A February Edit: Where Valentine’s Desire Meets Lunar New Year Luck

Across East and South East Asia, and for the hundreds of thousands celebrating in the UK, Lunar New Year isn’t a one‑night thing. It’s a 15–16 day festival that starts on New Year’s Eve, runs through the first three, all‑important days (大年初一 to 大年初三), and only really winds down at Lantern Festival two weeks later. So no, it’s not “too late” to be saying happy new year in late February – especially if you’re doing it over good drinks, in outfits that work for both red‑envelope dinners and date nights.
This is your February edit: pieces that earn their place by doing double duty – Valentine’s and Lunar, pancakes and parties – plus a few places to wear them, and the tech to soundtrack it all.

Dress For Love And Luck

Think of your wardrobe this month as a shared moodboard. Red, pink, gold – but sharpened with good tailoring, texture and a bit of attitude.

For clothes, play with contrast – soft and sharp, tailored and romantic:

• Aje Wave midi dress in scarlet: full‑skirted movement, a red that photographs beautifully under candlelight and paper lanterns.
• AMI Paris white wool crewneck: the borrowed‑from‑someone‑you‑like sweater; throw it over slip skirts, denim or suit trousers.
• Wax London Alban Floral Jacquard Cardigan – natural and brown tones woven into a textured jacquard that’s cosy for pancakes yet sharp enough for dates. The perfect “I thought about it” layer.
• Palm Angels lace trousers: sheer, graphic lace that looks incredible with a simple tank and a sharp blazer.
• Roksanda Maite dress: in orchid and amaranthus: if you want to be the person everyone remembers in the room, this is that dress.
• Richard Anderson cream crewneck: a forever knit that calms down bolder pieces – jewellery, shoes, lipsticks – and still feels quietly luxe.

Underneath, because February is secretly an underwear month:

• Lacoste boxers: for clean, sport‑leaning basics.
• Diesel multicolour pack:  if you like your waistband doing a bit of talking.
• Skims silk‑lace demi bra in ruby and Skims red‑heart sateen sleep boxers:  for the soft‑focus, sleep‑in‑late mornings where the plan is simply “pancakes, coffee, nothing else”.

Small Things, Big Intentions

Jewellery and accessories are where you can lean into the horse, the hearts and the whole “new year, new energy” story without going full costume.

• Chloé ring and horse‑motif chain earrings: bring in equestrian details with a soft, almost vintage romance – perfect with cream knits and loose hair.
• Alexander McQueen rose charm: feels like a tiny talisman; hook it onto a bag, bracelet or keyring and carry your bouquet with you.
• Valentino Garavani Coeur Royal earrings: are miniature enamel hearts with just enough edge – ideal for someone who likes their love story graphic.
• Canali alpaca‑wool jacquard scarf: wraps you in something that looks as good over a tailored coat as it does over a hoodie on the way home.
• Ferragamo timepiece: with charm detail is both watch and jewellery – a quiet flex that says “I turned up on time and I thought about my wrist”.

All of these skew red, gold or warm neutrals – the palette where Valentine’s and Lunar New Year naturally overlap. Wear them for both; let the context change the meaning.

Fresh Cuts & Secret Doors: Where To Go

February isn’t just about what you wear; it’s about where you show up. A barbershop for the reset, a pirate tavern for storytime dates, a basement bar for “rom‑com, but make it East London”.

Murdock London, Broadgate Central

In many East and South East Asian traditions, people rush to get their hair cut before Lunar New Year and then avoid haircuts on the first days of the new lunar month – you don’t want to be “cutting away” your luck, or, in older sayings, risking bad fortune for your relatives. That means the run‑up to 17 February is prime grooming time.

Murdock London’s new Broadgate Central barbershop lands perfectly in that window. A three‑minute walk from Liverpool Street, it brings the brand’s mix of classic British barbering and modern men’s grooming into the middle of the City. Expect precise cuts, traditional cut‑throat shaves and beard work in a space designed more like a calm members’ club than a high‑street salon. Every barber is Mental Health First Aid trained, so the chair becomes part haircut, part head‑space, complete with a pour of Glenfarclas whisky, Isle of Harris gin or a very good coffee if you want it. Alongside the services, you can stock up on their vegan, cruelty‑free, British‑made products – sea salt spray, beard moisturiser, colognes – to keep the “new year, who’s this?” energy going long after you leave.

Rhum Tavern – Ship Nights in the West End

Rhum Tavern is what happens when someone decides your night out should feel like walking onto a ship mid‑adventure. Menus arrive as aged treasure maps, the bar glows amber, and the main room ceiling throws latticed light across the space so it feels like early afternoon on deck, even if you walked in from pitch‑black Soho.

Order the daiquiris with that unexpected olive‑oil note, or go for one of their creamy, coconut‑forward punches crowned with foam. Drinks come in hand‑made glassware and barrel‑inspired vessels; even the loos stay in character, with black‑painted skulls keeping watch. If you’re handed a red coin, hold onto it – that’s your key to a hidden room behind a bookshelf, available for parties and karaoke sessions when you want your February night to turn into a story you tell for months.

It’s not a “roses on the table” Valentine’s spot. It’s better: cinematic, immersive and ideal for anyone whose love language is “let’s go somewhere that feels like a film set”.

Discount Suit Company – Underground Romance

Beneath Wentworth Street, Discount Suit Company is all dark wood, low ceilings and candlelit tables. It’s the sort of bar that feels like a location scout’s dream – you walk down the stairs and immediately think of split‑screen montages and slow‑mo first kisses.

The soundtrack hums, glasses clink, but the volume never tips into shout‑over‑each‑other territory. Order Moonstomp if you love a grown‑up drink – it layers whisky with Japanese sake for something deep and quietly complex. Tijuana Panther is your sour‑sweet fix, while Tigerstyle is the choice when you want a firmer hit without losing elegance.

Whether it’s a first date, a “we survived January” celebration or a post‑Lantern‑Festival debrief, this is where you go when you want the drinks to be serious and the vibe to feel like your favourite indie romance.

Soundtracking The Month

Not every February gift has to be something you wear. Some of the best ones are the objects that quietly sit in the corner and make every moment feel like a scene.

Marshall Emberton III – Year of the Horse

Marshall’s Emberton III Year of the Horse edition takes the brand’s small, portable speaker and dresses it for the zodiac: a bold horse illustration across the top, the classic Marshall wordmark stamped behind the metal grille, and a colour palette that feels deliberately “lucky” without screaming novelty.

Underneath the artwork, it’s serious kit. You get over 32 hours of playback from a full charge, with a 20‑minute top‑up delivering around six hours of music – enough for pre‑drinks, dinner and the afters without anxiety. The sound is 360‑degree True Stereophonic, loud and surprisingly full for its size, but tuned so it still behaves in small city flats where neighbours are a wall away.

In the Marshall app, three EQ presets keep things simple: Marshall for the signature, balanced sound, Push when you want more bass and treble for parties, and Voice when it’s podcasts, calls or lyrics‑heavy tracks. It’s perfect for people who don’t have time (or patience) for endless sliders – you tap once, and get on with your night. Multipoint Bluetooth lets two devices connect at the same time, so you and your date can swap playlists without wrestling the speaker, and the app’s battery‑preservation mode can limit charge to around 95%, slow charging if things get too warm, and generally look after long‑term battery health so it’s still going strong by the time the next zodiac rolls around.

Shower sing‑alongs, tiny‑kitchen pancake sessions, balcony drinks, park hangs in a hopeful patch of February sun – this is the speaker that quietly upgrades all of them.

KEF MUO – Colour‑Blocked Hi‑Fi

If your taste leans more design‑gallery than gig‑poster, KEF’s updated MUO is the sleek option. Aluminium body, soft curves and a line‑up of high‑saturation finishes – think Silver Dusk, Amber Haze, Orange Moon, Blue Aura, Moss Green, Cocoa Brown and Midnight Black – that look as good next to a vase of tulips as they do beside a stack of red envelopes. Inside, there’s serious acoustic engineering, with a racetrack driver, dedicated tweeter and smart DSP tuning that automatically adjusts whether you stand it upright or lay it flat. Battery life runs long enough for an entire day of playlists, and you can pair multiple units for stereo when your living room suddenly fills with friends.

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A9 x Jacky Tsai

For something that bridges art, sound and the Year of the Horse, look to Bang & Olufsen Beosound A9 x Jacky Tsai limited edition. Only ten pieces have been created, each wrapped in Tsai’s vivid red Floral Horse artwork – a recurring motif in his practice that stands for vitality, movement and fresh starts, making it feel tailor‑made for Lunar New Year. The circular A9 becomes a canvas here: anodised aluminium, fabric and oak framing seven powerful drivers that throw out deep, room‑filling sound while the artwork does the talking visually. Available exclusively at Bang & Olufsen of Bicester Village and Bang & Olufsen of Mayfair, it’s part speaker, part collectible – the kind of object that anchors a living room and quietly says you take both music and design seriously.

Home Sweet Home

Baobab Collection Candle Tree of Love Max 10 — A Candle Worth the Moment

More than just a scented candle, this piece feels like a ritual in a glass vessel. Inspired by the tree of life, its elegant gold-and-multicoloured motif quietly celebrates connection — perfect for Valentine’s night and the cosy glow of Lantern Festival evenings. The fragrance balances crisp sea salt with lush Grasse tuberose and earthy moss, creating a floral yet airy mood that gently lifts any space you’re in. Its presence alone turns a living room into a dinner table backdrop, a bath into a pause, and a late-night chat into something worth lighting a second wick for.  

Atelier Rebul No.1 Elixir Artisanal – Perfume Extract The Scent That Smells Like Your Best Outfit

When your home deserves to smell as considered as your outfits, reach for Atelier Rebul’s No.1 Elixir Artisanal Extrait de Parfum. This is no ordinary scent – it’s a proper perfume extract created by master perfumer Alberto Morillas, opening with sparkling bergamot and pink pepper before unfolding into white tea, geranium, rose and a warm, cedarwood dry-down that feels both fresh and timeless.

Spritz it into the air after a Valentine’s Day dinner, or let it linger softly over Pancake Day brunch – that clean citrus brightness with woody depth makes every room feel like a destination, not just a backdrop. The 100ml bottle sits beautifully on a console table; one pull of the gold‑topped flacon and your flat instantly smells like a very good hotel you don’t want to leave.

Make Waves Refillable Deodorant Applicator — Winter Blue, All Season

Sometimes a small detail says everything about the person — and this refillable deodorant applicator in winter blue is one of them. The soft, cool hue feels just right for February: it nods to icy skies and serene winter evenings, but has enough understated charm to work beyond Valentine’s and Lunar New Year. Whether tucked in a gym bag, bathroom shelf or travel pouch, it’s that pleasing pop of colour that feels thoughtful without trying too hard — exactly the kind of everyday piece you reach for on a spontaneous date night or a buttery pancake morning.

The Month, Reframed

So yes, February is still roses and heart‑shaped everything if you want it to be. But this year, it’s also about fresh cuts before the firecrackers, pirate‑ship bars hidden behind bookcases, underground basements that feel like movie sets, speakers that turn your shower into a stage, and outfits that move easily from date night to New Year dinner to pancake‑fuelled brunch.

Love, lanterns, pancakes, parties – it’s all in the same week. Dress for all of it.