The classic covers from the legendary magazine are recreated in a collection of stylish footwear.
The demise of Playboy as a print publication (at least in the US) in March 2020 was celebrated by humourless and sexually repressed prigs around the world, and indeed it was very much the end of an era. But since then, the Playboy brand – and Playboy nostalgia – has gone from strength to strength, sometimes in strange and not especially appropriate directions. A few of the recent clothing collaborations have raised eyebrows at Reprobate HQ, given that they don’t exactly gel with the sophisticated, stylish man-about-town Playboy philosophy that has been traditional, but then again, the appropriation of the Playboy bunny logo to all manner of merch over the last few decades perhaps suggests that things had long since moved on from the swinging bachelor days of the first few decades of the magazine. And fair enough – everything has to evolve and develop.
We must say that we are rather impressed with the latest fashion product to bear the Playboy name. A collection of loafers from Duke + Dexter produced in collaboration with the brand – for the third time, no less! – that celebrates the glory days of the magazine and its iconic cover imagery (one day, we’ll finally do something on Playboy covers, which are among the most creative and cool of any magazine design). Covering the magazine’s peak years – from the Fifties to the Eighties and including the 1955 Femlin character who became something of an alternative totem to the bunny for the publication – the loafers are impressively cool, styled for men and women… except, oddly, the Femlin design which, while being the best of the lot as far as we are concerned, is for ladies (or men with smaller feet) only.
These would go exceptionally well with our grooviest suits – but at £260 a pair they are a tad above our price range. Reprobate readers with deeper pockets than ours might like to explore further, though – the shoes are limited editions, so you shouldn’t hang around. Check them out at https://dukeanddexter.com/collections/playboy
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