It’s been a busy few weeks for Formula 1 (F1) driver Carlos Sainz Jr.: Last week he was unveiled as a L’Oreal global ambassador and starred in a series of videos for Allbirds. And today, he was unveiled as the new face of Hackett London’s Spring Summer 2025 campaign, alongside his father.
The decision to work with the suave Spanish father-son duo is something of a departure for the brand which typically looks to emphasise its connections to London — where it was founded and where last year’s Autumn Winter campaign was shot — and the British heritage movement.
But it’s not an unwelcome one.
Sainz Jr. is a former Scuderia Ferrari driver — his seat was taken by Sir Lewis Hamilton — who will make his debut with the Atlassian Williams team at next week's Melbourne Grand Prix; his father is a still-active rally car driver with four Dakar titles to his name, including the 2024 iteration which he won aged 61.
And Hackett has long associated itself with motorsport — including an ongoing collaboration with Formula E (the brand dresses the racing series’ staff) and previous collections inspired by racer Jenson Button.
The saying goes that money makes the world go round, but it's F1 cars and the men driving them (and it is just men for now) making the actual money. Last year, plenty were quick to deride the sixth season of Netflix’s Drive to Survive docu-series (the seventh series airs Friday onwards) because of a 30% drop in viewers, year-on-year — but it still clocked up more than 20 million hours of watch time in a single weekend and US TV viewership of actual races has doubled since the first series aired in 2019.
In October, the sport announced a historic 10-year partnership with LVMH. The amount that the luxury goods conglomerate decided to invest hasn’t been officially disclosed, but is rumoured to stretch to about $1billion over the course of the decade.
Sainz Jr. isn’t contracted to wear Hackett in the Paddock and you won’t see the brand’s logo popping up on his car, but association is key. L’Oreal makes sense: the poor guy has been asked to detail his hair care routine in multiple interviews before. And so does Hackett: both he and his father have talked, pre-campaign, about how much they like the clothes.
Oh yes, the clothes. They include a khaki safari-style jacket, blazers and Breton-stripe tops. You can some of the collection highlights in our image gallery, below.
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'If you think you need a television in your room, you are in the wrong place': Why sleeping under canvas makes for a complete safari experienceA tented safari will surprise even the most seasoned traveller, says Mark Hedges, and nowhere more so than in Botswana, where the rhythms of life seem supercharged.
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Inverewe: The making of 'The Oasis of the North' in a wind-battered corner of north-west ScotlandInnovative 21st-century composting and mulching techniques combined with a 19th-century shelterbelt ensure that the famous gardens of Inverewe in Wester Ross continue to thrive. Caroline Donald explains more; photographs by Andrea Jones.
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A five minute guide to the Loch Ness monsterThe legend of the Loch Ness monster has endured for more than a thousand years, inspiring countless works of art along the way.
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The Glovebox: Phantom in a pool, Porsches in the snow and a new world record for PolestarRolls-Royce celebrates one of Rock and Roll's greatest myths, and Polestar drives for almost 23 hours on a single charge.
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'You have to work hand in hand with the author — like a dancer has to work with the music': Illustrating Homer's epic poemsArtist Clive Hicks-Jenkins, faced with the colossal challenge of illustrating Homer's 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey', eschewed grandstand views of monumental battles, looking instead for what he calls the little cracks in the paving stones.
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Audi RS3: The devil in a green dressAudi's iconic hot hatch has had a 2025 facelift. It might be the best one they've ever made.
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Time to join the fan club: the history of this summer's must-have accessoryAs summer temperatures continue to soar, fans — long considered a fashion anachronism — are back in the style spotlight.
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The watch maketh the man: What your watch says about youWe hate to stereotype, but it has become apparent that certain timepieces ally with certain traits. Nick Foulkes delves into what else ‘turns the dial’ for each of these watch-loving gents.
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Jeep Avenger 4xe North Face Edition: You've got the clothes. Now get the carJeep's collaboration with North Face has yielded more than a branding exercise. It's a compact off-roader with real capability and a sprinkling of adrenaline-fuelled joy.
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Art saved for the nation? Not enough, it would seemThe recent publication of a report on export control of art from the UK makes depressing reading.
