Stanley Tucci Fashions the Ultimate Travel Wardrobe for N. Peal

For fastidious dressers, it’s a common point of ire: the scourge of travelers donning sweatpants, pajamas, and slides, en route. Long gone is the era when travel was considered an occasion to dress for, and in its place is a culture where it’s far more common to see someone with their shoes off on a plane than it is to see someone in an ironed shirt. 

Stanley Tucci is doing his part to change that. 

The British luxury cashmere brand, N.Peal, has launched a capsule collection of travel essentials with the globetrotting actor, aimed at providing an effortlessly comfortable, versatile, and—critically—stylish wardrobe that can take you from trains and planes to five-star hotels and dinners. Such a globetrotter is Tucci that the actor was only able to answer questions via email from the set of The Devil Wears Prada 2. 

“Travel has become a huge part of my life, and this collection was inspired by the kind of pieces I always reach for when I travel: reliable, timeless, and beautifully made,” Tucci tells Robb Report. “The exact pieces N.Peal excel at making.” 

The collection features 13 pieces including versatile, classic knits, easy layering pieces like a soft-shoulder cashmere blazer and a field jacket, plus a selection of whimsical-but-practical accessories such as ties and brightly colored socks. Pitched as a “tribute to the joy of wanderlust” each piece is as refined as it is wearable. The line is composed almost entirely of rich neutral hues of navy, gray, and cream with occasional pops of color that add interest without compromising elegance. “The inspiration for the colour palette came from the colours my Dad used in his paintings: subtle colours, like navy, grey, brown, and charcoal complemented by bold splashes of colour, like oranges and greens,” says Tucci. “That combination has always guided my sense of style and is the inspiration for the collection.”

And while the collection certainly delivers on its promise of sartorial excellence, it’s also utilitarian, which was important to Tucci as an avid traveller. The goal was not to create a line that felt fussy or that would be uncomfortable on long travel days. Instead it illustrates how, by embracing simplicity and quality, you can marry elegance and practicality without sacrificing one for the other. Informed by his own experience packing for long trips, what results is a selection of pieces that will feel every bit as comfortable as leisurewear but that will spare you a stop back at your hotel to change before heading out to dinner. 

“I always overpack every time, I’ll pack a few different pairs of shoes, belts, ties, jackets, suits. But whenever I travel, whether it’s on a train or a plane, I like to dress nicely,” says Tucci. “I’ll always have a jacket with me, a tie and a pair of shoes, even if I’m going to the tropics, because you never know. So, we wanted to create a collection that is versatile and compact enough to take you from day to night.”

The return to elegant travel is also reflected in the collections campaign, which features Tucci looking dashing in his N.Peal wares aboard Belmond’s iconic British Pullman Train, which further stokes the collections nostalgia for a time when the simple act of traveling was a special occasion. 

The excitement of travel was also something Tucci wanted to embrace and celebrate in this collection, something that’s reflected even in the small details. Together with N.Peal, Tucci developed a shade of orange deemed, appropriately “Tucci Orange” which they’ve used for the socks and trims; it adds a note of levity to otherwise subtle color schemes. 

For Tucci, it was also about ensuring his travel wardrobe kept pace with his love for living in the moment, no matter where he is. “We wanted to design a collection that allows for spontaneity, [that] was really important to me.” he says. “That’s what travelling is all about, your journey should be just as exciting as the destination.”