Chinese New Year is right around the corner, and it often presents two dilemmas: escaping the annual interrogation from the aunties or ponder the age-old conundrum of what to wear. While we can't help with the former, we definitely got you covered for the latter. This guide is your go-to for stepping into the Lunar New Year with style.
If a sleek, refined look is on your agenda this year—you're on the right page. TOM FORD's ivory cashmere and silk polo shirt is a staple piece, accentuated with mother-of-pearl buttons for that subtle sheen. Finished with their signature gold TOM FORD embroidered label, it's the epitome of understated sophistication for this Chinese New Year.
The collection is available in stores.
Loro Piana reimagines its iconic Bomber jacket to celebrate the Year of the Snake. Originally designed in 2003, the Bomber combines the Maison’s signature craftsmanship with refined practicality, perfect for a polished look on a chilly day.
The collection is available in stores and online.
Golden Goose's global brand ambassador Jackson Yee struts the genderless round-neck sweatshirt adorned with hand-embroidered red floral motifs, paired effortlessly with medium-wash denim. The jeans feature intricate snake embroidery on the back pockets—a subtle yet festive nod to the occasion.
When it comes to Golden Goose, its iconic Ball Star trainers take centrestage, reimagined in crisp white leather with snake-print details, bold red stitching, and matching lace for a fresh, festive twist.
The Golden Goose collection is available in stores and online.
Fendi ushers in the season with a bold collection—key pieces include the Peekaboo ISeeU Small and Baguette Soft Trunk bags, crafted from black Cuoio Romano leather. Adding to the allure, the Fendi Eyes motif receives a sophisticated makeover, adorning ready-to-wear pieces and the Fendi Flow sneakers.
The Fendi Lunar New Year collection is available in stores and online.
Kenzo's artistic director Nigo reimagines the House's signature collection with contemporary flair. The iconic Boke Flower has been reintepretated as a golden snake graphic, symbolising prosperity and abundance. The gold and red tones dominate for a vibrant yet sophisticated palette.
The Kenzo Lunar New Year collection is available in stores and online.
This collection proves that Giorgio Armani owns the sophisticated look with its delicate yet intricate snake embroideries on their timeless pieces as seen on Chinese celebrity Hu Ge. The ready-to-wear pieces are perfect for both special occasion and everyday wear.
The collection is available in stores.
Global ambassador Xiao Zhan models the captivating selection of ready-to-wear pieces featuring the snake motif woven seamlessly into each design. The collection exudes effortless style, brought to life with exquisite attention to detail.
Meanwhile, the iconic Gucci Re-Webb sneakers are crafted from beige and ebony Original GG canvas, and adorned with intricate snake details around the silhouette.
The collection is available in stores and online.
Let's not forget about travel and lifestyle accessories that are both practical and stylish. TUMI delivers a limited-edition capsule featuring a glided snake graphic inspired by calligraphy brushstrokes. Each piece is covered in gold detailing, symbolising good fortune and abundance for the year ahead.
And to spice things up, receive a limited-edition luggage tag available only with purchases, while stocks last.
The collection is available in stores and online.
When seeking chic, timeless essentials, the Lunar New Year Capsule from Ralph Lauren is the collection you can trust. This year's offering features the Polo Ralph Lauren corduroy shirt, crafted with fine-wale corduroy and adorned with the signature embroidered Pony. The brand's iconic cable-knit sweaters also come into play, made from luxurious wool and cashmere yarn sourced from Italy.
The collection is available in store and online.
Burberry introduces a capsule featuring a seasonal iteration of the Burberry Check, as well as a B snake on a wide array of garments.
The distinctive design of Burberry's Bubble sneaker exudes a playful charm with its rounded silhouette and enhanced by the subtle B snake detail.
The collection is available in stores and online.
This collection brings together some of Tod's most iconic designs, including the timeless Gommino and the sleek T Vintage Sneakers. Each piece is reimagined in a vibrant colour palette that honours the spirit of the season, in shades of red—a nod to the colour's significance in Chinese culture as a symbol of luck and prosperity.
The collection is available in stores and online.
Creative director Adrian Appiolaza takes inspiration from a painting by Franco Moschino, back in the late '80s, where a three-dimensional stuffed snake framed the artwork. Reimagining this piece for the Chinese New Year, he infuses it with signature Moschino symbols, reinterpreted with a snake motif. Emblems like the peace sign and question mark are given a playful, serpentine twist.
The collection is available in stores and online.
Tobacco and honey go on a head-on collision in Guerlain’s latest expression of its L’Art & La Matière collection. The headiness of raw tobacco (think a woody, almost intoxicating ruggedness) is smoothed over with Calabrian honey (a beloved honey extract of the house), to form a sensual tension of opposites. At the heart of both ingredients is a common warmth that grounds Tobacco Honey. It is ambery in profile, but the concocted tobacco accord—a combination of various raw materials to replicate that distinct tobacco note—is enveloped in vanilla, tonka bean and sesame for a balanced sweetness.
There is no doubt that Tobacco Honey is rich and decadent, reflected by its liquid gold-like colouring of its resulting formulation. And because this is part of Guerlain’s L’Art & La Matière collection, the fragrance’s vessel is just as decadent. Artist Anne Féat Gaiss, whose work involves sculpting paper, created a plate for Tobacco Honey’s cap involving sculpted paper that’s then glided with copper leaf as a beautiful reflection of the fragrance.
One of the oldest known perfume ingredients, myrrh is often considered to have a complex fragrance profile that is difficult to describe. It is earthy in nature, lending a woody and warm aroma that can be pungent and bitter at the same time. In perfumery, it is often used to add depth, based on its complexity alone. In Myrrhe Mystère, Tom Ford Beauty plays on its mysterious profile as its central hero.
Myrrhe Mystère enlists the power and mystique of two myrrh-based elements—myrrh essence and a trademarked myrrh resinoid orpur formulation—that are then combined with its Ultra Vanille accord infused in a number of existing Tom Ford fragrances. The resultant fragrance is one that envelopes with a rich aura. It’s an undoubtedly sophisticated scent meant to act as a provocative and vibrational expression of myrrh. But with the balanced blend of the earthiness of myrrh, the sweetness of vanilla and the woodiness of sandalwood, Myrrhe Mystère evokes a calm serenity.
Yves Saint Laurent Beauty’s Libre series is proving to be a favoured androgynous fragrance. The House expands the tension between masculine and feminine nuances with Libre L’Absolu Platine. Concocted by master perfumers Anne Flip and Carlos Benaïm—the duo behind the original Libre eau de parfum—a new accord that they’re calling “white lavender” gives Libre L’Absolu Platine its piercing scent.
The Libre series is already beloved for its Diva Lavender Heart (crafted specifically for Yves Saint Laurent) that amps up the floral expression of the lavender essence extracted from Diva lavender grown in Provence. The white lavender accord elevates the natural characteristics of lavender with its icy sheen provided by a vegetal aldehyde, polygonum. The result is an almost metallic note that cuts through, bringing about a renewed freshness that’s balanced out with orange blossom—another Libre ingredient. Like the best of tailoring, Libre L’Absolu Platine is sharp while altogether cool and powdery for a fragrance that’s undeniably sexy.
The latest in Louis Vuitton’s Les Extraits collection by master perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud is Myriad. Like its five other single-named fragrances in the collection, Myriad is what Louis Vuitton considers its ultimate expression of perfume that breaks free from convention.
Oud is the olfactory ingredient on which Myriad is based. Belletrud looked to the essence of Assam oud selected from a supplier in Bangladesh that is now exclusive to the maison. The strong woody and spicy depth of oud is beautifully balanced with floral notes developed through a combination of different roses. Bulgarian rose and Grasse-sourced May rose are mixed to produce a delectable rose combo that is fresh and rounded. To amplify the leathery nuances of oud, saffron is added to the mix, while cocoa, ambrette, white musk and a note of moss work together to lift the fragrance for a velvety finish. There is intensity and lightness—an unlikely contrast that speaks volumes of the complexity of Myriad. It is topped with a Frank Gehry-designed cap to further accentuate the exceptional level of quality.