Random Recs: ‘Unplugging’, Soshiotsuki x Zara, Spud shoes, TURN Paris and more
A few snippets of digital ephemera and IRL recommendations I’ve enjoyed lately…
1/ Unplug me. I’m never sure if these anti-digital ’trends’ are real or if I’m just seeing them in my echo chamber because I want them to be. Nevertheless, Vogue Business has intel to back up its claim that unplugging ‘has become luxury’s most valuable currency’, reporting that The Global Wellness Summit’s The Future of Wellness trend report named ‘analogue wellness’ as its top trend for 2025. It also reports that 67% of Americans long for the “pre-plugged-in” era, while 79% of US Gen Zs actively aspire to interact more in the physical world. I don’t have an analogue bag (yet) but I’m pro cash and mindful spending – known in Japan as Kakeibo, anti ‘convenience’ apps (that are mostly convenient for making you part with more of your money) and very much of the mindset that the tactility of writing in longhand and reading from a printed page helps me engage my senses, retain information and generate ideas.
2/ SOSHIOTSUKI x ZARA. Zara continues to kill it on the collab front. Launching this week, its Soshiotsuki collection, “A Sense of Togetherness” (below) features menswear, womenswear and childrenswear that references “the textures and emotions of Japan in the 80s and 90s.” Very poetic! Soshiotsuki only recently won the LVMH Prize but is still not a well-known name, so kudos to Zara for giving it this global visibility. More here. In other Zara collab news, Aaron Levine x Zara just dropped, featuring Marie Marot (top) modelling some very tasty men’s knitwear, outerwear and tailoring. Tall ladies, go off!
3/ FYI GLOW RECIPE fans: this Cult Beauty edit* looks very tempting.
4/ Spud shoes. Did I say that proper shoes were making a comeback? Backup a sec! Jacob Gallagher has a piece in the New York Times (gift link) about potato shoes – think Birk Bostons, nasty ungainly Uggs and retro Nike Air Mocs (below, looking surprisingly fresh). I’m not a fan of Croc-adjacent shoes but there’s one potato-esque shoe that’s caught my eye for its Phoebe Philo-style elegance, possibly due to its shiny shiny leather surface and furry in-sole. It’s the Christen Big Booty (below) by designer Nina Christen of Loewe and The Row fame, who Feed Me reveals is opening a Paris store – FYI. The appeal of the Big Booty lies in its luxe, yet comfy demeanour. My podiatrist Joanna insists a wider toe box is essential for keeping bunion-creep at bay and I can see this shoe elevating a cropped wide barrel jean or a Christopher Nemeth ankle skimming pant with a rustic cashmere marl – of course – sock on show. Naturally, I went straight to the NYT comments for extra intel on potato shoes. Did you know the OG Nike Air Moc designed by Steve McDonald was originally presented wrapped in tin foil (lol) and the holes on the side were meant to be fork holes? Gotta love those witty touches.
5/ I enjoyed CAMBRIDGE IMPRINT’S review of SLIGHTLY FOXED, a quarterly reader and publisher of compact books including Terms and Conditions (Ysenda Maxtone-Graham’s recollections of girls’ boarding schools up to the adoption of the duvet) and My Salinger Year (Joanna Rakoff’s account of managing JD Salinger during her time at a 1990s New York literary agency). I’ll add them to my analogue bag…
6/ TURN is open.The TURN Paris vintage showroom (by appointment, below) looks lush. And the website is now open for online orders.
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Zara x Aaron Levine; Soshiotsuki x Zara x 2; Nike Air Moc, Christen; TURN Paris
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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