A portrait of the urban man on the move, today's film Weavers, was conceived by the designer as a follow-up to his fall 3.1 Phillip Lim menswear show. “It’s just three strangers going about their day,” he says. “They cross paths, and feel a kindred spirit because of the way they dress.” The short was shot in Palm Springs  by San Francisco-based photographer and filmmaker Andrew Paynter, and its title is a nod both to the artisanal tapestry and rug-making techniques Lim drew upon for his collection, as well as the elusive nature of the models pictured threading in and out of shadows. “We’re always trying to get a mental picture of the man we’re designing for,” he says. “But he’s a little bit of a mystery; we only get glances. This film is our attempt to capture that experience of seeing someone in snatches.” We asked New York-based Lim to demystify his urban summer essentials.

Church's Box Calf Penny Loafers
Every man needs a good pair of shoes he doesn’t have to wear with socks. Church’s penny loafers work with everything—shorts, trousers, jeans. You can just kick around in them, and they maintain a certain elegance even as they get dirtier. But you have to get them in the box calf.

Phyto Pro Soft Holding Gel 2
For summer, you need a hair product that will fight the humidity, but that won’t weigh down your hair and stick to your head. I love Phyto's gel. It’s a classic, very clean and it doesn’t flake. 

3.1 Phillip Lim Stroll Shorts
Every guy should have super-generic shorts in his summer wardrobe. A pair that hovers just over the knee, doesn’t read preppy or cargo and is basically a blank canvas. The pair I wear are the “Stroll” shorts from my line––they have a nice loucheness that feels easy and right for warm weather.

Dragon Fruit
A classic case of don’t judge a book by its cover. For some reason, I can only ever find it in Chinatown, and it is so ugly. It looks alien, almost. But then you crack it open and it’s gorgeous, like a cross between a cactus and a pomegranate. And unbelievably quenching. It makes great cocktails, too.

Classic Blazer
This seems counterintuitive, but a man should always have a simple, classic blazer for summer. Even if he’s not wearing it and just carrying it with him. For one thing, the second you put it on, you look sharp. For another, if you’re with a lady and she gets cold, you can do that gentlemanly thing of handing her your coat—a classic blazer looks great on a girl. 

Trek Soho Bicycle
In the city, a bike is a summertime requirement. Even if you can’t take off on vacation, in New York you can hop on the bike and head over to the FDR or the West Side Highway, and it feels like a getaway. Riding around by the water makes you realize that we really live inside-out in Manhattan. My bike is pretty basic. It’s no-fuss, very lightweight, and made for this environment.

A Tribe Called Quest
I went to see the Tribe Called Quest documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, and it reminded me how amazing that band was. Their songs sound like summer to me: very up, from the era when hip-hop was happy.