Ones to watch: The new fashion and grooming brands to know this season

Whether you're nipping across to the Med on your private jet or heading to one of the best lunch spots in the Caribbean, arriving to find yourself wearing the same designers as everyone else on the dock won't do. Stay ahead of the sartorial curve with our pick of the best up-and-coming fashion and grooming brands to know this season.

Séfr

This Swedish menswear brand was born in Malmö in 2012 as Séfr Séfr (which means “zero zero” in English). Long-time friends Per Fredrikson and Sinan Abi opened a high-end vintage clothing shop selling menswear from around the world. Two years later they started their own label with 200 pieces of a men’s shirt called “Crashed”, which came in just two colours. It sold out immediately and since then they have expanded into a fully fledged fashion label that is now referred to as just Séfr. The range is a well-edited collection of minimal basics with a subtle retro feel. Check out the T-shirts and cotton trousers.

Visit sefr-online.com

Menswear label Deveaux was launched in New York in 2016 by Andrea Tsao and Matthew Breen, and in 2017 they joined forces with celebrated street style photographer Tommy Ton, who was appointed artistic director. With its new unisex collection, the triumvirate has reinvented classic pieces in new fits and fabrics, with pops of colour and luxurious textures, as well as dramatic, reimagined silhouettes. Check out the outerwear, especially the extremely elegant overcoats, the knitwear (such as a long, knitted robe with a shawl collar) and the corduroy trousers.

Visit deveauxnewyork.com

Between 1946 and 1977, the American magazine Holiday was one of the most prestigious travel publications in the world, with contributors including Graham Greene, Joan Didion and Jack Kerouac. After a hiatus of almost four decades, it has been reinvented by the Paris-based art director Franck Durand. The revamped title has also become one of the coolest new French fashion labels under the name Holiday Boileau. The aesthetic is always light-hearted, with a summer colour palette of ice cream shades of pink and granita lemon yellow – the logo T-shirts inspired by retro travel posters are particular favourites. Everything can be described as a casual travel essential and perfect for tossing into a suitcase for the most relaxed sunshine break you can imagine.

Visit holiday-magazine.com

Parisian designer Isabel Marant founded her womenswear label in 1994 and her chic French take on everyday style has always been heavily influenced by men’s fashion. So it is only right that she has now decided to return the favour by launching her first capsule collection for men – this time taking her cue from the girls, albeit recut and resized to make it appeal to a masculine audience rather than simply a straight copy. Fabrics have also been tweaked – check out the super-comfortable stretch leather. The look is sharp but casual, with a nod to streetwear alongside the knitwear she is already famous for, and promises something for male customers of all ages, with pops of colour such as brick red and slate blue.

Available at matchesfashion.com

Living and working in London, Luca Faloni realised that much of what he had taken for granted about the quality of craftsmanship while he was growing up in Italy wasn’t that widely available in the UK. So he decided to set up his own British-based online business selling a highly-edited

selection of menswear – focusing particularly on cashmere and linen – to help spread the word about true Italian style. So, he set off on a grand tour of his native land to discover the best of the best to sell at the most competitive prices he could.

He found cashmere at Cariaggi, a venerable mill high in the hill of Le Marche. The resulting knitwear is more about quality rather than fashion, with simple styles with V and crew necks, as well as polos. The linen comes in classic Italian pastel colours and are as cool as a breeze off the Med in Capri on a hot summer’s day. Indeed, that is exactly where they should be worn but fear not – they will look good anywhere the sun is shining.

Visit lucafaloni.com

Founded in 1878, Connolly is a legend in automotive history, having supplied the leather for some of the most illustrious marques in motoring, such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce. It also upholstered the seats of wartime Spitfires.

In the 1990s Joseph Ettedgui, the man behind the Joseph stores and described as the creator of modern retail, transformed Connolly into a luxury brand in the mould of a mini Hermès. After his death in 2010, Connolly’s business was suspended but it has now been reborn under the watchful eye of his widow, Isabel. This truly is a brand for the lucky few. The quality of the leather is unrivalled and the luggage and accessories are mouthwateringly beautiful. The clothes are equally – and discreetly – divine and the knitwear is known for its softness and style. When in London look out for its small but perfectly formed flagship store in Mayfair.

Visit connollyengland.com

The performance clothing brand Aztech Mountain was founded in 2013 in Aspen, Colorado, by David Roth and Heifara Rutgers, who had previously worked for Marc Jacobs. They believed there was a gap in the market for truly refined sportswear and now split their time between New York and the Colorado ski slopes making just that.

To ensure their clothing has the highest levels of performance, America’s greatest ever Alpine skier Bode Miller, Olympic gold medallist and twice World Cup champion, is on board as chief innovation officer.

While Aztech Mountain’s first focus was skiing, its clothing is designed for an all-round outdoor lifestyle, without compromising on cut or fit. As

Roth says: “Usually if you wear even a well-made ski jacket on the streets of New York, it doesn’t vibe with the city life. We wanted to create a jacket that functions well on the mountain and it looks just as great in the city, too.”

Visit aztechmountain.com

Watching your waistline at sea can be hard, especially with Michelin-starred restaurants to visit, but serious scientific help is at hand for those seeking the ideal body. Genetic Pure Lifestyle is a new DNA kit that can be delivered to pretty much any port in the world.

The test comes with foolproof instructions: you simply swab your mouth with three cotton buds provided and send the samples back in a pre-paid box for a genetic nutrition analysis (£850). Within two weeks you are sent an in-depth nutrition and exercise plan. More than 1,000 food types are evaluated based on your genes and the subsequent report, detailing optimum foods to eat and equally importantly those to avoid, helps you get to your target weight with menu plans that take the guesswork and frustration out of yo-yo dieting.

For those looking for a deeper dive there is a genetic health analysis (£1,550) that looks at your risk of suffering any of more than 35 disorders and diseases, from diabetes and IBD/Crohn’s to Alzheimer’s and arthritis. This test also answers questions such as: is it fat or carbohydrates that make you overweight? How effectively can your body detoxify heavy metals, chemicals and smoke? And what relationship between strength and endurance sports is recommended for you?

Visit puregeneticlifestyle.com

American Kelly Slater has been surfing world champion 11 times and has been both the youngest and the oldest person to hold the title. Away from the waves, he has also been an actor, writer, model and musician. But now Slater has hooked up with fellow surfer and fashion designer John Moore to launch Outerknown - one of the top fashion and beauty brands helping save the oceans.

The range mixes casual surf wear and cool counterculture with a more rigorous design approach, all informed by a strong belief in sustainability – think sophisticated hippy. The result has more than a passing feeling of romance, conjuring up days of freedom in search of the perfect wave but with a sense of style, one that is as at home on Bondi Beach as it is in Jimmy’z. Not surprisingly, an early investor in Outerknown was Kering, the parent company of Gucci.

Visit outerknown.com

New York designer John Elliott always knew he wanted to work in fashion – he submitted designs to top brands such as Nike when he was only eight years old. So he never doubted that he would one day start his own label. In spring 2012 he did just that, launching John Elliott with his best friend and business partner Aaron Lavee.

From the outset, it focused on function by creating brilliant basics that form the building blocks of a man’s wardrobe, such as sweat pants, bomber jackets and parkas. Elliott sources the finest fabrics and components from around the world; for example, he uses the world’s best zips, made by Riri in Switzerland. Already one of the biggest names in American fashion, Elliott looks set to conquer the world by producing what some claim will be tomorrow’s classics.

Visit johnelliott.co