Longchamp by Shayne Oliver capsule collection is filled with excitingly unexpected silhouettes

From belt bags to hooded sweaters, chunky sneakers to windbreakers — streetwear has, without a doubt, been dominating the fashion scene for awhile, so much so that even the classic heritage brands such as Burberry, Jimmy Choo and Louis Vuitton (with its latest appointment of Virgil Abloh as new artistic director) are joining in on the hype by tapping contemporary designers to put a unique street-style aesthetic on their classic pieces. And now, we have another collaboration to add to the list: Parisian brand Longchamp is working with Hood by Air‘s Shayne Oliver on an exclusive capsule collection featuring travel accessories and ready-to-wear pieces for the Spring/Summer 2018 season.

What’s different from the other existing collaborations, however, is that this project was actually initiated by Oliver, and falls under his legacy series A.S.S.O (As seen by Shayne Oliver), in which he designs capsules for luxury fashion brands in order to promote his core concept of individuality and expression through high/low juxtaposition. “I really like the idea of working with brands that are masters of their craft,” says Oliver. “Longchamp has a prestigious history of providing luxury travel essentials with expert craftsmanship. It made total sense to work with them on my first all accessories project.”

For this special capsule, Oliver reinterpreted Longchamp’s signature Le Pliage tote by challenging and altering its proportions and silhouettes, transforming the classic bag into new designs such as a bomber-style jacket with over-sized sleeves as well as other backpacks and mini bag makeovers emblazoned with capitalised text including “Realness” and “Hiatus”.

Available in a palette of pink, red, black and white, the capsule collection will be launching in select stores and online on 4 May, before rolling out globally later in the month.

Longchamp, G/F, 8 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong, +852 21678899