The most special time of the year is here; a month filled with festive fun, mesmerising lights, mulled wine and cosy dinners. As we bask in the excitement of the many Christmas festivities that animate London, we also give to those we care for most. Here at Lookmate, we believe that gifting is the real gift, so, we have done the nitty gritty for you and curated our list of top Lookmate-certified products; trialled and tested by us this year. Consider it our gift to you. Because in truth we know it is easy to forget how sentimental this time of year is and with the hard work done for you, you can spend less time (last minute) panic-planning and more time enjoying the excitement of the silly season. So, whilst we cannot explain how we all find ourselves in December again, we can, however, assist you in our top gift picks ranging from all prices and sizes, tastes and needs to spoil your near and dear’s this Christmas. 

This month we celebrate our latest collaboration with New York Based creative agency PLAYLAB,INC. Internationally recognized for their off the wall creative and eclectic recent works with names such as Off-White, Bruno Mars, Need Supply Co., and Adidas, PLAYLAB, INC. thrive on exploring things that interest them, using art, architecture, and graphic design to initiate ideas. From giant worm tents for the New Museum of Contemporary Art and Storefront For Art & Architecture, to a re-brand of America for SFMOMA, to a compilation of all the times Joaquin Phoenix has walked in his films titled Walking Phoenix, PLAYLAB, INC. has developed a multi- disciplinary variety of works. In addition, PLAYLAB, INC. co-founded + POOL with Family New York, an initiative to build the world’s first water-filtering floating pool in New York, as well as CLOG, an international quarterly architecture publication.

We are pleased to announce our latest sock collaboration with The Hayward Gallery and designer Benjamin Craven, in celebration of the gallery’s re-opening this Spring. As London’s Hayward Gallery celebrates its 50th anniversary and stages the first major UK retrospective of the work of acclaimed German photographer Andreas Gursky, We are delighted to unveil their new sock design – the Hayward Gallery Edition. The sock was commissioned by the Hayward Gallery for their launch and is now being sold exclusively in the gallery shop...

The year is whizzing by. We're already half way through, which means that Father's Day is upon us again. And what to pick for someone we've spent a lifetime giving gifts to? We've expired all the "useful" options, gone through the "fun" options, explored the "informative" options. What can possibly be left to get for the dads this Father's Day (assuming they already have a subscription to Look Mate)? It's time to relax because the team here have sorted through everything and hand-picked the perfect gifts for all the urban adventurous dads out there bringing you the best gifts celebrating design, collaborations and traditions.

"It was one of those busy Monday mornings where the corporate world are answering to their weekend hangovers and the inbox is inundated with emails, you know, the type you need nerves of Valerian Steel to deal with. However, there was one email that caught my eye; the subject simply reading "Tigers" and within a few clicks, WWF was informing me that this year marked the first in conservation history that the population of Tigers had increased; this put a big smile on my face. Later that day the Tiger email kept coming back to me and eventually spurred a "what if" moment…”What if” we could put Tigers on your socks and by wearing them the Look Mate community could help Tigers too?” When I asked Hedof about this, he replied: .

London Fashion Week Men’s - the highlight of the men’s fashion calendar. Cast your mind to a space of industrial modernity, dotted with press eager to set the fashion tunes for 2017 as they absorb the newest collections from innovative designers and labels. Picture the scene, Nespresso coffee on tap, prime views overlooking the Thames and a wealth of fashion talent, which all lent to the buzz on every floor at ‘180 The Strand’; the venue to host London Fashion Week. This was our first LFW and we were eager to present to the press what we had up our sleeves - 3 new exciting and colourful collaborations to brighten up dreary January - Primordial by Pedro Veneziano, Tiger Sock by Rick Berklemans and La Isla Bonita sock by Marnau Den Lindon who we were delighted to welcome as our resident artist for a day.