Magazines

Random Recs: Graydon Carter’s crib, Nike RunTown, Sofia Coppola style



Graydon Carter by Jonathan Becker for Architectural Digest

A few snippets of digital ephemera and recommendations I’ve enjoyed lately…

1/ NIKE RUNTOWN. Happy London Marathon weekend to all who celebrate. Have you got your #runcore look sorted? If not, get down to Nike’s RunTown pop-up concept boutique in Regent Street (below) for your hit of healthy hedonism. On SubStack, Grace Cook unpacks how ‘race look’ went mainstream, from niche brand sponsored community runs to New Balance’s new anti-chunky, aerodynamic running shoe silhouette* built for speed (below). Read more here(more…)



Random Recs: HommeGirls store, COS fragrance



HommeGirls New York Chinatown store

A few snippets of digital ephemera and recommendations I’ve enjoyed lately…

1/ THAKOON PANICHGUL opens the first HommeGirls store in New York’s Chinatown next week (above). Those dry cleaning racks and infinity mirrors are sure to see plenty of footfall. (And yes, you can buy magazines there.) Read more in Vogue.

2/ COS has launched its first ever fragrance line. Consisting of four ‘unisex’ eau de parfums (£75 for 100ml, £35 for 15ml, or £19 for a discovery set*) ranging from woody, to spicy, to floral, and four candles (£45), the woody Mythe fragrance (green cardamom, ginger and vetiver notes) sounds most appealing. Buy it here*. (more…)



The culture of fashion: how the catwalk soundtrack got its groove



Michael Clark Bodymap fashion show - photograph by Robert Rosen courtesy BodyMap

Models! Clothes! Music! Fashion show soundtracks are increasingly part of shaping a brand’s identity. And in the digital era they’re about to become even more important…

The year was 2017. Kim Jones was menswear artistic director at Louis Vuitton. At the appointed hour, his first models sloped onto the Paris runway in iterations of slouchy 80s overcoats, baggy flannel trousers and Basquiat-style suits with untucked shirts. Then the kicker – internet-breaking Speedy holdalls emblazoned with red-and-white Supreme logos. And to add the crucial fourth musical dimension: Honey Dijon’s mix of Sound Factory bangers including Chez Damier’s Can You Feel It (MK Dub), completing the downtown New York nostalgia trip.

Since then, other notable catwalk soundtracks have included LaQuan Smith’s AW23 Ballroom fabulosity-fest; Benji B’s eerie David Lynch-like Chromatics mix for Jil Sander SS25 and Saint Laurent’s long-term music collaboration with DJ SebastiAn – so integral to the brand, they packaged it as a box set and sold it in Saint Laurent stores. (more…)



The Toscani effect



Benetton 1984

Farewell Oliviero Toscani, a brilliant photographer and art director who changed the world through his audacious activism dressed as fashion advertising.

I became aware of him in the 1980s via his vibrant fashion shoots for Benetton using groups of racially diverse, often street cast models in simple studio settings, styled in layers upon layers by (my old boss) Caroline Baker. (more…)