Our hotly anticipated SS21 collection has finally dropped, and we're thrilled to share with you our exclusive new pieces and designs. As a small independent brand, we are incredibly grateful to have been able to expand our label from shirting and outerwear to include our Black Label leather goods, footwear, tailored trousers and jeans. In today's post, we would love to share the design inspiration behind a few of our new spring-summer pieces, as well as a brief history of some of our staple menswear garments and some outfit styling tips.

Croc Biker Jacket

Our new Croc Leather Biker Jacket has been in development for two years, to ensure the perfect fit and highest quality materials make up this Black Label piece, crafted from premium lambskin leather. Leather biker jackets have a rich history, they were originally created by the brand Schott NYC in 1928 for Harley Davidson, as functional motorcycle jackets with zips. Marlon Brando popularised the style in the 1950s, when he starred in The Wild One, and they have since become a classic menswear piece, which no wardrobe is complete without. Through the 1960s they were a key emblem of counterculture, in the 70s of rock & roll, then 80s punk and through into the 21st century as a modern staple, being both chic and rugged. Biker jackets are incredibly versatile, they can be dressed up or down and worn all year round. Our take on the iconic style is embossed all over with an animalistic croc print, making it bold but also a timeless and a durable investment piece. This is a unique alternative to a standard, everyday biker as it adds a different twist to the plain black, but its adaptable colouring (we all know that black pairs with anything!) means that it can still be worn with statement shirts and bold pieces. Alternatively, the jacket can be the main focus piece of any outfit - when styled with all black the croc detailing takes centre stage and pairs well with silver jewellery for an effortlessly cool look. Shop the Croc Biker here.

 

The Starman Biker Jacket

The Starman is a whole new vibrant take on the classic biker jacket, for those who truly want to break the mould. This piece combines our coveted scattered stars print, which is a nod to all things Glam Rock, with our meticulously tailored biker silhouette. It also embodies the bohemian allure of velvet, harking back to seventies disco and nights at studio 54. The use of velvet in garments dates all the way back to 2000BC, with the luxurious density and distinctive feel giving the material a soft lustre. At PHIX, velvet has been a mainstay in our designs since the beginning, allowing us to create pieces that you simply cannot find anywhere else. The delicate base colour and vibrant red stars of this jacket are combined with a distinctively masculine shape and chunky hardware to create a fluid, stand-out piece. Red is a key colour for us this season, embodying the brightness and excess of summertime. We recommend that you style this jacket with an all-black ensemble for a classic rock & roll look, or smarten it up by wearing with a simple trouser in a pinstripe style, for subtle clashing prints. Shop it here.

Pink Satin Western Shirt

The western shirt became a staple of rock musicians’ style in the 1950s, with both Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley heavily influenced by country style. ‘Rockabilly’ blended country music with rhythm and blues, creating 'classic' rock & roll, and this western influence on rock musician’s work and fashion continued throughout the 60s and 70s, meshed with the psychedelic, bohemian style of Woodstock. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac all worked classic western shirts into their looks and even Bowie, and punk band The Clash’s, were influenced by cowboy fashion. The western influence has continued into the 21st Century, making the western shirt an indie menswear staple, revived by the nouveau-western looks of Alex Turner. Heavily influenced by rock history and style, western influence injects our designs at PHIX, and for SS21, we have taken this classic silhouette and made it truly fresh. Our most modern twist on the piece is our Pink Satin Western Shirt, complete with a traditional pointed yoke and front triangular pockets, for old west edge. Western shirts can be styled in so many ways, under suits, with statement jackets, or more casually with denim - accessorised with neck ties and sleek jewellery.

PHIX Footwear: The Keith White Leather Boot

Fresh to PHIX for SS21 is our footwear range. All of our new boots, including the Keith White Leather Boot pictured, are handmade in Portugal from Italian calfskin with a blake stitch style construction, for a truly bespoke feel. They have all been designed with the PHIX style in mind, so they can be paired easily with any of our menswear pieces, for effortless chic. Man has been wearing boots for at least 15,000 years, so it is safe to say that they are a footwear mainstay. The 'Chelsea' boot is the most prominent style that has inspired this season's designs, as worn by the 'Chelsea Set' in the mid-1950s, a group consisting of young artists, film directors, and socialists who started frequenting the King’s Road area in London. This group included well-known fashion icons Mary Quant and Jean Shrimpton, who started favouring leather ankle boots, which in the 1960s were combined with a Cuban heel. These heeled boots were incorporated into Mod looks and worn by The Beatles and then the Rolling Stones amongst other icons, establishing them as a staple of rock & roll style. Our boots collection has been a work in progress for several years now, so we are really excited to finally release it. These boots have been designed with our favourite elements of footwear in mind - larger heel heights, slim shafts and bold, unique designs, whilst also offering maximum comfort. Fashion doesn't always have to be pain. Click here to shop our new shoe range.

Red Tailored Blazer

The blazer has multiple potential origin stories, one being the 1820 red blazer-esque sporting jackets, worn by the boating team of St John’s College, Cambridge. Another option are the double breasted naval jackets worn by the crew of the HMS Blazer in 1837. The blazer has a long and interesting history in menswear, being both a sophisticated and also casual garment, which can be dressed up or down. It had its first modern revival in the 1950s by the mods, and has remained since in every modern man's style repertoire. Always inspired by retro looks and fine tailoring, this piece reworks last season's coveted Pink Tailored Blazer in a bright summer red, our dominant colour this season. This piece has real 70s flair, with big statement lapels and military-inspired gold piping. We recommend styling this piece with simple monochrome pieces to let the blazer really do the talking, or go wild and style with animal print trousers. Click here to shop the Red Blazer.

Click to shop the full SS21 Collection online now.