Mr Porter, Arket Create a Colorful Capsule for Grown-ups and Kids
LONDON — In a first for both brands, Mr Porter and Arket have teamed on a capsule collection for adults and kids that will make its debut this week.
The 120-piece, limited-edition collection features accessories, coats, anoraks, sweaters, T-shirts, trousers and caps, with many pieces twinned in design so that families can dress alike — or at least color-coordinate.
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The capsule, which launches on Wednesday, also has an environmental angle. The two retail brands have partnered with Planet Good Earth, a London-based community project that aims to bring families together through gardening, and inspire them to pay more attention to the environment.
Some of the clothing features Planet Good Earth graphics, including a green-fingered “good earth, good energy” character; a Good Earth smiley world cartoon, and a series of animated garden creatures.
Daniel Todd, buying director at Mr Porter, said the retailer took existing Arket silhouettes and updated them with different colors and finer fabrics.
A windbreaker, available in blue and green, has been made in a premium technical fabric by the Italian mill Limonta. It comes with a matching bucket hat.
A cotton overshirt has a traditional workwear jacket shape, and comes in bright orange. Accessories include a multicolored five-panel cap, a lilac and green beanie and two color-blocked ribbed rugby socks.
It was Todd and his team who approached Arket, part of the H&M portfolio, with the idea of taking elements from childrenswear and applying them to clothing for adults.
“As a father of two, I have long been a customer of Arket through their childrenswear and admire what they are doing as a brand. We wanted to take the elements we loved from the childrenswear and apply them to men’s styles,” he said.
The starting point, he added, came from the idea of family, “so it felt very natural that we created something that spoke to a wide age range. When we worked through the collection, we didn’t necessarily design things for adults or children. We started with shapes that we liked that could be scaled up or down. The inclusion of childrenswear meant that Planet Good Earth’s message of inspiring the next generation made them the perfect partner for the graphic tees.”
Karl-Johan Bogefors, brand and communications director at Arket, described the collection as “innovative, unisex and ageless in its approach, inspired by the joy of color and nature.” He added that launching with Mr Porter “gives us a unique opportunity to reach a global, style-conscious audience looking for modern and sustainable everyday design.”
Prices range from 10 pounds to 230 pounds and the items will be sold on Mr Porter. Select styles will be available online at Arket and Arket’s flagship stores in London, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Paris and Amsterdam.
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