Esquire Eye: What Esquire India Editors Are Coveting
A timepiece the universe inspired, a bag in tune with the current menswear mood and a stunning collector’s box set of a contemporary classic
Universe On The Table
A timepiece is only supposed to tell time. The makers behind La Vallée’s Cosmo don’t think so. Enclosed in a dome of hand-blown Murano glass, the astronomical timepiece turns upon itself once every sidereal day (that’s every 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds). Cosmo can run for 406 days on a single wind and deliver a range of astronomical indications: sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk, local solar time, zodiac, position of the sun, and stars above a specific location. The selling point? The central escapement, which is suspended inside the dome through a magnetic system, can be customised to match the frequency of the owner’s resting heartbeat. Inspired by the universe, concept of time and the flow of motion, this is horological poetry.
A Big Gesture
Hanya Yanagihara's novel can also drive you mad, consume you, and take over your life, writer Jon Michaud wrote in his 2015 New Yorker review. A decade later, the terrible beauty of A Little Life continues to inspire, and publishers are marking the occasion. Vintage’s American edition has issued a special collector’s box set, separating the novel into four books, each with an original artwork commissioned by Yanagihara from artists she admires. The slipcase imagines scenes from the novel, while the covers each feature a portrait of one of its central characters. Contributing artists include Salman Toor, RF Alvarez, Chantal Joffe, Linus Borgo, Navot Miller, TM Davy, Wangari Mathenge and mixed-media stylist Wardell Milan. The Picador edition, available in India (above, left), features Alvarez’s painting on the front cover. If you judge a book by its cover, this one’s pretty spectacular.
Dior's New Look
When it comes to fashion, few things are moving faster than menswear. And in the past few years, we’ve seen some of the world’s brightest, more forward-thinking creators usher in a newer, liberating approach to men’s style. One where new, innovative ideas take precedence and the boundaries between menswear and womenswear increasingly blur. Jonathan Anderson has been one such force. For his debut collection at Dior, he collaborates with the prolific American textile artist Sheila Hicks (seven decades of experimenting, exploring and creating groundbreaking art). Together, they’ve reimagined the iconic Lady Dior bag, wrapping it in dense cascades of tassels, forming what Hicks calls a nest of ponytails that shifts the piece from accessory to object. Worn cross body, the familiar geometry loosens into something more tactile and less controlled. In a way resonating with the menswear mood of the current times. It is not about updating a classic so much as asking what an icon can become when looked at as a starting point of a vast, creative exploration. In that sense, the bag feels less like a product moment and more like a thesis statement for Anderson’s approach to the House.