British designer Paul Smith was recently interviewed by Monocle on Design about his recent collaboration with BMW and Mini. If you like Mini cars, you’ll probably like the episode. But he also raises two interesting points about his business and about how he approaches design.… Read More
Last month a digital-only version of a Gucci bag sold on gaming platform Roblox for about US$4,115. Again, digital-only. No physical bag that can be brought to brunch. At the time, this was about US$800 more than the real life version of the same Gucci… Read More
Here is an interesting interview discussion about NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and the world of luxury brands. It’s a conversation between Benoit Pagotto, cofounder of the NFT brand RTFKT Studios, and Ian Rogers, who is Chief Experience Officer at the blockchain startup Ledger (he was previously… Read More
Fashion, like architecture, says a lot. It is, according to Wikipedia, an “aesthetic expression at a particular time, place and in a specific context.” So it’s interesting to consider how fashion might translate, and not translate, around the world. This recent article by The Economist,… Read More
This is not exactly a new project. The hotel, pictured above, opened in 2016 and was the brand’s second location (their first opened in São Paulo in 2001). But I like the story and how it was executed. Hotel Emiliano is the work of husband and… Read More
For a number of reasons, I am fascinated by the streetwear label, Off-White. It is one of the hottest labels in fashion, and yet there’s a part of me that doesn’t really get it. It’s mostly bold text, usually in quotations, on various apparel items. A… Read More
Here is an interesting article from Loose Threads that talks about the profound impact that data and fast fashion are having on apparel brands, transforming them from supply-driven businesses to demand-driven ones. It adds a bit more nuance to the trope that tech is disrupting… Read More
Bloomberg recently published this interesting piece talking about the death of clothing. The reasons are as follows: we’re spending more on experiences, as well as technology (tech spending surpassed apparel spending in 2010); casual dress in the workplace has become more widely accepted; fast fashion… Read More
Architect Rem Koolhaas recently unveiled a backpack that he designed for Prada’s autumn winter 2018 menswear collection. It looks like this: It’s more of a frontpack. Actually, maybe the right name is chestpack. What stood out for me, though – perhaps more than its frontality… Read More
Steve Aoki was in Toronto today for a collaboration with Saks Fifth Avenue – namely the launch of his fall/winter Dim Mak Collection. The after party was at Junction House (the pre-development version). Here is a photo: I actually wasn’t there (because I’m fighting off some… Read More
