A CELEBRATION OF SUMMER

Retail favourite COS announced their latest collaboration with Manchester-based, multidisciplinary artist Stephen Doherty to create a selection of limited-edition pieces, adorned with exclusive floral artwork crafted using Doherty's unique ink and water technique, which evoke the epitome of summer dressing. Focusing on the flower in bloom, the collaboration celebrates the beauty of nature in its most exquisite form.

Embracing the synergy between art and fashion, the 17-piece collection embodies effortless elegance, with Doherty's florals reimagined on canvases of silk and linen, transforming classic COS silhouettes. Set dressing is embraced throughout the capsule, with each garment designed to be interchanged and styled in endless ways, dressed up or down to suit the mood or occasion.

Exploring craftsmanship, delicately beaded embroidery embellishes bandeau tops, while unique waistband finishes provide versatile styling and a functional element. The floral print is also embraced on accessories, reworked onto a leather mule and silk scarves.

Inspired by contemporary culture, COS is a London-based fashion brand known for iconic wardrobe pieces, elevated essentials and innovative designs that are made to last. Dedicated to quality and sustainability, COS takes a bespoke approach to design, creating unique collections that combine function with timeless style. Experimental design details and material innovation are frequently revisited to include the latest sartorial advances and ensure the considered use of fibres whether they be recycled, renewed or sustainably sourced.

Stephen Doherty’s Gratitude Blooms series began in 2018 while he was artist in residence at Aamir Art House in Porvorim, Goa. Centring around the use of flowers in ritual celebration and performative acts of gratitude, it features paintings of decaying devotional flowers, petals and studies of the human figure in nature. Other common themes in his work are community, connectedness and joy.

He studied at Central Saint Martins and is an alumnus of the Sarabande Foundation; Established by Lee McQueen. In 2019 Stephen was awarded NEW WAVE: Creative by the British Fashion Council.✤

GO: VISIT COS.COM FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

Breaking The Ice

For the serious aficionado, Montblanc introduces its Only Watch 2023 timepiece but there’s a catch (or two).

To see it, you’ll not only have to bid on it, you’ll also need an ice pick to get to it!

This year marks the 10th Only Watch charity auction, a biennial event that has raised over QR405 million to date. Only Watch was created in 2005 by Luc Pettavino –and under HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco’s high patronage – to auction one-off timepieces to raise funds supporting researchers around the world to accelerate their work to find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

2023 is the fourth time Montblanc has taken part and this year’s offering is truly unique – an 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen debuting an innovative middle case material that has captured CO2 inside. And if that isn’t ‘cool’ enough, the unique piece is encased in a block of ice (safe breakable glass) devoid of oxygen, meaning the future owner will need to smash it open with an ice pick or leave the horological masterpiece captured in time. The new case material is created using a pioneering technological development that captures CO2 from biogas production and mineral wastes from recycling factories. The obtained powder containing CO2 is then combined with ultra-light and ultra-resistant carbon fibre creating a composite material shaped exclusively into a watch middle case: the CARBO2.

The 43.5mm case comes with a luminous glacier blue outline of Mount Everest on the side that only the wearer can see. A beautiful picture of Mount Everest also adorns the titanium case back and, next to Mount Everest, the 13 other highest peaks of the world are marked in colour. The one-of-a-kind watch joins Montblanc’s series of zerooxygen timepieces and will introduce a new collection in April 2024.

This unique piece features several benefits for explorers who need their equipment to work in harsh environments. Zero oxygen inside the case not only eliminates fogging, which can occur with drastic temperature changes at altitude, but also prevents oxidization. Each zero-oxygen timepiece comes with a certificate as proof of this special, yet invisible, technology.

The timepiece comes with a fluted bi-directional black ceramic bezel with the compass cardinal points and OW for Only Watch depicting West. It is fitted with an electric blue glacier pattern dial and the worldtime meridians in a spectrum of colours. Completing the look is a black interchangeable textile strap on which the top material is made of 100% recycled PET.

In addition to the timepiece, the lucky bidder will receive an ice pick from Montblanc’s Mark Maker, world recordbreaking alpinist Nimsdai Purja, who is the fastest man to climb all 14 of the world’s highest peaks above 8,000 metres, a record he broke in six months and six days. He also ascended Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen for a collaboration with Montblanc in 2022. ✤

GO: VISIT WWW.MONTBLANC.COM OR WWW. ONLYWATCH.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION.