SHOPPING / JUNE 2026
Father’s Day Gift Guide
We know they’re often the hardest member of the family to buy for, but finding something thoughtful for Father’s Day needn’t mean falling back on the familiar. From beautifully made books and design-led barware to elevated audio, statement scent and a truly exceptional tipple, this year’s edit is about gifts with character, that he’ll use, display, read, sip, play or talk about long after the day itself.
Words by Katie Hutley
Style Out Loud
Marshall’s Acton III in Burgundy is proof that audio kit needn’t retreat politely into the background. Compact enough to sit on a shelf or sideboard, it has all the familiar Marshall trademarks - the script logo, the analogue-style controls, the amplifier silhouette - but the burgundy and gold finish gives it a more refined appeal than you might expect from a brand so happily associated with loud guitars and mosh pits.
That’s the clever bit, in fact. It has enough swagger to feel properly Marshall, but it couldn't look less like it’s wandered in from a student bedroom or a rehearsal studio. The colour makes it feel warm and design-led, easily sitting quite happily next to a good lamp, a stack of books and a drop of something decent. It brings atmosphere before it’s even switched on, which, again, resonates with the brand's live-experience heritage.
Sound-wise, it earns the badge. Despite the retro styling and unobtrusive size, the Acton III has the heft and clarity you’d hope from Marshall, with enough presence of sound to make any space feel instantly occupied. A superlative choice for anyone who likes their tech with a bit of attitude, but wants it to look sharp when the music stops.
Quiet Luxury
Proving that burgundy (or in this case, maroon) and gold are having a moment, Bowers & Wilkins’ new Px7 S3 headphones wear it rather well. It’s a winning look that's rich enough to feel like a proper design choice, but restrained enough not to make you feel as though you’re adopting hi-fi equipment as a personality trait...
The sound, as you’d expect from Bowers & Wilkins, is the real reason to pay attention. The brand has always taken listening seriously, and the Px7 S3 make that seriousness fully portable: studio-quality performance for trains, planes, desks or wherever you happen to find yourself. They look good, yes, but they also feel like something made by people who care about music rather than merely the desirability of the gadgets that play it.
That balance is what makes them such a strong gift. Plenty of headphones promise performance; few manage to look this appealing while delivering it. The finish and detailing bring character, but the whole thing feels reassuringly grown-up without straying anywhere close to boring. The Platonic ideal of headphones.
Take Me There
There are coffee table books, and then there are Opus editions. The Oasis Live ’25 Opus is a thing of some magnificence: part photographic chronicle, part collector’s object, part cultural record of a reunion that has already taken on mythic proportions. Created by Noel and Liam Gallagher with photographer Simon Emmett, who was given unprecedented access to the tour, it captures not just the scale of the comeback, but the particular electricity of a band that still means so much to so many.
Available in four editions – from the Live Forever hardback, with first edition proceeds going to The Teenage Cancer Trust, to the epic Supernova, a vast, museum-scale edition for serious collectors – it speaks to every level of fandom. Which is fitting, given that Oasis were never just one thing to one kind of listener. From the dad who still knows exactly where he was the first time he heard Definitely Maybe, to the music completist looking to own a slice of history, this is more than a handsome object for the coffee table. It's a chance to own a moment in time, and a reminder that Oasis were always more than the sum of their parts. Loud, pulsing with energy and impossible to ignore, just like the band themselves.
You Can Take It With You
The best travel bag has to work hard, but shouldn’t look like it’s trying. Kapten & Son’s Lisbon Duffle Backpack is a smart answer to the modern packing problem: part backpack, part weekender, and polished enough not to feel out of place in a hotel lobby, airport lounge or meeting room.
As with everything across the Kapten & Son brand, it's been designed with a mindset of carefully considered usefulness; it has the sleek, minimal confidence of a city bag, but the practical instincts of one built for proper travel.The convertible design means it can be carried as a backpack or duffle, making it just as useful for a quick overnight stay as it is for a commute, gym session or long weekend away. Thoughtful compartments, a laptop section and wet pocket keep the less glamorous realities of travel neatly under control, while its streamlined shape stops it from tipping into expedition territory. It’s practical, but in a way that feels properly grown-up.
Available in three sizes, and recognised with a German Design Award for Excellent Product Design, it’s an impressive piece of kit that matches functionality with good looks. For the father who likes to travel well, pack efficiently and do so with style, the Lisbon is the bag for the job.
Supreme Spirit
For the ultimate drinks cabinet addition with a backstory, Aureus Vita is hard to beat. Distilled using the Fibonacci sequence and guided by the Golden Ratio, this is far more than a standard luxury gin in fancy packaging; it’s a spirit built around curiosity, precision and the pursuit of harmony. Even before the first top has been poured, with such philosophy behind it, it has all the makings of a talking point.
The result is deliberately unusual: high in ABV, rare in production, and designed to unfold in stages rather than announce itself all at once. Described as “ten dimensional”, it is made to reveal different flavour notes over time, rewarding the drinker who prefers to linger and savour, rather than simply fill a glass. There is something pleasingly obsessive about that level of detail, and it gives the bottle a sense of theatre that makes it perfect for gifting.
Sitting at the intersection of science, craft and connoisseurship, it's a particularly compelling choice for the father who already has the obvious bottles covered. Served with reverence and displayed with pride, Aureus Vita is more than just another bottle of gin; it’s a conversation, a collector’s piece and a very good reason to linger over one more drink.
Christie At Her Best Dressed
For those with both a weakness for a whodunnit and an eye for design, The Folio Society’s new edition of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd ticks both boxes rather neatly. Christie’s Poirot classic may be one of her earlier titles, but as every Golden Age aficianado knows, the plot has lost nothing of that deliciously audacious quality that still leaves you boggling at how she got away with it.
In Folio’s hands, this must be the most vivid retelling yet of Mr Ackroyd's grisly demise yet. A far cry from those 70s paperbacks - remember them? - with lurid, nightmare-inducing front cover illustrations that seemed to grace every bookcase in the land, this a book that earns its place in any room. Illustrated by Owen Gent, the 100th anniversary edition embodies the spirits of both Christie and Folio: sparkling creativity, served in the most imaginative way possible.
As a gift its iconic quality makes it the perfect choice; far from being concerned by accusations of "spoiler alert!", the vast majority of its audience will be well familiar with the plot twist: the real treat is in the re-reading. The reader's reward for returning is to admire the trick, to spot the clues you were reading too hungrily to notice the first time. Beautifully made, and as clever as anything else Christie wrote, this is a fittingly magnificent rendition of a work of literary legend.
Game On
Backgammon is having quite the moment, leaning into its association with helped along by our collective appetite for anything that gets people off their phones without requiring a full personality overhaul. Once the preserve of hotel lobbies, holidays and people who knew how to order an arak without looking at the menu, it has found its way back onto coffee tables, drinks trolleys and rather stylish evenings in. The appeal is obvious: quick to learn, difficult to master, pleasingly competitive, and infinitely better-looking than most board games.
Which brings us to Addison Ross’s Palm Beach Green Lacquer Backgammon Set. The brand has a real gift for taking useful, everyday objects and making them completely gorgeous: a corkscrew, a tray, a pepper mill - suddenly all glossier, brighter and more fun than they have any right to be. Whilst hardly a utilitarian object, that same instinct works beautifully across their backgammon collection. The Palm Beach green lacquer case and pink suede-style interior have the confidence of something designed to be seen, while the mother-of-pearl-effect counters, shakers, dice and doubling cube complete the picture of an item that's properly luxe.
For Fathers' Day it works brilliantly - either as a handsome object for a seasoned enthusiast, or as an invitation to a new hobby to the uninitiated. Stylish, sociable and just competitive enough to become dangerous after a drink or two, this showstopper of a gift is a real winner.
Good Vibrations
Jusbox has always approached fragrance with a strong sense of mood, and their newest offering, Wave of Freedom is no exception. Inspired by Californian surf culture and the optimism of the 1960s, it is infused with an easy, sunlit quality that's married to great effect with a confident charisma - think Don Draper in the California episodes of Mad Men and you're on the right track. Whilst it's simple and elegant, there's plenty going on to keep it interesting and sophisticated; the opening pear note gives it a crisp, modern lift, while coconut, pineapple, patchouli and tonka bring warmth and texture without tipping it into obvious holiday-scent territory.
Buying a new fragrance can be a risky gift but Jusbox have struck just the right balance of wearability and personality, meaning it's a choice you can make with confidence. With its sunny disposition and vinyl-shaped bottle top, he'll be chasing waves and having Fun, Fun, Fun in no time...
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