Archive for April, 2009
This is a snap from the latest redesign of Louis Vuitton’s Omotesando store in Tokyo, but it should look familiar to anyone who’s caught the traveling Murakami retrospective that’s been making the rounds for the past year.
The wallpaper and central flower-ball are all taken direct from the exhibit where they worked to great effect…but we’re not sure if it’s quite what we want in a retail setting.
Walt Disney comparisons aside, Murakami’s brand of iconic cuteness has always been a bit too intense for comfort. This stage of the exhibit, for example, comes dangerously close to sensory overload. That’s the kind of daring that makes people take him seriously as an artist…but it’s prickly enough that you might not want it crowding your shelf space.
Of course, Tokyo is Murakami’s home turf, so they’re unveiling the look in the safest possible place. But if it takes off, you might see this on 57th Street sooner than you think.
—R.B.
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These days trendspotting is as easy as finding the right flickr set. Of course, it helps if you’ve got some Victorian nostalgia handy…
Re-introducing the Penny Farthing bicycle, already available from various boutique manufacturers. Truth be told, we’ve already seen a couple on the bike-friendly streets of Bushwick, but we’re not sure how much farther the trend can go. It’s hard to cross over when you’re stuck with a tag like “bone shaker.”
—R.B.
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There’s a lot of shoreline in the world, but you rarely see it from the water.
Asako Narahashi just posted a set of pictures called “Half Awake and Half Asleep in the Water” showing some of the better oceanfront sites in the world fro mthe perspective of a frantic doggy-paddler. As a result, the lens is half in the water for many of the shots, adding a scrappy edge to the usual phototourism.
And like any good draftsman, he knows a good sky when he sees it.
—R.B.
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Ad men have been enjoying quite a bit of attention, so the time is ripe for a gushy documentary covering some of the industry’s greatest hits. Who came up with that “got milk” business, anyway?
Art & Copy (via Josh Spear) tracked down the creatives in question—in this case, Rich Silverstein and Jeff Goodby—along with a slate of other names like George Lois of the famous 60s Esquire covers and Hal Riney of the 1984 Reagan campaign. Together they’re responsible for some of the most iconic images of the past 50 years. We’re thinking of the “I Heart NY” logo, the Energizer bunny, and the more recent dancing silhouette iPod ads…but we’re sure you have a favorite of your own.
It’s not bad as a profile of an industry, and we’re sure there are more than enough outsized personalities to fill up 90 minutes—especially whoever was unselfconscious enough to offer the quote, “we’re doing exactly the same thing as the guys who were painting on caves.”
A master marketer should have known how that was going to sound.
ART & COPY trailer from Baldwin& on Vimeo.
—R.B.
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The club collar resurgence continues with the latest collection from Bespoken.
They throw in a few spread collars and cufflink-style buttons too—and naturally the suits themselves are pretty impeccable—but the short club collar is starting to be a necessity for more adventurous menswear labels…which usually means its time to add one to your closet.
If you’re really inspired, you can even skip the tie.
—R.B.
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Now that craft sites like Etsy have made silkscreened cards easier to produce and distribute than ever before, the calling card is making a serious comeback. Along with a few other kinds of cards…
Gramkin Paper Studio (via NotCot) specializes in palm-sized kissoff cards, designed to make your late-night interactions as transparent as possible. After all, handing a piece of fine card stock to the overly aggressive semi-vixen at the other end of the bar should end the conversation with enough whimsy to keep things civil—and you won’t even have to leave the bar.
Others include “I’m glad we stay mildly interested in each other’s lives,” “I’m not drunk enough to give you my real number,” and “Really great meeting you but I’m not currently in the market to make new friends.”
To think you used to have to send it all by text.
—R.B.
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