“Access to this world is aspirational and offering a piece of it at a more affordable price point expands the customer base significantly. Now, the casual visitors over the weekend…can say they bought something at Art Basel and can signal their membership in the art tribe.”
Naomi Rea, Artnet News acting editor-in-chief, Vogue Business (more…)
Going anywhere nice this year? If not, perhaps you’d like an olfactory vacation? No, not the classic coconut-and-vanilla beachy blends, but something much more niche and personal.
It’s the era of the hyper-specific location perfume. Rather than Mediterranean colognes and fruity-florals, the latest crop of wanderlust fragrances are landing in far-flung places like Dubai, Tokyo and the Sahara Desert or close-to-home hang-outs like The Woody Office of Daddy and The Bomboneria in Barcelona*. (more…)
Something interesting is happening in the world of streetwear. It’s fixing up, shedding its scrappy roots and going all out for growth. Latest development? In the space of a few weeks, two of its most culty brands have opened retail stores that cement their influence and ambition for mass expansion.
On June 17th, Hypebeast unveiled an impressive new seven-storey HQ-slash-store-slash-event-space in NYC’s Chinatown. Two weeks earlier, Aimé Leon Dore (above and below) opened its London store in the heart of Soho, a two-storey retail destination incorporating a marble-floored café and a VIP private lounge. A sneaker’s throw from Supreme and Stussy, Aimé Leon Dore is a far more refined proposition than these rough and ready rivals. Its branding is more preppie-adjacent than skater kid, yet it speaks to the same youthful demographic. (more…)
Colette may be no more, but I like this olfactory tribute to the OG Paris concept store. Fragrance and lifestyle brand, Lola James Harper has reproduced the classic figgy Colette candle, ‘L’Air de Colette‘ in a newly reconfigured candle and room spray (from £35). It’s the old scent with a new name, ‘213 Rue Saint-Honoré Air‘, so if you’re mourning the demise of one of the best retail destinations of our time, here’s the perfect olfactory memento.
I remember discovering Lola James Harper’s candles in Colette. (more…)
