With the closing of the year upon us, looking back at the rather strange and undeniably eventful period of time that was 2016, there is still one important story that needs to be shared here: the transformation of Amsterdam-based perfume house Abel, which we worked on for most of the last twelve months and eventually was presented to the world at Tenue de Nîmes last month. It is a story that started already at the end of 2015 and on many levels became one of the most gratifying assignments completed in the last few years, period.

Although it is often not the first thing mentioned when speaking on these particular things, for us it was first and foremost of the highest pleasure to experience the kind of confidence in our vision as shown by Abel founder Frances Shoemack, who started her brand with two all-organic perfumes in 2012 and came to us in the winter of last year to redefine a new direction for the future. At that point several new fragrances were being perfected by Abel's 'nose' Isaac Sinclair, which would mark an important new chapter that asked to completely rethink all the existing paradigms. Finding strong inspirational anchor points through the traditional start of our proces; a deep dive into, in this particular case, the world of niche parfums, complemented by for instance the work of British poet T.S. Eliot, having a focus on the experience of time, and subsequently finding a visual language that in the richest way possible would translate the conceptual framework on an aesthetic level — over the course of the months that passed it resulted in a sharply redefined strategy, a rigorous repositioning of the brand and aligned with that new direction a completely restyled identity for the, at this point perfected, five piece collection of elegant natural 'living' fragrances that we coined vita odor. 

With some time passed, we can look back at both the process and the fruits of the work, and it is safe to say: it makes us as proud as anything we initiated ourselves in the past and it was a unique pleasure to have been part of it all. Now it's time the rest of the world finds out about Abel too! [ Continue reading ]

We've been appreciating the ambitious German bag and accessory label TSATSAS since their Aesthetic Habitat collaboration with our friend Ramon Haindl. This month, after presenting it for the first time during Berliner Mode Salon 2016, they return with a new inspirational artistic project named WHERE I END AND YOU BEGIN, which will be on display at the TSATSAS atelier in Frankfurt am Main through the end of January 2017. In every single one of their designs Esther Schulze-Tsatsas and Dimitrios Tsatsas, explore an object’s boundaries. Their bags and accessories, produced using precise patterns, are made up of countless individual pieces which are assembled using in a complex production process to create a coherent piece.

In the project, the color of the leather becomes a medium for highlighting the transitions within the bags and accessories. Until this moment all TSATSAS leather designs have been monochrome, hiding the fact that the products are made up of different sections. Using different colors for the various elements highlights that diversity, rendering the boundaries suddenly visible. Boundaries, either called for by the design, as with the LUCID tote bag, where different shades of leather come together in the front and back, or are set by the basis of aesthetic considerations, as with the HAZE clutch bag. The space in which the subject is addressed and the designs presented is a solid cube lined with leather. Other pieces that were involved in the project are the iconic FLUKE, cardholder CREAM TYPE 2, clutch bag HAZE and two other bags, LINDEN and LUCID, all featuring two contrasting shades of high-grade natural leather, which with all TSATSAS products is tanned in South Germany. The pieces created for WHERE I END AND YOU BEGIN are one-offs and do not form part of the collection — very inspirational stuff! [ Continue reading ]

Last Saturday, one of our favorite Amsterdam-based galleries; The Ravestijn Gallery, opened a new show by Dutch collage artist Ruth van Beek named 'The Situation Room', which we feel ends a very interesting year of exhibitions, following other favorite shows by Vincent Fournier and Robin de Puy. The work of van Beek originates in her ever-growing archive. The images, mainly from old photo books, are her tools, source material and context. By folding, cutting, or adding pieces of painted paper, she rearranges and manipulates the image until her interventions reveal the universe that lay within them.

With her imagery, van Beek triggers the imagination of the viewer: passive human hands are animated, objects turn into characters, and abstract shapes come to life. The original image may have been taken out of context, but the familiar imagery –the formal photography of an instruction book, a clearly displayed object, or a staged action– remains recognizable, and thus speaks to our collective memory. Contrasting elements engage in conversation in van Beek’s work: the dead past coming to life; the literal and the abstract; displaying and concealing expressively; both the limitation and the endless possibility of an archive. Hereby, van Beek joins a new generation of artists that, by finding restriction in closed archives, offer a counterweight to the limitless availability of information. The constant organization of the world around her even gets a literal representation in van Beek’s work: the rearranging hands of instruction books appear and reappear, like a self-portrait of the artist as a creator. [ Continue reading ]

We've been appreciating the work and creative vision of Berlin-based duo Jacob Klein and Nathan Cowen, better known as Haw-Lin Services, for many years and last month they returned —after last Summer's exhibition 'Shows You' at the HVW8 Gallery— with another inspirational project. Created in collaboration with a second duo we hold in high regard; Geckeler Michels and Schroeder Rauch, the Haw-Lin guys were responsible for the complete redesign of Berlin's reopened No74 store, which became adidas’ first select store worldwide when it opened its doors in 2008, followed by Parisian No48 in 2013. The new vision for the Berlin store brings a fresh elan, combining clean displays in sharp lines in a toned down color palette, complemented with floating linear lighting that both represents Haw-Lin and adidas perfectly — resulting in a rich minimalist space with beautiful silent details, which above all puts focus on what's on display: the broad variety of different lines being designed under the adidas umbrella.  [ Continue reading ]

When we spoke to April77 and Satisfy founder Brice Partouche last October, he promised that the coming third collection of his new subversive movement in athletic gear would embody the complete ambition that formed the incentive to start the new endeavor, launched about a year ago. Despite taking up a rather unique position in the existing field of performance-focussed running apparel from the very beginning, in his own words; the first two collections still missed something, whether that be in the cultural references infused in them or the high performance elements, being as strong a component in the Satisfy products as all the other brands doing running gear.

Like everything else beautiful in life, the next level to be found in the Spring/Summer 2017 collection —in stores very soon— lays in the details, both when it comes to the individual pieces as which ambition the new designs overal represent. The new collection still finds itself aesthetically akin to the earlier designs, but the extreme refinement presents the high future ambition for the brand. With Partouche referring to Martin Margiela as a key inspiration for what Satisfy could be, the way space blankets (used to warm up marathonrunners after the race) have become part of the collection, still fitting the overal punk aesthetic, honors the high stakes inspiration in an ambitious, elegant manner and exemplifies the extraordinary vision where Partouche wants to take Satisfy in the future. (Which can't be said for most people that currently find their 'inspiration' in the work of the genius Belgian visionary...)

We can only look forward where Partouche will take Satisfy, the soon to be released collection can only lead to more greatness, taking up a unique and highly ambitious position in the running universe, which we find a lot of inspiration in and therefore applaud loudly. [ Continue reading ]

The official opening is tonight, but the very first solo-exhibition of the talented British photographer Harley Weir at Foam in Amsterdam has been open for the public since the 2nd of December and we had a chance to see it for ourselves this week. It marks an important step in the rise of the 28-year-old, who has been receiving international acclaim and a growing attention in the last years, after kick starting her career at age 17, when she shot her first fashion editorial for Vice UK. Although presentation-wise the exhibition at Foam isn't the best thing we have ever seen, the curation of the imagery shows the incredible talent of Weir, far transcending the specific subject-matter, showing an intriguing coherent body — undisputedly making her one of the most interesting voices in contemporary photography.

The title of the exhibition, 'Boundaries' refers to what is ultimately dissolved in the work of the photographer. But even as she crosses the lines of what usually holds people apart, on personal as well as political levels she is not out to make any statements. The exhibition therefore reads, as Weir specifically intended it, as a visual poem, open to interpretation. The exhibition shows a mix of Weir’s ethereal portraiture with still life images and reportage work in Israel, India, Jordan and the series that struck us deeply when we encountered it on Dazed some weeks ago: the haunting depictions of the temporary homes at the refugee camps of Calais. Whatever it is in front of her lens, Weir always seems to get to its essence by framing that what seems to speak to her most, creating captivating visual narratives that stick. [ Continue reading ]

Although we aren't big basketball aficionados, when Justin Montag (Editor-in-Chief), Chris Dea (Art Director) and Brock Batten (Business Development) launched FRANCHISE magazine six months ago, a complete new perspective on the sport opened up to us. With the current state of basketball publications still being dominated by high definition, high gloss visuals, the trio found inspiration for their magazine in the European independent magazine equivalents from the world of football, who for some years now have brought a much needed contemporary vision to the traditional world of that sport, which FRANCHISE aims to introduce for basketball. Last month, marked the highly anticipated presentation of their second issue, after successfully finding a significant audience since April. The incredible new edition follows up on the debut of the magazine in the best possibly way, showing a next level in the creation of a distinct, artistic visual language and content-wise featuring an interview with legendary NBA fan James Goldstein, a fashion collaboration between Phil Oh & Kalen Hollomon, features on Stephen Baker, Sporting Life and a series named the 'Pixel Hall of Fame', amongst others.

Make sure to pick up and support this unique and exiting voice in the world of basketball. [ Continue reading ]