SINGAPORE - German fashion house Boss has joined hands with American sportswear label Russell Athletic for a capsule collection.

Launched on Thursday (April 22) in Singapore, the new Boss x Russell Athletic collaboration features a melange of unisex athleisure and smart-casual wear - from sweatshirts to tapered-fit shorts and even face masks.

This will be the first of two capsule collections in the collaboration, with the second one slated for September this year.

Vice-president of Russell Athletic Ricardo Aranda says: "Innovation and reinvention are important to Russell Athletic and Boss, and we're really excited about what we've created together as a result."

"By finding inspiration in both brands' archives and exploring the creativity inherent in tailoring and sportswear, we've made a collection that's fit for a new generation."

Modelled after a basketball court, an exhibition showcasing the collection will be situated outside Mandarin Gallery until May 10.

Besides backdrops for photo opportunities, an augmented reality (AR) basketball game will also be available to the public via a QR code at the exhibition grounds. The top three scorers each week will win an exclusive Boss x Russell Athletic basketball.

A basketball-inspired film featuring models Bella Hadid and Ashley Graham, and actor Keith Powers dancing and posing in apparel from the collection was also released last month, as part of the launch.

Here in Singapore, Boss launched an Instagram campaign on April 19 fronted by players from the professional basketball team Singapore Slingers.

Hugo Boss Southeast Asia managing director Steven Lam says: "Sports has always been a major influence within our Boss collections. So with the Boss x Russell Athletic collection, it was only natural to involve the Singapore Slingers in our social media campaign, showcasing off-court fashion on our national basketball players."

He adds that the sports team has an active community outreach programme where they conduct basketball clinics for the younger generation and hopes that this campaign will be able to showcase them as "inspirations to young players in Singapore".

The players involved in the campaign are excited about the collection too.

Slinger Lavin Raj says: "This collaboration has taken a nostalgic approach, bringing in both the classic and modern attitudes which people are looking for."

Retro-inspired designs and looser, relaxed cuts offer a throwback to the vintage fashion that young people now so appreciate.

Hugo Boss chief brand officer Ingo Wilts says that vintage will never run out of style, especially in times of change like now when people "tend to look back at the past even more".

The resurgence of relaxed fashion has been underscored by a global shift towards more comfortable and casual apparel as the pandemic kept most people indoors and working from home in the past year.

And even as the Covid-19 restrictions ease up and more people are headed back to the office, the trend of casual wear continues to rise.

"Casualisation is increasingly important to Boss, and we've seen our customer looking for that from us during the pandemic," Mr Wilts says.

"Therefore, this collaboration is a continuation of our search for new ways to embrace a more relaxed aesthetic, ensure relevancy, and resonate with what consumers are looking for right now."