Love, Hate & Everything Inbetween

Love and Hate sit at opposing ends of a spectrum, leaving other emotions in between. Has the casual overuse of these two statements blurred their intensity and meaning? What comes first in battle—love for yours or hate for another? Humans are armed with emotion and opinion, adept at picking out imperfections and differences in others.

For Second Best’s first collection of 2025, Love Hate & Everything Inbetween drew inspiration from Creative Director Sam Monaghan’s exploration of suits of armor, chess pieces, sculptures, and the psychological aspects of battle, competition, and mind games.

The collection featured eight pieces, utilising natural and black tones, with an emphasis on textural contrast and clever detailing. Cut from heavy Japanese Selvedge Denim, soft Irish Linen, and thick jersey, the garments offered a modern mirror to medieval suits of armor through panelling, contrasting silver hardware, and graphics. The capsule included white and denim armour jackets, jeans, a two-piece button-up shirt, two bespoke T-shirts, and a cap.

Taking Monaghan’s creative lead, Dorcia Studio provided the Art Direction, translating his research materials and collected imagery into a distinctive visual language to reinforce the collection’s identity. This included halftone-printed T-shirts featuring armoured figures—miniatures traditionally crafted by blacksmiths during their training—alongside a wrap-around print inspired by nomadic keys, and a slogan cap bearing the collection’s title, all adding depth to its narrative.

Launched in January 2025, Dorcia Studio also directed the campaign film, where the protagonist controlled distorted sculptural chess pieces, blurring the lines between photoshoot and fever dream, reinforcing the surreal, thought-provoking themes. The film captured the vulnerability found in duality—existing between the totems of love and hate.