Online menswear store Mr Porter isn’t one to rely solely on the traditional wholesale-to-market approach to retail. In furthering its partnership with the brands it carries, and in creating a level of buzz around its regular offering, it has embarked on a series of collaborative projects with various brands, adding something unique to the store. Its latest partnership is with Swedish brand COS, available online as of today. A capsule collection designed for the modern traveler, the limited edition range comprises 23 pieces that embody COS’s particular brand of clean-lined minimalism, rendered in lightweight, easy-to-wear styles that boast the functionality necessary for the global roaming 21st-century customer. We spoke with Mr Porter’s senior buyer, Sam Lobban, who instigated the project.

What makes this collaboration a good fit for the two brands?
It all stems from the fact that many of us at Mr Porter is a big fan of COS. We have a lot of respect for the brand’s ideals and integrity, which very much falls in line with ours, and it all comes across in the product’s quality and design that is very much in a class of its own.

How did the partnership first come about?
Through the respect and general fandom, we thought it could be interesting to reach out to the COS team and see if they’d be up for doing something special together. I got in touch with Marie Honda, COS’s CEO, and it went from there. Marie was very keen from the outset, and I think there was clearly a level of mutual respect and admiration from both sides for one another’s brands.

How does the design process work in a collaborative project like this?
From a broader concept level, it was completely collaborative. It began with meetings between Marie and Ann (COS’s head of men’s), Mr Porter’s style director Dan May and myself, all talking about if we were to do a capsule, how would it look? What was the purpose? What started off as a Mr Porter collection of COS essentials and best of’s in the spirit of both brands, evolved into the concept of dressing our collective global customer. What we created is a full wardrobe for our global traveler, in a palette of chic navy, grey and aubergine. A little note, the colors of the collection are partly inspired by the Scandinavian twilight sky.

It’s not the first time you’ve worked outside of the bounds of a traditional retailer. What makes this project different?
We’ve done some a number of very special exclusive capsules to date on Mr Porter. This will always be a distinct point of differentiation in our product offering, and we’re grateful to have excellent, collaborative relationships with our brands and designers. That said, this collection with COS is the first time we’ve ever reached-out to a brand that we didn’t already carry in order to create something unique from the beginning– it’s a true collaboration of two companies with a similar ethos.

Might we see another season?
What we’ve created here is a complete collection in concept and scope, borne out of the genuine alignment and ideals of two like-minded brands. We like to think we hit our goal with this launch collection, and who knows how else we might want to align in the future. We’re quite thrilled with what we’ve accomplished here.

Which pieces in the collection are you particularly proud of?
Although I’m of course partial to the whole collection, some standouts include the travel suit jacket and pants in lightweight wool; the aubergine Mac; and there’s a nice print story on the shirting and t-shirts in the collection.