As Ibiza season kicks in, I’m reposting my article for Faith Fanzine that was originally published in print last summer. It seems the heady, hedonistic days of 80s rave and club culture are never far from a fashion designer’s moodboard. As photographer and former Time Out clubs editor Dave Swindells celebrates his fourth print run of photobook, IBIZA 89 (above), we mused on what the scene symbolised and why it’s an eternal source of style inspo(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…)
Reading about the ubiquity of the New Yorker tote recently got me thinking about the rise of media branded merch.
The New Yorker has just expanded its merch line, allowing its cultured readership to outwardly express their taste and identity. As traditional magazine sales and ad revenues decline, reinforcing the ‘brand’ is a commercial savvy move for media titles. In a timely plot twist, it also effectively lets the reader advertise the magazine, instead of the magazine selling advertising to its readers. “The New Yorker knows that it is now a brand, that it represents a cross-section of a very specific, cultured, informed, democratic public, who knows who they are (or aspires to be) and loves to show it off,” observes NSS Magazine.
In a similar vein, the New York Times has been enjoying its elevated style status, with its logo and ad campaigns being co-opted in recent years by the likes of Etudes and Sacai as part of official collaborations. It reminded me of my 20-something year-old New York Herald Tribune tee. A riff on the cinematic classic worn by Jean Seberg in A Bout de Souffle (top), the combo of gothic nameplate typography and trusted legacy journalism seem particularly resonant right now. (You can actually buy an official copy here, among a variety of NYT-branded fare.)
Some other media brands that have good merch: Monocle, IDEA Books (it kind of counts) and The London Review of Books*, which sells not only a number of chic book bags but branded chocolate and this cool enamel pin too.
And if they’re open to requests, I’d suggest Air Mail (a red and white tote!), the FT (a cute peach sweatshirt?), and Porter magazine (maybe a Sporty & Rich-style logo cap)…
*As I’m wont to do, I was diverted down a Google tunnel while researching links and found this revealing article on the LRB from 2014. The business model is most fascinating!
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: To come, NSS, New York Times
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
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Sometimes I miss classic, old school, old money Louis Vuitton – no bells, no cyber whistles. It takes me back to my old au pairs with their tan-strapped cross body monogrammed bags, belted camel coats and stack heeled boots. (And denim flares, it was the late 70s.) Oh yes, I had very chic au pairs….
