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“What are you thinking about buying for Father’s Day?” reads the annual text from my brother. Over the years we have exhausted the avenues of homemade cards, framed photographs and socks. As the anniversary approaches, I’m short of ideas.
“Try objects with a story, or craft element,” advises Joshua Orlandini, buying manager at Liberty. As well as the store’s famous silk pocket squares (£75) and signature printed ties, for which it is putting on a personalisation event in the autumn, there is, he notes, a growing demand for Manopoulos’s handmade backgammon sets (or chess, poker and dominoes) at this time of year. He’s also observed a rise in fragrance: Ex Nihilo’s Blue Talisman (ginger, mandarin, pear, €195 for 50ml EDP) and Vilhelm’s Morning Chess (bergamot, patchouli, black amber, €175 for 50ml EDP) are among the most popular currently. Or, on the spicier side, you could try Solo by Loewe (cumin and musk, £97 for 50ml); the brand offers roll-on versions of its most coveted scents, well suited to the man on-the-go.
Or how about a moisturiser? Fortune Business Insights reported the global men’s personal grooming products market was worth $62bn in 2024, and is set to reach $85bn by 2030, while a report from Mintel observed a 68 per cent increase in male facial skincare usage between 2022 and 2024 in the US. Buly’s bottle kits (€195, featuring a trio of body treatments and wrapped in a large red leather box) are strong contenders, as are Dries Van Noten’s hand creams, lightly scented in chestnut, mint or cannabis and patchouli (£35). My own father, however, would most likely be confused by such an offering. He’s more a fan of traditional shaving sets: see Dunhill’s gold-plated version, complete with a badger hair brush and leather case.
Grooming is booming, but Carin Nakanishi, head buyer at Notting Hill’s The Garbstore, recommends a more traditional gift. “For Father’s Day, we continue to see classic, failsafe options such as socks, high-quality sweatshirts (made in Japan by the likes of Sunray) and a selection of classic six-panel caps,” she says.
Millennial fathers tend towards homewares: Earl of East hand-dipped incense (£18), harder-to-find bags by cult Japanese brand Porter-Yoshida & Co or even Snoopy memorabilia. Mélanie Masarin — founder of non-alcoholic aperitif company Ghia — suggests ceramics. “You can’t miss with a beautiful mug, like the ones from artist Peter Shire,” she says.
At contemporary Norwegian jewellery brand Tom Wood, signet rings, made with 100 per cent recycled precious metals, are among the most popular styles. For Father’s Day, it is launching a collection centred around larvikite, a blue-black mottled rock composed mainly of feldspar and found only in Norway. “To me, the symbolism of larvikite goes beyond the beauty of the stone itself,” says founder Mona Jensen. “It also represents the authenticity and importance of ethical production” (the brand is recognised for its traceability).
Stationery can also be a saviour. What could be more extravagant than a Montblanc Meisterstück, first introduced in 1924 and the preferred writing tool of chef and poetry fanatic Francis Mallmann, with its solid-gold nib (from £555)? For something “really” special, says stylist Adrian Bernal, “go for something by Petit H from Hermès”. The luxury offshoot specialises in small leather accessories: card cases, key rings, bag charms. In the most full-circle gifting moment of the year, however, the most on-trend accessory right now is probably a tie.
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