Straight out of the '80s, the Ray-Ban Wings sunglasses were favoured by pilots due to the look and quality. The brand has since brought back the style in a number of iterations, with this latest one being a combination of the original and the Wings II. It maintains the squarish frame of the latter with an elongated taper that extends slightly towards the sides for more coverage. The brow bar remains a key fixture, making the style ever-enduring.
Pharrell Williams has a penchant for softness in Louis Vuitton’s bags. His Soul Trunk East West bag is a new supple take on the Maison’s trunk-making heritage; featuring reinforced corners and a duo of straps for maximum versatility of wear. The main compartment is secured with a zipper but there’s also a magnetic closure (fashioned to look like a trunk’s clasp) for quick reach into the interior while keeping the bag closed.
The sleek appearance of the second-generation EVOA Z is a Trojan horse for the top-tier functionality that the Samsonite luggage is known for. Some of the nifty design elements: a small but mighty hanging hook is integrated right below the pull handles to hang light items, zipper pullers are fixed with magnets so that they bind together to prevent theft, and the wheels glide with maximum smoothness and manoeuvrability.
The signature embroidered Pony logo of Polo Ralph Lauren makes for a subtle statement. It calls to mind the preppy aesthetic steeped in the brand’s history. Created using precisely 982 individual stitches, the logo sits front and centre on this BetterCotton twill cap. We don’t have to tell you just how indispensable a good cap is but just know that with this particular piece, the pairings are almost limitless.
Listen, we get that the Dyson Zone headphones (you know, the one with the air purifier attachment) seemed like a joke. And to be fair, perhaps Dyson knew that too. The brand’s latest audio device removes the extraneous feature and focuses solely on the audio quality and ANC. What we got: the Dyson OnTrac that's customisable wth a range of colours for its caps and cushions.
The Reverso is a revolutionary icon that stood the test of time. This latest iteration is a throwback to earlier models including a classic chemin de fer, applied hour markers and dauphine hands. Both sides of the timepiece feature a sunray dial—one lacquered in blue and the other in silver—for a classically elegant look whichever way you choose to turn to.
The Zegna Triple Stitch is a definite winner in our books. Already traipsing the line between casual and dressy, the brand takes it up a notch with an iteration that is tailored for more outdoor pursuits. The Triple Stitch Monte (Italian for “mount”) is fitted with Vibram soles for increased traction, all the while retaining the look and silhouette of the original.
For better or worse, the Dior Sauvage has quite the reputation—you either love it or don’t quite fancy it. The Dior Sauvage Eau Forte however, would easily satisfy both camps. The essence of Sauvage is still present but reimagined in an alcohol-free formula that’s light and fresh while having the intensity of a parfum. In other words, you probably won’t be assaulting anyone’s nose with this.
The distinctive Bone ring, a reincarnation of Elsa Peretti’s iconic 1970 Bone cuff design, has to be experienced first-hand to be appreciated. Its sinewy contours make for a subtle statement, but it is also sculpted to conform to one’s finger or knuckle. There is no restriction of motion despite its size and fits comfortably like second skin.
Everyone needs a throw-all duffel in their arsenal. This collaboration piece between Montblanc and football legend Zinédine Zidane runs high on the list of the perfect duffels. For starters, it’s incredibly roomy yet lightweight at the same time. The inside is thoughtfully designed with organisation compartments and loops, and of course, the exterior is as handsome as they come with Montblanc’s subtle Extreme 3.0 motif.
Photography: Jaya Khidir
Styling: Asri Jasman
Photography Assistants: Aliy Alam and Nowo Kasturi
I don't quite know how to feel about the new Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. Especially when they run on AI. We get it, it's the whole handsfree, first-person POV experience ("Hey Meta, share this photo I took with just my literal face"). The convenience is clearly purposed for content creation, livestreaming and all that jazz. Allowing users to preview social media comments in real-time, even audibly, the ambitious eyewear also doubles as a pair of headphones and takes phone calls. Perhaps Meta thinks we aren't glued enough to our phones as it is.
In partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the first generation—called "Ray-Ban Stories" because why bother hiding what they're really for—was launched in September 2021. They came in three styles (wayfarer, round and meteor), one colour (the very exciting black in shiny or matte) and two transitions options (the just as exciting grey and brown).
The second iteration now streamlined and lighter, boasts up to 150 frame and lens design combinations. More importantly, first-hand reviews are actually calling them comfortable. Water resistance clocks in at an IPX4 rating, should you consider skinny dipping.
The biggest change, though, would undoubtedly be replacing the 5MP camera with an ultra-wide 12MP one. Capable of recording 1080p videos from a prior 780p in 60-second stints, the default mode is—surprise, surprise—now portrait rather than landscape. It also went from one microphone, which apparently wasn't much good in strong breeze, to a whopping five, including one on the nose bridge for a true 360 audio capture.
There's a marked difference in the listening experience too, via a 50 percent maximum volume increase and better directional output. Meaning you can continue discreetly enjoying the K-pop band you pretend not to like, unless you're standing in proximity within a silent room.
For privacy, which was a priority Meta strangely felt the need to emphasize, a blinking white light goes off when the device is recording. Minimizing the creep factor is something to appreciate when photo and video functions are easily activated by touchpads on the glasses' stems. Interestingly, this became the reason why certain frame colour options such as beige were removed as they were less obvious to see when the LED was turned on.
Operating on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 processor and eight times more internal storage at 32GB, the glasses allegedly last up to four hours of active use and come with a nifty sunglass charging case …which take approximately 75 minutes to full charge.
Besides taking your annoying voice commands, the integrated Meta AI is slated for an update next year to enable interaction with AR surroundings. Augmented reality is an intriguing direction to head in, when gadgets like Google Glass and Bose Frames never really took off. It begs the question why, when it didn't gain much traction two years ago, are they pitching a new version now?
Does the company know something we don't about the near future that produces this unfounded confidence in consumer demand? Will there be another pandemic where we will all be forced indoors to see the resurgence of virtual reality, NFTs and cryptocurrency? In other words, will the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses finally be cool? And will I ever get to answering these speculative questions as opposed to simply throwing them out there? I guess some things we'll never know.
Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses are up for preorder now on Ray-Ban / Meta and on sale 17 October from USD299.
