Tom Bannister straightens a green tie in a gilded mirror. Elsewhere in the campaign, he and his son sit on a park bench eating pretzels, with navy tailoring traded for an indigo chore jacket and a baseball cap. Drake’s gives its St. Regis collaboration two convincing settings: a grand New York hotel and an afternoon outside it.
The father-and-son casting makes sense for a Father’s Day release, but the clothes keep the sentiment in check. Bannister’s cuffed trousers, gray socks, and suede boots look right for a walk with a child. Back inside, a finely striped shirt and dark suit have enough character to stand up to the hotel’s gold frames and red upholstery.
The collection itself is small: a green geometric-flower silk tie, a navy cotton-twill cap, a birds-of-paradise cotton-silk bandana, and a champagne-print silk pocket square. Green runs through the tie and printed silk; navy gives the cap a quieter place in the group.
The tie is the strongest piece in the photographs. Its small, closely spaced pattern gives the green some texture, while the striped shirt underneath keeps the combination from looking too ceremonial. It registers clearly against the navy suit without taking over the picture.
The pocket square takes the hotel connection more literally, scattering champagne bottles across a pale ground. Spread out, it has the appeal of an illustrated souvenir. Folded into a jacket, most of that drawing disappears, leaving the colors and a few fragments of print. The joke stays small enough to wear.
There is plenty of hotel atmosphere here: revolving doors, polished interiors, a luggage trolley, and a drink in a red booth. The park scenes give it somewhere to go. Drake’s understands that a campaign for a hotel can include the pleasure of leaving the building.
Launched June 4 ahead of Father’s Day, the collaboration offers a compact version of the Drake’s wardrobe: a little tailoring, a little workwear, and accessories that carry the color. The best thing about the campaign is how little fuss it makes over moving between them.