Upgrade Your Fall Style with Hamza Haq and RW&CO.

RW&CO. & Sharp

The average 9 to 5 wardrobe used to be built around a familiar, consistent office dress code. Shirts, slacks — you know the drill. But this fall, the new hybrid work week represents uncharted style territory. Having also spent most of the past year scaling back our closet to just its core necessities (i.e. sweatpants), we have some serious shopping to do.

All of this makes the arrival of RW&CO.’s Fall collection perfectly timed. Right on cue, here is an assortment of clothing that clearly understands the modern moment. Because while somewhat ambiguous new work models might represent a challenge to navigate, they can also pose a serious style opportunity. So, as RW&CO.’s campaign says, “Rise Up” and dress the part.

This all raises the question: what are the key pieces that we need to reintroduce into our daily rotation for fall 2021 — and when is the right time to wear them? To help, we asked to Hamza Haq, star of CTV medical drama Transplant, about his favourite pieces from RW&CO.’s Fall collection and how he’s dressing for the months ahead.

RW&CO. Fall collection ambassador Hamza Haq

As part of the Fall 2021 RW&CO. RISE UP campaign, you speak about using vulnerability as a strength. As an actor, how do you bring that sense of authenticity to the screen?

I think vulnerability is our natural state and I think I spend a lot of energy trying to mask that, so without admitting first how vulnerable I’m feeling and then taking a deep breath, I have no shot at bringing any authenticity to the scene. I’m working on it.

How would you define yourself in three words?

Working on it.

How would you describe your personal style?

Fashion functional.

What is more important to you, comfort or look?

It has to be both, right? I think I feel an internal discomfort at times, so if, at the very least, my clothes can help me go from the outside inward, it’s a great start. That being said, I also care — maybe a little too much — about my appearance, so I like to look good, whatever my definition of that is on the day. I think this collection is a good balance for that. I can feel good without being too precious about it. It’s made to live in.

What is your favourite piece from the RW&CO. Fall collection?

That three-tone turtleneck. there’s something real old school about it — and it’s so soft.

Apart from scrubs, what would be your Transplant character’s go-to piece of clothing?

A clean shirt, sleeves rolled up. He’s not as high maintenance as I am.

RW&CO. Fall collection ambassador Hamza Haq

The Sharp Guide to Dressing for the Hybrid Work Week with RW&CO.

When it comes to cultivating a closet for the road ahead, RW&CO. understands that your main focus should be on versatility. As many offices adopt a hybrid work arrangement, it’s critical to seek out clothing suited to all of the different settings that you might find yourself in. From there, the next step becomes selecting the right garments based on each day’s itinerary. Just as we’ve now started to evaluate our workload to flag certain tasks that are best accomplished during our in-office days and those that are better saved for our work-from-home hours, we’ve also started to divide our closet into downtown-ready suits and home office-friendly loungewear.

Let’s talk suits first. Given that once-routine trips to work have suddenly gained a new sense of occasion, it’s worth adding a bit of extra polish to your professional ensembles. Particularly if you’re headed downtown for a big meeting, it never hurts to err on the side of a great RW&CO. suit — even if your workplace tended to skew a bit more casual in the past. Think of this moment in suiting as being less about stiff formality, and more about finding an excuse to look good. After all, most of the people you’ll be encountering won’t have seen you in well over a year. So even if a simple button-up might have sufficed before, put in the extra effort and opt for something more elevated.

Of course, there’s also always the option to dress down your suit by wearing it with a T-shirt or matching your blazer with a pair of more casual drawstring waist pants. After all, we haven’t completely abandoned the laid-back lifestyle of the past year. Chances are, you’re still calling into at least a couple of meetings remotely, and dress pants are probably overkill for any Tuesday spent reporting for duty from your kitchen (or couch). Thankfully, RW&CO.’s refined casualwear helps to bridge the divide between work and play. Classic fall layering pieces like boldly striped sweaters and dark denim ensure that you can still step out of the house to grab some takeout lunch without looking like you just woke up. And a great puffer vest works as well for that afternoon dog walk as it will on your upcoming weekend cabin trip.

With a well-rounded wardrobe — equal parts easy-going and sophisticated — from RW&CO., you can easily pivot as needed: wearing crisp shirts and comfortable sweaters for most days, suits for those big presentations, and a pair of great jeans for Friday drinks. Dress up when it counts the most, and stay comfortable when you’re at home focused on solo productivity. If this is what the hybrid work week looks like, consider us big fans.