THE SPRING ISSUE
White Noise
These Are Not Songs: The Art & Sound of Ivo
Ivanov’s Glitchmachines Text by Christopher James Gray Circuit bending, for the uninitiated, is the sonic alchemy of short-circuiting electronic devices to yield strange and volatile sounds. Like others in this community, Ivo Ivanov started out by experimenting with toys purchased at local thrift stores for two bucks apiece. In early 2005, Ivanov started the Glitchmachines […]
Sophomore: Getting Down to the Basics
Text by Andrea Francis Sophomore’s soft-washed fabrics and ’70s silhouettes make you want to be a teenage runaway, or at least pass some time smoking cigarettes and eating bologna sandwiches. The NY-based men and women’s sportswear company is all about the basics. Chrissie Miller—formerly a graphic designer—started Sophomore five years ago with a rock T-shirt […]
Not So Common
Text by Lilibet Snellings In 2004, Peter Poopat and Flavio Girolami were in search of a simple but sophisticated sneaker, something you could wear with shorts or a suit. But everywhere they looked, sneakers were gilded in over-the-top gaudiness—electric-colored laces, camouflage Swooshes, fluorescent air pockets, zebra stripes and Shox. “Everything sort of screamed with colors […]
The New Speed Racer
Fiat 500 designed by Diesel Text by Hillary Latos Bringing back the retro look of the ’70s, the new Fiat 500 by Diesel is proof that style has some substance. A one-off collabora-tion between two iconic Italian brands, the Cinquecento by Diesel is a limited-edition car (only 10,000 models are being produced), that is sure […]
Catherine Jane Creates Condom Couture for Project Inform
Text by Karena Akhavein When Project Inform Director, Henry Lucerno, asked San Francisco-based fashion designer, Catherine Jane, to participate in their October 15th fundraiser, Evening of Hope, she jumped at the chance. Participation in the charity’s Condom Couture fashion show combines a contribution to the important cause of AIDS education, with an enticing creative experiment. […]
Viva Vivanco
Mariano Vivanco is probably the most prolific fashion photographer you’ve never heard of. A clue or two: he photographs regularly for Dolce & Gabbana: group shots, a lot of spread legs. He was behind the camera for all those high-style fuchsia spreads for Dazed & Confused magazine. Still nothing? How about those shots of oiled-up […]
Chlösterli Nightclub & Dalsass Restaurant
Gstaad, Switzerland is a luxury ski resort better known for its shopping and après-ski scene than for skiing. The most popular dining options are invariably rustic and cheese-centric, so when chef Alain Ducasse brusquely abandoned his over-sophisticated and underperforming Spoon des Neiges, no one was surprised. But owner Michel Pastor, the Monegasque businessman and bon […]
Ndeur
For French graphist, Mathieu Missiaen, it all starts with a pair of vintage pumps. But there’s nothing dated about the final product—his custom, street-style paint-job makes for the perfect fit. Missiaen’s brand, NDEUR (yes, it’s an anagram for ‘under’), is inspired by different patterns: from ancient civilizations, to seventeenth century paintings to urban sprawl. “I […]
Simply Chic
Filippa K is all about simplicity. With its classic look and clean lines, the Stockholm-based brand has established itself as one of Sweden’s leading fashion houses with its signature minimalist elegance. As fashion moves away from excess and toward refined tastes this fall, the brand spreads its raison d’être beyond European shores by opening its […]
Original Bedlam
Text by Malin-Louise Martensson In the building that used to be an asylum, I now drink champagne. I eat oysters in the loony bin. I sleep in rooms where English men once paid to abuse the patients of the First Bethlehem Hospital. This is the original Bedlam, now presented as the creation of English design […]
Massive Change
Traces of flight patterns of three European airlines Text by Patrick Knowles Massive Change is a project about possibilities. In the eyes of the Toronto-based collective, design takes on an unprecedented scope of contexts to answer a seemingly simple thesis put forth by Arnold J. Toynbee. The famed English historian and author of A Study […]
Packed with Style
Text by Dena Smolek When it comes to luggage, black roller bags are the norm with an occasional red or floral print (à la your grandma’s curtains) to break up the monotony. Award-winning designer Hideo Wakamatsu offers cool alternatives to boring bags with his Hideo-brand bags. Merging style, functionality and quality, Hideo suitcases are the […]
HELIO
Text by Robin Liss A startup funded in part by SK Telecom, Helio is targeting the young and upwardly mobile urbanite with fashion phones. The core concept in Helio’s pitch is that cell phones should be fashionable, an idea inspired by popular Korean cell phones. Helio has also attempted to bring over many of the […]
Hiruta’s Hot Wheels
Text by Matthew Nestel “I do not dream about cars. I do not have nice dreams,” confesses Shiro Yo Hiruta, idea man and president of Calty (a collapsed combo of “California” and “Toyota”). Calty Design Research, Inc., established in 1973, is a progressive in-house outfit for Toyota Motor, hubbed in sunny Newport Beach, CA, with […]
White Noise
This Heat The fear of mutually assured destruction can be a wonderful source of inspiration. For This Heat, it helped spawn Deceit and Health & Efficiency EP, records that forged progressive and post-punk by dismembering the Genesis-soiled corpse of the ’70s. Twenty-five years after the band’s conception, record company ReR is reissuing the band’s notoriously […]
Hanami
Text by Douglas Hargrave Japan is known for its distinct seasons: lush, humid summers, drastically beautiful autumn, and cold, snowy winters. And when springtime arrives, the defining seasonal aspect in Japan is the cherry blossoms. Hanami, or blossom viewing, is a tradition in Japan that dates back over 1,200 years to the Nara period when […]
Brad Kahlhamer and the Self in Flux
Text by Franklin Melendez Brad Kahlhamer’s art explores the ways in which travel impacts and shapes identity, altering our sense of self, culture and nationhood. These are intimate preoccupations for the Arizona-born Kahlhamer, who after being adopted by German parents moved from his native Tucson to Wisconsin before ultimately settling in New York City. Although […]
Traveling to the Beat
The Other Side’s New York guide Fischerspooner Text by Lily Moayeri Lonely Planet. Let’s Go. Fodor’s. Frommer’s. Rough Guide. These are the familiar names in the world of travel. While one might be dubious to take travel advice from a company called Deaf Dumb + Blind, said company has teamed up with weekly handbook Time […]
Oh, St. Ouen!
Text by Ann Tornkvist “May I sit down?” I ask. “As long as you get up again,” Monsieur Volfinger responds. His stubbly cheeks pull back as he smiles. I sink into the welcoming chair, letting my fingertips caress the small cracks in the brown leather. Volfinger bought the chair in Copenhagen and drove it down […]
Morrissey Country
Text by Amity Bacon A fascination with the cult of the Smiths leads me to Manchester, the city of their origin. It seems the stuff of urban myth that a tour of this post-industrial, northern English town could draw fans from around the world seeking a pilgrimage for an ’80s pop act that only lasted […]
Orchestrated Chaos
Text by Nora Ballard Snow fell in San Francisco on Valentine’s Day. For approximately 30 minutes after 6 p.m., the white stuff came down in Justin Herman Plaza. However, a closer look revealed the fat flakes were in fact goose feathers, the result of a massive pillow-fight organized by an alternative flash mob. About 1,000 […]
B.I.K.E.
Text by David S. Hirschman In slow motion through the fog of grainy night-footage, a girl named Alison races on her bicycle toward another girl as a crowd cheers on the curb in a new documentary called B.I.K.E. Predictably, the two collide roughly and are thrown to the blacktop. When the ambulance arrives a few […]
Grayti in the Heart of Sao Paulo
Text by Matthew Vree So, graffiti has gone mainstream. Companies ranging from Coca-Cola and McDonald’s to MSN and Sony have latched on and sucked much of the rebellion from the formerly underground art movement, turning the vast majority of it into cultural cliché. However, true aficionados are finding inspiration and innovation in a city that […]
Nieves
Text by Mila Zuo The zine is perhaps the last breath of non-commercial DIY sincerity in the world of oversaturated pop literature. Anyone can make one, and attributes that lofty publishers would consider flaws (asymmetry, misspelling, general misuse of grammar and all things linguistic) are revered and treasured in the lo-fi publishing world. And to […]
