?
Jean-Paul Baudecroux, who was the founder of NRJ and a visionary, understood how the radio market was going to evolve. He went looking for models in the US and it worked. NRJ has been a success from the start. And the adventure I had at nrj was exceptional because the whole team felt like we were changing the sector. In the media, and the audiovisual sector in particular, the models are often American because competition there has been tougher for longer. Private radio in the US existed even before the Second World War but in Europe it appeared in the 1980s. So NRJ is inspired by American music radio. And BFMTV was inspired by CNN. I’ve always liked drawing inspiration from models that work.

Might Trump tempt California to secede in the aftermath of LA’s wildfires?

In 2017, as Donald Trump prepared to enter the White House, California’s leaders went on the offensive. They would, they said, use the power of the world’s fifth-largest economy to stand up to the president, serving as what then-California governor Jerry Brown described as a “beacon of hope to the rest of the world”. If Trump blocked the climate research that was key to the state’s environmental agenda, Brown threatened, “California will launch its own damn satellite.” There has been little of that swagger from Sacramento this time around. The wildfires that tore through Los Angeles less than two weeks before Trump’s second inauguration have blindsided California’s leaders. The Democrats who preside over the state now find themselves begging Republicans in Washington to deliver the type of basic aid that the federal government ordinarily doles out to those affected by natural disasters.

Such catastrophes usually elicit a sense of unity but the fires have revealed deep divisions. Many in Trump’s party responded to the suffering in Los Angeles with glee, making dubious claims about the city’s firefighting budget and the management of its reservoirs to feed a longstanding caricature of left-wing mismanagement. Even as the fires raged, prominent Republicans looked for ways to pin the destruction on the Democratic politicians who occupy all of California’s state offices and the mayoralties of most of its large cities. (It is one of 15 states where Democrats control both the governor’s office and legislative supermajorities.) LA was burning, Republicans said, because Democratic politicians spend more time protecting illegal immigrants, criminals and endangered species than their own citizens. “Everyone is unable to do anything about it,” Trump said in his inaugural address. “That’s going to change.”

Trump has spoken of Chicago, Detroit and even New York in similar terms but none has found itself as reliant on his goodwill as LA. The short-term fight will be over emergency aid and whether Congress attaches conditions that compel changes to the Californian environmental policies that Republicans blame for the fires. Trump will have difficulty fully abandoning LA, which is due to host the Olympics in the final year of his presidential term. He was in office when the Games were granted to the US and is certain to shuffle around the host city in 2028 with a smile on his face. A man who prides himself on a knack for construction will be eager to boast about his role in saving the Olympic city rather than blame local politicians for its ills.

But the next four years are likely to be painful for California as it struggles to rebuild while seeing its national government as an obstacle not a partner. Indeed, those who run the US now treat the state – which is home to one-eighth of its population and responsible for one-seventh of its GDP – as something of a distant, wayward colonial territory. A January announcement from Trump about how his White House would deal with the entertainment industry was telling: “It is my honour to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone to be special ambassadors to a great but very troubled place: Hollywood.” Californians might soon have an opportunity to express whether they share that sense of detachment. The so-called CalExit movement tried but failed to place a secession plebiscite before voters during Trump’s first term; now it is trying again. If it succeeds in qualifying, Californians would vote on the state’s secession from the US in November 2026 – almost exactly halfway between the wildfires and the Olympic moment, when Trump will want to brag about LA’s rise from the ashes.

LA-based Issenberg is Monocle’s US politics correspondent.

Interview: Giovanni del Vecchio on Giorgetti’s journey from classic to contemporary

Despite its 126-year history, Brianza-based furniture maker Giorgetti is anything but complacent. The Italian firm is continuing its transformation from a more classical design brand to one rooted in the contemporary. We asked its CEO, Giovanni del Vecchio, about this transformation.

Giorgetti has talked about a contemporary evolution. What does that mean?
Evolution – and not revolution – has been one of the pillars of our strategy since the company was acquired [by Italian private equity fund Progressio] in 2015. Back then it was probably thought to have a higher attention from the Asian markets than the European or American ones. This is the reason why we have tried to let the company evolve into more contemporary design but it’s also part of our tradition. Even in the early 1980s, Giorgetti launched the Matrix collection: an incredible, out-of-context range made up of colourful pieces and innovative shapes. This need for continuous evolution has always been part of our make-up.

How do you continue to build on this legacy?
One of the directions that we have been taking is to keep collaborating with some of the designers who have been working with us for many, many years. When we start a collaboration, our objective is for it to be long-term because when you learn how to design a Giorgetti piece, we want you to keep doing it.

How do you ensure that Giorgetti doesn’t only look to the past?
We have two other directions. One of these is to collaborate with young designers. This is a commitment that the company must make – giving opportunities to young designers to approach established brands and use the research and development competencies that we have in order to grow their expertise and their design proposals. And the other direction we have is to work with architects who are not really into product design but are helping us to identify how product can become a tool to develop architectural solutions.

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Tech corner: Three releases to keep on your radar

From sleek new smartphones to high-tech accessories, this roundup features some of the latest innovations that combine style with cutting-edge functionality.

Whether it’s Samsung’s revamped Galaxy with improved AI and photography, Technics’ impressive in-ear headphones with seamless connectivity, or Oura’s slimmed-down ring with advanced health tracking, these gadgets are designed to elevate your everyday life.

From left to right:

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra smartphone
The rounded corners of this phone give it a welcoming new look but the tower of cameras on its back remains in place last year’s S24 Ultra. There’s now a faster processor, better photographic sensors and the next version of Galaxy AI, including the Now Bar, which shows apps on the lock screen and can even tell you when to leave home to catch that flight.
samsung.com

Technics EAH-AZ100 
Technics describes these new in-ear wireless headphones as reference class and they do sound impressive, with direct, clean and balanced audio. They also have a cute design and active noise-cancelling, and pair with three different gadgets so you can connect them as you move from your phone to your laptop, for instance.
technics.com

Oura Ring 4
Finnish firm Oura’s new ring is slick and slim with sensors that are flush, making it comfier.  Sleep tracking remains key and Symptom Radar can even alert you if you’re coming down with a cold before you’ve even sniffed.
ouraring.com

Recipe: Halloumi with spiced honey, lemon yoghurt and plums

Swiss chef Ralph Schelling developed this dish while cooking at a villa in the Greek town of Porto Heli last summer. It puts the satisfyingly chewy texture and tangy flavour of halloumi at its centre. Pair this starter with seasonal salads for a sweet and savoury contrast.
ralphschelling.com

Serves 4 as a starter

Ingredients
Olive oil, for frying
2 sprigs rosemary
4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
½ red chilli, lightly crushed
2-3 tbsps honey
Sea salt and black pepper, to season
100g Greek yoghurt
1 lemon (zest and juice)
150g halloumi, drained
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2-3 plums, sliced into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

Method
1.
Heat the olive oil in a pan. Strip the rosemary leaves and add them to the lightly crushed garlic and chilli. Sauté for about 5 minutes.

2.
Add the honey and half a teaspoon each of salt and pepper to the pan, then turn off the heat. Infuse for 15 minutes.

3.
Mix the Greek yoghurt with the lemon zest, lemon juice and a pinch of salt in a bowl.

4.
Cut the halloumi into strips, pat dry and fry in a little olive oil over a medium heat until golden brown (3 to 5 minutes).

5.
Quickly sauté the tomatoes and the fruit, then mix with a bit of the spiced honey.

6.
Spread the yoghurt mixture evenly on plates or bowls. Arrange the fried halloumi on top, then garnish with the sautéed plums and tomatoes.

7.
Drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt to taste. Serve.