Welcome to the T List, a newsletter from the editors of T Magazine. This week, we’ve turned it into a Father’s Day gift guide with recommendations on what we’re buying for ourselves and considering for our paternal figures. Sign up here to find us in your inbox every Wednesday. And you can always reach us at [email protected].
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Elevated Dad Jeans
When choosing a Father’s Day gift, it’s easy to fall back on certain familiar clothing options: a printed tie that may never be worn, or yet another jersey or cap from his favorite team. But what about a pair of dungarees? Consider the denim belted pants from the cult Japanese label Comoli, which are like dad jeans, only far better: They come in a textured, high-quality indigo twill and feature a soft crease and a very slight taper. I picked up a pair this spring, after a long-unfulfilled obsession with the brand, which is quite hard to find in North America, at Comoli’s only U.S. stockist, Tortoise & Co. in Los Angeles. The jeans’ loose cut has made them invaluable in helping me to keep pace with the rambunctious toddler in my life who never seems to slow down — and to look pretty put together while doing so.
In the nearly two decades since she launched her namesake jewelry line, the designer and photographer Monica Rich Kosann has found that her vintage-inspired lockets and symbolism-heavy pendants were occasionally purchased by women for the men in their lives, or that men would buy the pieces for themselves. This spring, she introduced her first dedicated men’s wear collection. The launch includes 12 styles, such as a classic, minimalist oval locket in gold or silver that holds four photos, and a shield-shaped piece with a black steel chain, a starburst design and sapphire or diamond detailing. “I want a man to wear these pieces and feel protected by love and inspired by their empowering themes,” says Kosann. “They are designed to be his daily armor.” Shoppers can slide in their own photos or select images for the brand to insert before shipping.
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Chocolates From a Father-Daughter Duo
The French chocolatier Thierry Atlan’s résumé was already studded with accomplishments when he moved to the United States nearly a decade ago, including winning the title Meilleur Ouvrier de France chocolatier, marking him as a master of his craft. But after years of teaching, consulting and making confections for others, it took a push from his daughter Julie Atlan — “He’s very humble,” she says — for him to launch his namesake brand in 2015. The two have worked side by side since, with Julie handling marketing and branding as the chief operating officer and her father behind the housemade jams and ganaches, delicate bonbons and rainbow of macarons made daily with fresh almond flour. Their most recent collaboration, the Thierry Atlan store in SoHo, opened last month. Fittingly, there are plenty of Father’s Day presents on offer, such as sleek black boxes that open to reveal rows of striped chocolates and vibrantly colored caramel domes. For Thierry, working with Julie is the “biggest gift” he could be given, he says. “I’m very lucky.”
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Molded Leather Objects for the Home
The Bogotá-based handbag company Hunting Season is known for its classic shapes meticulously hand-crafted by Colombian artisans using traditional skills. This week, the brand extends its home décor offerings with a series focused around wet-molded leather, a technique in which sodden pieces of hide are pulled and adjusted over wooden frames to create a desired shape. The objects thus require no additional stitches or interior supports and, after hours of drying, are buffed to a finish that resembles wood or lacquer. “I feel I am using a piece with a story, a history, a soul,” says Hunting Season’s founder, Danielle Corona, of the collection, which includes trays, round or rectangular boxes and vases in black, cream and cognac — all of which would be handsome on a night stand or entryway table. “This, for me, is the ultimate luxury.”
Hidden behind a translucent wall of Patrick Parrish’s design gallery on Lispenard Street in TriBeCa, on a lower level — and away from his noteworthy assemblage of furniture, lighting and art — is a dedicated new space to showcase the founder’s other passion: beautiful watches. An avid collector, Parrish is particularly interested in pieces from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, as well as tool watches, which are constructed with special features to assist, say, drivers or pilots (or wearers who can appreciate the detailing of either). Much of his extensive stockpile is now available for purchase, along with some new timepieces he’s sourced specifically for this shop-within-a-shop. While a variety of commercial brands such as Rolex, Breitling and Omega are on offer, Parrish also hopes to highlight a number of more obscure items, such as chronographs from Wittnauer Geneve and Jack Heuer. Stopping by to peruse might be a special treat for dad; taking one home, an unforgettable gift.
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A Recycled (or Upcycled) Backpack
For the dad who is mindful of his environmental impact and appreciative of multiple pockets, a selection of sustainably made nylon backpacks abounds this summer. Loewe’s roll-top style is composed of salvaged preconsumer yarns and trimmed in butterscotch calfskin. The South African line Sealand’s own roll-top is ready for adventure, with two exterior water bottle pockets. Each of the brand’s bags is made by artisans in Cape Town whose signatures appear on interior name badges (and their bio on the company website). Prada has revamped its instantly recognizable nylon backpack via its Re-Nylon initiative, which uses regenerated yarn produced from waste fibers and from recycled, purified plastic trash collected from oceans and landfill sites. The Cincinnati-based Aruna Project’s Rani bags are constructed in a water-repellent, recycled polyester-nylon blend by victims of human trafficking, in the United States and India, who are offered access to transitional housing and trade development programs — providing sustainable employment in addition to a lower carbon footprint.
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A Show Tracing the History of Tiffany & Co.
A landmark new exhibition about the storied jewelry company Tiffany & Co. provides a little something for every type of visitor. Titled “Vision & Virtuosity” after the brand’s core principles, and housed at London’s famed Saatchi Gallery, the show is arranged as a seven-chapter journey through Tiffany’s history, with sections expounding on the founder, Charles Lewis Tiffany, appreciating the house’s most enduring designers (such as Elsa Peretti and Jean Schlumberger) and looking at the company’s entanglement with our conceptions of love and commitment. Over 400 archival objects are on display, including vintage advertisements, an original “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” film script and the 128.54-carat yellow Tiffany Diamond. An exhibition catalog with a foreword by the late Andre Leon Talley is published by Assouline and, in the gift shop, a selection of everything from skateboards and hoodies to paint markers — the result of collaborations with contemporary artists and brands — rendered in Tiffany blue. “Vision & Virtuosity” is on view June 10 through Aug. 19 at Saatchi Gallery, London, saatchigallery.com.
Even after all this time working remotely, your father’s home office might still consist of a table stuck in the corner of a living room or bedroom. There are a few items that can transform such a makeshift desk into something warmer and more appealing, including accessories like a saddle leather desk blotter to define the work area, an attractive brass lighter and matchbox case to light a scented candle or incense and a travertine tray echoing ancient Rome’s hippodrome to corral odds and ends. For the hours spent looking at a screen, he may also like some blue-light reading glasses, like these tortoiseshell aviators, which look less Sarah Palin and more Steve McQueen.
