THE PEOPLE ISSUE
At Home on the Shore
Text by Vanessa DeLeon It’s easy to mistake the entrance to the subterranean playground that is Lure Fishbar for one of Manhattan’s many subway stops. Rest assured, the green iron stairs leading down to the yacht-like interior are loath to be stained with gum or city grime, instead replete with navy and ivory leather banquettes, [...]
The Pleasures of Today
Text by William Blake Photography by Oleg March Today, you can enjoy a wine cocktail alongside a beer cocktail alongside a liquor cocktail alongside a cappuccino, next to a friend’s bowl of sculptural pea soup or a stranger’s stroopwafel. Today you might experience a ‘head-butt’ or a ‘turf-war’. Today, as in all days, you can [...]
Kyle Ford
Text by Eileen Chiang Dapper as Dan and thickly mustached in a gentleman’s three-button waistcoat, Kyle Ford is a callback to days where integrity stood behind the bar and delivered your libations with true craft and an authentic smile. Co-founder of Ford Mixology Lab with his wife and former high school sweetheart, Rachel Ford, Kyle [...]
Rachel Ford
Text by Eileen Chiang It is rumored that Graydon Carter used to spend his late afternoons in the offices of Vanity Fair carefully curating the private-line only reservations and seating arrangements of his A-list guests at his Midtown power lounge, Monkey Bar. The storied bar and restaurant has since allowed its exclusivity to ebb, though [...]
Enya Meets Kraftwerk in Outer Space
Text by J. Poet Photography by Aaron Sterns Grimes is the queen of the mash-up, an artist with an omnivorous musical appetite and an ability to make coherent, futuristic pop out of the most unlikely elements. On Visions, her latest album, she blends a kitchen sink of musical styles, everything from Korean pop to old [...]
The Man Behind the Music
Text by Ellen Georgiou Photography by Farah Sosa Encouraged by a friend to list all the skills and talents that would help guide him in life, 16-year-old Eddie Cota had only two things on his list, a short list that proved to be more than prophetic: 1. I listen to music 2. I tell people [...]
Master of Film Noir
Text by Ellen Georgiou Constantinos Isaias could never be cast in one of his movies. Film noir is shot in gloomy grays and sinister shadows, revealing the dark side of human nature. The protagonists are cynical and doomed, and there is a foreboding atmosphere of menace and suspicion where anything can go wrong. Isaias is [...]
Love to Pose: Tokyo
I-Pose is the latest addition to SOMA’s ongoing tradition of introducing unique, cutting-edge features to our magazine. This section portrays the winners of our online competition, where SOMA readers posed as their favorite icons. In this issue, we featured young creative minds from Tokyo and ask them to explain the reasoning behind their choices. I [...]
Rich Brilliant Willing
The lighting and furniture design studio Rich Brilliant Willing was founded in 2009 by RISD grads Theo Richardson, Charles Brill and Alexander Williams. In commissions for Artecnica, Urban Outfitters, Roll & Hill, Areaware, Partners & Spade, Swarovski, and Innermost, RBW has offered an aesthetic that is cleanly modern and elegant, while young and fun. SOMA [...]
Norma Kamali
Text by Michael Cohen Norma Kamali has been innovating American fashion for more than four decades, and she continues to thrive by challenging the status quo. Her first boutique opened in 1968, importing leading European fashions and merchandising them alongside vintage finds. By the early 1970s, she debuted her own Norma Kamali label, relaunched [...]
Traces of Nature
Text by Emilie Trice German artist Sonja Hinrichsen’s epic environmental installations manifest more than the natural beauty of her chosen canvas. They are exercises in meditation, philosophically tied to the native tribes of America’s vast landscape, their symbols, rituals and mythologies. Best known for her series of “Snow Drawings,” Hinrichsen creates ephemeral compositions that [...]
In the House of Art and Food
Text by Michael Cohen Photography by Andrew Strasser “Imagination is important for creating new beauty in the world,” says Thu Tran about her artistic perspective. Best known as the host of Food Party, Tran is an artist, often described as part Martha Stewart, part Pee-wee Herman, and part Chewbacca. Just like LeBron James, Tran grew [...]