“It’s a photograph dress, not a wearing dress. And that reminds me of a story. This man sold a thousand tins of sardines, and the buyer rang him up and said, ‘I’ve just eaten one of your sardines. It was disgusting,’ and this man said, `You fool, they weren’t eating sardines, they were buying and selling sardines.’”
Michael Chow on Tina Chow’s Fortuny dress, Vogue, 1973 (more…)
Continuing on a books tip, here’s an excellent recommendation if you’re in a creative fug or a chronic procrastinator.
Do Interesting: Notice. Collect. Share* (below) is a highly bookmarkable little companion that suggests unexpected approaches to unlocking creativity. It’s all about seemingly micro actions; paying attention, collecting and sharing.
Author Russell Davies interviewed me for it following a brief email exchange about his fab cool cafes blog. We discovered we had a similar dot-joining approach to creative thinking and he particularly liked the descriptions of my overstuffed scrapbooks.
Do Interesting is genius because you can passively consume it and let the advice seep into your subconscious, or you can actively follow the “Do” takeaways at the end of each page. Or a bit of both. (I just discovered some more scrapbooking intel from Russell here.)
“Rachel Cusk and Zadie Smith have become, in effect, literary brands — once their names are removed from the context of a book’s cover and placed on a hat or a tote bag.” Terry Nguyen, New York Times.
The merch machine refuses to die. In fact, I would argue it’s only just getting started. The New York Times recently published this article on literary merch, explaining the relatively new popularity of #litcore caps (and totes and tees) that show allegiance to revered writers while telegraphing the wearer’s (perceived) intellectual superiority. The Guardian calls this “consuming culture as a performative act”, while comedian Dan Rosen simply calls it “liberal cringe” (ouch #guilty).
It’s also rampant in media, with mainstream and niche publications going all out on taste signallers. (more…)
Interesting to see Soho (London) getting its retail groove back.
I noticed it in the summer with Machine A mark II, Marc Jacobs’ Heaven and Aries (so trendy, I was too intimidated to go inside). Now the niche fashion booksellers are coming back.
Idea Books just announced it’s opening its Wardour Street space to the public. Previously ‘by appointment’ only, it’s expanding to take up a much larger chunk of the building, which is located in the epicentre of Soho. And Isabella Burley’s Climax Books has just opened in Wardour Mews (Thursday-Saturday). Dealing in collectible vintage books and avant-garde erotica respectively, they’re bringing bookish fashionistas back to the beating heart of the city.
In the days when Central Saint Martins was located in Charing Cross Road, all the fashion students would flock to Borders for their expensive style zines (often consumed FOC with a two-hour coffee in Starbs upstairs). (more…)
