Top image: backstage at Christopher Shannon FW14, photography Harry Carr

British designer Christopher Shannon has collaborated with Zippo on a limited-edition collection of lighters.

The American brand’s lighters are tightly interwoven into popular culture: from Quentin Tarantino films to being Frank Sinatra’s favourite accessory, the lighter is a strong marker of multiple generations and firmly pegged in history.

Trophies and signifiers of working-class associations are a constant influence in Shannon’s creative direction. For SS16 Shannon siphoned the hedonism of Liverpudlians getting pissed-up on their annual pilgrimages to Marbella; the well-known, windproof Zippo lighter was placed onto knitwear. FW14 was the other end of that with cigarette packets on knitted jumpers: a box of “Embarro Mentals” and “Monday Nights”.

This new collaboration makes it come full-circle, a reciprocation on Zippo’s part. “I’ve long held an affinity for Zippo seeing my brother owned on,” Shannon explained. “I was a jealous sibling then and am now enjoying bringing my take to this classic brand.” Now you can light up with Shannon – a collaboration that couldn’t be righter if it tried.

The limited run of (just 300) Zippo x Christopher Shannon windproof lighters will be available to buy on October 12th from Christopher Shannon and Zippo