Everything You Love Has a Niche

Vintage watches, singular perfumes, and cigarettes as a runway accessory

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October 17, 2025 3:30pm EDT

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“If you buy something you love it’ll never lose value” isn’t necessarily advice you’d expect to get from a watch dealer, but it’s the whole thesis behind vintage watch collective Very Special. The four founders — Adrian Douzmanian, Mike Tran, Juan Lavalle, and Sage Elsesser — embody the two qualities everyone wants in a watch dealer: they’re tapped in and they care about you. Just like in any other relationship, the most important aspect is trust: trust in your dealer, in the authenticity of the piece, and trust in the purchase you’re making, especially if it’s your first.

Real fans know that a vintage Audemars Piguet Bamboo watch is distinct from a Royal Oak Audemars Piguet, but even more committed fans recognize the rarity and uniqueness of the discontinued Bamboo design from the 1980s. So special that only the Very Special team can help you find it. Read more

Speaking of niche, Perfumer H is making scents like no one else in the world. “Smell is our first sense. Subconsciously, we’re always smelling. We are animals, after all,” says founder Lyn Harris. But she knows that art can’t be rushed, and her perfumes don’t come with a deadline; she’ll know when they’re ready once she smells them.

Harris translates things into smell: a landscape, a picture, or a person. She’s been making perfumes for more than 25 years, and she believes that the industry is changing, that the customers care more about what they’re wearing, “People are much more aware of fragrance and much more confident,” she says. “They reach out, and they dabble much more.” Read more

Leave it to the duo behind London label KNWLS, Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault, to create the most futuristic sneakers yet in collaboration with Nike. The KNWLS’ new Nike Air Max Muse sneakers seem like something you’d imagine a fairy wearing.

“We referenced a toe shape from our FW20 collection, which feels both futuristic and strangely archaic,” says Knowles and Arsenault. “We’ve always loved the shape of the Muse’s sole — the heavy heel and distinct arch underfoot — and felt this toe added to its sensual yet strong feel.”

As to what the shoe can be categorized as, writer Donovan Barnett asked himself the same question: “Is it a Nike Air Max sneaker disguised as a pump? Or maybe an Air Max ballet shoe dressed in armor?” For now, we’ve put it to bed and agreed to call them “hybrid sneakers.” Read more

Finally, in fashion, our favorite love-hate accessory has returned. In a world that’s pushing for the “clean-girl aesthetic,” the opposite has once again taken the throne: cigarettes, more specifically cigarettes on the catwalk. A staple from the ’90s on runways and billboards, the humble cig was clutched by a model walking down the runway or puffed while posing at the end of the catwalk. One of the most famous shots of smoking on a runway was Kate Moss walking for Louis Vuitton in 2011 and Linda Evangelista for Mugler in 1990. Leave it to the internet to decide if this habit should make a return.