CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

If social media is to be believed, modern men’s health revolves around three things: testosterone, protein powder and finding increasingly inventive ways to sit in ice baths.

Yet the reality appears rather different.

New data released by Healthwords.ai for Men’s Health Week reveals that British men are far more concerned about their hearts than their hormone levels, with cardiovascular health emerging as the number one health topic searched on the platform over the past year.

In fact, heart health and blood pressure accounted for more than 30% of all men’s health-related searches between May 2025 and May 2026, making it by far the biggest concern among male users.

That figure is particularly striking when compared to some of the health topics that tend to dominate headlines and social media feeds. Searches relating to heart health generated almost twice the interest seen for testicular health and nearly five times the volume of searches relating to low testosterone.

It’s a reminder that while the internet may be busy debating optimal gym routines and hormone optimisation, many men are quietly worrying about something far more fundamental: whether their heart is doing what it should.

The data paints a fascinating picture of modern male health concerns. Testicular health and lump checking ranked second, accounting for 17.3% of searches, followed closely by sexual performance and erectile dysfunction at 15.5%.

Together with searches relating to libido loss and foreskin issues, sexual health concerns represented almost a quarter of all men’s health queries on the platform.

What’s perhaps most encouraging is not what men are searching for, but that they’re searching at all.

Historically, men have developed a reputation for avoiding conversations about their health. Whether driven by embarrassment, fear or simply the belief that symptoms will somehow disappear if ignored long enough, many conditions have traditionally gone undiscussed until they become impossible to overlook.

That appears to be changing.

The growing popularity of digital health platforms suggests that men are increasingly willing to seek answers, particularly when it comes to symptoms and concerns they may feel uncomfortable discussing elsewhere. Questions around cardiovascular disease, prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction and intimate health are no longer being pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.

Instead, they’re being searched, researched and, hopefully, addressed.

The findings also reveal how awareness can influence behaviour. Searches relating to sexual performance and prostate health experienced notable increases during September, highlighting how media coverage, public health campaigns and increased visibility can encourage men to engage with health topics they might otherwise avoid.

According to Dr Tom Maggs, Chief Medical Officer at Healthwords.ai, the results challenge many assumptions about what men are actually concerned about.

“While topics such as testosterone and sexual performance often dominate conversations online and in the media, our data shows that men are increasingly concerned about their heart health, blood pressure and the early signs of serious conditions such as cancer.”

That shift in focus may prove significant. Cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of death among men in the UK, yet many risk factors—including high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol—often develop quietly, without obvious symptoms.

Perhaps the most important takeaway from the data is that curiosity can be a powerful health tool.

The first step towards addressing a problem is recognising it might exist in the first place. Whether that’s checking a lump, understanding a blood pressure reading or finally looking up a symptom that’s been nagging away for months, access to trusted information can help people make better decisions about when to seek professional advice.

So while social media may continue its obsession with testosterone hacks and biohacking trends, it seems that many British men are focused on something considerably more important.

Keeping the engine running.

For something that has accompanied travellers for decades, the humble carry-on suitcase has remained remarkably unchanged. While airports have become busier, journeys more complex and travellers increasingly connected, much of today’s luggage still operates according to a blueprint developed long before smartphones, digital boarding passes and hybrid working blurred the lines between business and leisure travel.

Australian travel brand July believes it is time for a rethink.

Founded in Melbourne by frequent flyers Athan Didaskalou and Richard Li, the brand has built its reputation on identifying the small frustrations travellers encounter every day and developing practical solutions that improve the journey. Its latest launch, the Capsule Carry On Pro (£325), represents the company’s most ambitious attempt yet to rethink how modern travellers move, pack and organise their belongings.

At the heart of the design is a departure from the traditional clamshell suitcase format that has dominated luggage design for years. Instead of splitting belongings across two compartments, the Capsule Carry On Pro introduces a top-down packing system that allows travellers to pack from above. The approach creates deeper storage space, improved organisation and easier access to belongings while maintaining the compact footprint required for carry-on travel.

The design also addresses one of the most common frustrations experienced in airports, trains and hotel rooms: limited space. Thanks to its door-style opening, travellers can quickly retrieve essentials such as travel documents, electronics or an extra layer without having to fully unpack the case.

“Most suitcases are still designed around how luggage worked decades ago,” says July Co-Founder Athan Didaskalou. “With Capsule, we looked at the small frustrations people experience every time they travel, from accessing your bag in tight spaces to preventing it from rolling away on a moving train, and rethought the carry-on from the ground up.”

Technology also plays a significant role in the new design. The Capsule Carry On Pro features CaseSafe™, a TSA-compliant locking system with integrated global tracking that works with both Apple Find My and Google Find My Device networks, allowing travellers to locate their luggage directly from their smartphone.

Meanwhile, July’s new SilentMove™ Pro lockable spinner wheels have been developed to tackle another familiar travel annoyance: luggage that refuses to stay put. Whether navigating airport walkways, train platforms or ferry terminals, the lockable wheel system is designed to keep the case securely in place when required.

Elsewhere, practical details continue throughout the design. A magnetic QuickGrab™ compartment provides easy access to travel essentials, while the adjustable RightHeight™ telescopic handle offers more than 20 height settings to accommodate different travellers. A dedicated front compartment has also been designed to fit larger laptops, including 16-inch MacBook Pro models and devices up to 18 inches.

Inside, July’s signature Y-Strap compression system helps maximise packing space while securing belongings during transit, complemented by a concealed internal pocket for valuables and travel documents.

Available in Black, Navy, Forest, Bone and Whiskey, the Capsule Carry On Pro reflects a broader shift within the travel sector towards products that prioritise user experience as much as aesthetics. Rather than simply refining existing luggage conventions, July’s latest launch asks a more fundamental question: if carry-on luggage were invented today, what would it look like?

For frequent travellers increasingly seeking efficiency, flexibility and peace of mind, the answer may look a lot like Capsule.

WORDS BY CAROLINE YOUNG

Alfred Hitchcock knew the power of a well-turned suit. Whether they were the hero or the villain, the way his leading men wore their clothing revealed a lot about their inner lives. There was also a wish-fulfillment to Hitchcock’s filmmaking as he fantasised about being assuave and debonair. “If I had been given the choice in life, I would have looked like Cary Grant on whom everything looked good,” Hitchcock once said, “and I would have indulged some fashion fantasies, a 39 Steps raincoat, tossed on, a beige cashmere cardigan thrown casually around my shoulders, or better yet, tied around my waist—if I had one.”

Robert Donat in The 39 Steps

Robert Donat’s character, Richard Hannay is as urbane as his camel coat. From his very first introduction during a rowdy performance at a London Music Hall, he stands out. He’s a little taller than the rest of the audience, more handsome, and when the light shines on him, we know that he’s our hero.

The Wartime Hero

After Hitchcock moved to Hollywood, he wished to make an American version of The 39 Steps, and Robert Cummings was cast as the hero on the run. In his A-2 leather bomber jacket, Cummings’ Barry Kane looks like a rebel. He’s the early incarnation of the post–Second World War GI, who struggles to find a place in society and wanders the highways in his flight jacket. Priscilla Lane tells him he has the “look of a saboteur,” when ironically the villain, Charles Tobin, has a veneer of rich respectability.

Cary Grant’s Glen check suit

There was no better example of Hitchcock’s leading man than Cary Grant, who starred in four Hitchcock films – Suspicion, Notorious, To Catch a Thief and North By Northwest. The characters he played were charming, sometimes a little ruthless or slippery, but always impeccably dressed.

In North by Northwest, Cary Grant’s Glen check suit identifies him as a Madison Avenue ad man with impeccable taste. Even James Mason’s arch criminal Phillip Vandamm is impressed with his suit. “He’s a well-tailored one, isn’t he” – not realizing they’ve misidentified him.

For the rest of the film, its wear-and-tear reflects the dangers of his journey. His suit is packed into Eva Marie Saint’s suitcase while he dons an Amtrak Red Cap uniform to disembark the train unnoticed, and it’s then coated in dust, ripped, and soiled, from coming under attack from a crop duster.

Male actors were typically responsible for providing their own wardrobe, and Cary Grant would select clothing that reflected his own signature taste. He tended toorder his suits from the London tailor Kilgour, French & Stanbury, but on this occasion his suit, and the many duplicates required due to wear and tear, was made by Beverly Hills tailor Quintino.

Vandamm’s sidekick Leonard, played by Martin Landau, also wears a suit by Quintino because Hitchcock wanted his character to be even better dressed than Grant. When Martin Landau watched the first day’s filming atChicago’s LaSalle Street Station, he was tapped on the shoulder by Cary Grant’s chauffeur, Ray Austin. “Excuse me, Mr. Grant would like to know where you got that suit … Only two people in the world make a suit like that, one’s in Beverly Hills, the other is in Hong Kong.”

The villain is a dandy

Hitchcock liked to subvert expectations in giving his villains a smooth, charming surface. From Handel Fane in Murder! to Bob Rusk in Frenzy, his killers were flashy dressers. In Shadow of a Doubt, Uncle Charlie’s pinstripe suits and Panama hats mask the underlying evilness of a misogynist who charms and then murders his victims.

The suits worn by the three male leads in Ropecommunicate their different characters. As a man who prides himself on his logic and intellect, Rupert (James Stewart) wears a smart gray herringbone tweed three–piece suit. Brandon (John Dall) wears a chic navy-blue double-breasted serge suit, while Phillip’s (Farley Granger) brown suit follows the common postwar baggy silhouette, which suggests a lack of sophistication. During the making of Spellbound, Hitchcock chastised Gregory Peck for wearing a brown suit. “One wears brown in the country, you know, but gray or navy in the city,” Hitchcock schooled him, adding, “don’t ever wear brown shoes with a blue suit!”

Strangers on a Train is also an example of how men’s costumes can make a powerful visual language. The two leads, Bruno (Robert Walker) and Farley Granger(Guy) are cast as opposites, from the opening closeups of two sets of shoes. Bruno’s black and white spectatorsand Guy’s plain brogues reveal their very differentpersonalities, of Bruno as the dandy-esque psychopath and Guy as the wholesome tennis star. Bruno’s costumes do a lot of work, from the loud lobster-print tie, with the pincers like hands ready to strangle, and a satin dressing gown decorated with planets, to reflect his childish obsession with space.

Hitchcock was meticulous about his visuals, and no detail escaped his eye; what an actor wore on screen was as important, if not more important, than the dialogue. Above all, it was the visuals that were his true obsessions, and his films were the pinnacle of set design, costume design, and colour palette working together to enhance the symbolic effect.

Fashioning Hitchcock: Stories Behind the Costumes from Marnie to The Lodger, by Caroline Young, is published by Bloomsbury Academic on 11 June.

In an industry increasingly saturated with celebrity launches, algorithm-driven trends and fragrances engineered for fleeting social media moments, true artistic perfumery has become something of a rarity.

Which is precisely why  Xerjoff continues to command such reverence among fragrance aficionados.

Founded in Italy by Sergio Momo, the internationally acclaimed perfume house has built its reputation on a singular philosophy: fragrance should feel less like a cosmetic accessory and more like wearable art. Rare ingredients, meticulous craftsmanship and unapologetic creativity sit at the centre of the brand’s identity, producing scents that feel luxurious not simply because of their price point, but because of their complexity, texture and emotional depth.

At a time when many luxury brands speak endlessly about heritage while simultaneously diluting their identity for mass appeal, Xerjoff has remained refreshingly uncompromising.

And nowhere is that clearer than in two of its most celebrated creations: Naxos Eau de Parfum and Erba Pura Eau de Parfum.

Naxos: The Sophisticated Seduction Of Warmth And Spice

Part of the brand’s celebrated 1861 Collection, Naxos is the sort of fragrance that immediately reminds you why Italian perfumery remains so influential.

From the very first spray, there is a richness to it that feels simultaneously classical and modern. Lavender and bergamot provide an aromatic freshness upfront, but this is no predictable citrus opening designed merely to smell “clean”. Instead, Xerjoff quickly introduces layers of spice and warmth that transform the fragrance into something far more sensual and textured.

Honey and vanilla deliver a gourmand sweetness, yet crucially never become cloying or juvenile. Cinnamon, tobacco and cashmere woods add sophistication, depth and an almost velvety warmth that wraps around the skin with remarkable elegance.

What makes Naxos particularly compelling is its balance. It moves through multiple olfactory directions — aromatic, spicy, sweet, woody — while somehow maintaining complete coherence throughout. There is confidence in the composition. Nothing feels rushed, overcomplicated or designed purely for attention.

This is fragrance as atmosphere.

The sort of scent that feels equally at home against tailoring, heavy knitwear or evening cashmere. Refined without becoming sterile. Bold without shouting.

Erba Pura: Mediterranean Light Bottled Into Fragrance

If Naxos captures the richness of Italian evenings, Erba Pura Eau de Parfum feels like Mediterranean sunlight in motion.

Part of Xerjoff’s Vibe Collection, Erba Pura has become something of a modern cult fragrance thanks to its luminous blend of freshness, fruit and musk. Yet unlike many contemporary fruity fragrances, which often lean synthetic or aggressively sweet, Xerjoff approaches the category with far greater sophistication.

The opening is instantly vibrant. Sicilian orange and Calabrian bergamot create a sparkling citrus introduction that feels undeniably Mediterranean — bright, elegant and effortlessly luxurious. As the fragrance develops, richer fruit notes begin to emerge, adding softness and fullness without ever overwhelming the composition.

Underneath it all however sits the musky foundation that gives Erba Pura its addictive quality.

It is clean without smelling clinical. Sweet without becoming overpowering. Fresh without disappearing after twenty minutes. The result is a fragrance that feels simultaneously uplifting and sensual, making it one of the rare niche scents capable of genuine versatility.

There is a reason Erba Pura has become so widely admired within modern perfumery circles. It manages to feel instantly wearable while still maintaining the craftsmanship and complexity expected from artistic fragrance houses.

The Art Of Italian Perfumery

What ultimately separates Xerjoff from many luxury fragrance brands is its refusal to compromise between artistry and wearability.

Too often niche perfumery falls into one of two extremes: commercially safe fragrances with little originality, or avant-garde compositions so abstract they become almost inaccessible. Xerjoff consistently occupies the space in between.

Its fragrances feel emotional, transportive and luxurious, yet still deeply human.

That balance perhaps explains why the house has developed such an intensely loyal global following. Whether through the enveloping warmth of Naxos or the radiant Mediterranean freshness of Erba Pura, Xerjoff demonstrates that fragrance at its best is not simply about smelling good.

It is about identity, memory, mood and atmosphere.

And in that regard, few brands currently do it better.

Have you sorted your summer holiday yet? Maybe it’s a sun-soaked party escape filled with late nights and poolside recovery days. Perhaps it’s a chic city break spent lounging beside the rooftop pool of the latest boutique hotel. Or maybe it’s a more relaxed family getaway where the only real ambition is catching up on sleep while the kids disappear into holiday club chaos.

Whatever your version of summer looks like, one thing remains essential — the right swimwear.

British lifestyle label Boardies has built its reputation around exactly that. Designed for those who want to move effortlessly from pool to bar and back again, the brand captures the carefree energy of summer dressing with a collection that feels equal parts playful, confident and functional.

Taking heavy inspiration from the unapologetic spirit of 90s party culture, Boardies embraces vibrant colour palettes, bold abstract prints and subtle nods to the legendary Ibiza club scene. There’s an unmistakable sense of escapism running throughout the collection — clothing designed not simply for holidays, but for the experiences and memories that come with them.

What makes the brand feel particularly authentic is its connection to real lifestyles and real people. Rather than relying on polished fashion stereotypes, Boardies has consistently aligned itself with genuine communities and personalities. The models featured in its Ibiza campaigns, for example, are people who actually live and work on the island — DJs, promoters, creatives and lifelong partygoers who naturally embody the spirit of the brand.

Founded in 2015 by Nicholas Crook, the label was built around a philosophy of creativity, travel and good times. While headquartered in London, the team draws inspiration globally, constantly exploring new destinations, cultures and visual influences in search of fresh patterns, colour combinations and design ideas.

That sense of exploration is reflected in the product itself. Boardies’ exclusive in-house prints are designed to stand out without feeling forced, while the use of lightweight, quick-dry fabrics ensures practicality sits alongside the visual appeal. The collection is available in three different lengths — Shortie, Mid and Long — across a wide range of colours and patterns, allowing wearers to find a fit and style that matches their own personality.

Collaboration also plays an important role within the brand’s identity. Boardies regularly works alongside artists and creatives who share similar values and aesthetics, helping the collections maintain an organic and individual feel rather than following predictable seasonal trends.

What ultimately sets Boardies apart is its understanding that modern holiday dressing is no longer just about functionality. Swimwear has become part of a wider lifestyle aesthetic — clothing that needs to work across beach clubs, rooftop bars, pool parties and spontaneous summer moments. Boardies captures that balance effortlessly, creating pieces that feel relaxed, expressive and unmistakably optimistic.

Because sometimes the best summer memories begin with a great pair of shorts.