Amsterdam-based luxury travel bag brand Travelteq is one of those brands we have had a very close relationship with for the last half decade, both online in our writings as in the real world. Following a string of shared projects - like visiting the Travelteq factory in 2011 - we are very proud to present the latest and largest collaboration in which we worked together to redefine the strategy, rebuild the brand and restyle the complete identity. In the new vision for Travelteq a direct-to-consumer model is introduced. Key in this new ecosystem is the cutting out of the middlemen, through which Travelteq is able to eliminate high markups - passing the savings to the customers, offering highest quality handcrafted Italian bags and accessories at a revolutionary price point. In line with this new direction an updated aesthetic for the communication of the brand Travelteq was created and introduced in all its different elements on the newly launched website. [ Continue reading ]

We recently became familiar with the new optical brand BLYSZAK eyewear, which was conceived in London a year ago after one year of researching the global market and developing a specific frame shape. The core ethos to the new brand is creating from a clean aesthetic and with a sincere quality. Powder-coating, grade-A steel and laser-cut hand-polished horn by-product come together to form a signature collection comprising of one remarkable style in seven variations. Creative director of the brand; Andrew Blyszak worked with the highly inspirational London manufacturer, and creator of one of our favorite horn models out there; Edward Gucewicz, to create the very first 'Collection I', which we feel shows great promise for BLYSZAK eyewear to become a consistent inspirational name in the world of optics. Keep an eye out on this new brand from London! [ Continue reading ]

Although the current summer in The Netherlands granted us a fair share of sunshine already, like every year in the lowlands we can't get away from a hefty rain shower now and then. The field of elegant choices when it comes to rainwear for these kind of days has expanded significantly over the last few years and Copenhagen-based RAINS has been one of the brands in that field which we have been following since it was founded in 2012. The new Autumn/Winter 2015 collection shows everything what the brand has been setting apart since it arrived: understated sophistication and technical fabrication, sharp cut modern raincoats in different lengths and colors and an extraordinary 100% waterproof bag collection - which we particularly appreciate. [ Continue reading ]

We recently became familiar with the Amsterdam-based REE PROJECTS, a young fashion brand developing collections for a women's wardrobe with a main focus on pure, refined timeless pieces with an edge. Having just stepped out in the world with a sharp and clean breakout collection which we really like. The brand has been inspired by a 'lost & found' suitcase found at the Dutch railway station many years ago. The suitcase and its contents - a stranger's wardrobe - are the conceptual starting point for both the REE PROJECTS brand and each individual design, be it now or in the future. The suitcase symbolizes the brand's journey and the new collection of bags is the first step. We really like REE PROJECTS highly potential debut collection and accompanying imagery and look forward what the future will bring us from this new name. [ Continue reading ]

We really like the latest project of Norwegian Rain's co-founder, and one of our favorite people working in fashion; the immaculate T-Michael, who joint forces with Dutch optics specialist Ralph Vaessen in a collaboration which was officially launched yesterday at Pitti Uomo. Both T-Michael and Vaessen have a distinct sense of elegant stand-out style and a sincere love for luxurious craftsmanship and after a chance meeting their new creative enterprise was born. The result is a capsule collection of one model; simplistic yet tantalizing for the pure at heart and the lover of devilish detailing. Named 'Raphael', the extraordinary glasses are produced by hand in Germany of natural horn - the material of choice for most of Ralph Vaessen's models and a clear favorite of ourselves as wel - and comes in four color ways: ivory, slate, grey, ebony and chocolate.  [ Continue reading ]

After introducing the CUAP shirt in December of 2014, this month our good friend Sergei Sviatchenko has introduced a new addition to the collection of his Private Classicist label, slowly evolving into a complete range of products created from the roots of his signature Close Up And Private art/style platform. Sergei found another perfect like-minded partner - sharing a sincere passion for modern classics and clean aesthetics - in the Danish accessories specialist Mismo. A company which has been a favorite of ours since we first encountered their beautiful products in 2009, and we have been appreciating their output for years, making it a dream collaboration. A very limited capsule collection of 25 pieces of 2 designs, created by Sergei and Mismo out of one of the most iconic styles by Mismo; the M/S Shopper. The Mismo staple piece was adorned with a photography and a collage artwork in signature Close Up And Private style, applied on an incredible Blue/Black and a Grey/Cuoio version, individually embossed with numbers. We can't wait for more incredible Private Classicist pieces. [ Continue reading ]

When looking back on the last ten years in  fashion, there has been one brand in particular that has been consistently performing at the highest level -  successfully claiming the position of pushing the envelope, both through their collections as in their communication. A role which seemed rather unlikely when Jonny Johansson and his friends Tomas Skoging, Jesper Kouthoofd and Mats Johansson founded ACNE in 1996 to create a line of jeans for friends and family. The Stockholm-based company produced its first full collection in 1998, and became a separate entity - as Acne Studios - in 2006. Always making bold choices both in their creations as in the new leading endeavors which were started, with the 'Acne Paper' project having a major influence on ourselves. Last week, 19 years after its foundation Acne Studios continues to expand its collections by introducing its first complete eyewear collection, with a focus on color and shape for both frames and lenses - in signature Acne style. Seven styles have just debuted in the 29 Acne Studios stores worldwide, making it another constructive move for the brand to stay on top in the next decade. [ Continue reading ]

Recently we became familiar with the Barcelona-based Gabriela Coll Garments. The interesting new project by the Spanish Gabriella Coll focuses on the way of dressing and the value of garments, while working through Series. Each Series is the result of concrete imagery, they do not follow any season or have a fixed number of pieces, and are always permanent. Serie No. 1 is composed of 15 pieces: consisting of garments for men and women, bags, accessories and footwear, marked by the transcendence of time, the way they sit on the body and the nobility of the materials – with everything, from the accessories to the clothes being hand-made. In many ways the project reminds us strongly - aesthetically, in the communication as in the motivations - of the now defunct Maison Martin Margiela or Ines Kaag's Bless, but a wise man once said that originality died with the eruption of the internet, making Gabriela Coll Garments in our eyes a perfect example of a great new interpretation of existing ideas, very much in line with the current zeitgeist. [ Continue reading ]

We are very inspired by LTAF ORIGIN. A design and craft research project by Jorinde Meline Barke, creator of label J-M-B JEWELRY, and Frank Michels, co-initiator at the great Berlin-based industrial design studio GECKELER MICHELS. The outcome of the project is a set of four different jewelry pieces implemented in an ancient indian lost-wax casting technique called Dhokra. During preliminary research, anthropological literature led to Dr. Jaidev Baghels’ workshop in Kondagaon — in the city of Chhattisgarh, India — a renowned hotspot for Dhokra. The jewelry pieces were crafted on site under Frank Michels' assistance with both primitive and thoroughly fascinating means. Dr. Jaidev Baghels’ son Buphendra Baghel played a decisive role with leading the making and his team of skilled workers. The seemingly simple process turned out to be a complex and almost alchemistic affair, reminiscent of the Bronze Age’s enormous power of technical and social revolution. Into operation came materials such as sulfur yellow beeswax and black industrial paraffin way, river bed mudd, cow dung and earth from termite’s nests. Remains from used brass vessels were being recycled, and two hens were sacrificed in order to arouse a succesful casting operation. [ Continue reading ]

Berlin-based Lunettes Kollektion translates iconic frames from fashion history to create modern classics. Designer and founder, Uta Geyer’s, philosophy stems from the concept of honoring the past while living in the now. As child of an artistic family Geyer regularly tagged along with her sculptor father on trips through thousands of museums and historical buildings, training her eye for shape and form. In 2006, Geyer opened the Lunettes Selection store in Berlin, which quickly gained a large following. Lunettes also developed as a go-to source for theater, television, and film productions, as well as fashion shoots, and its global following grew among those in-the-know thanks to Geyer’s online shop. In 2009 Geyer opened a second Lunettes Selection shop and launched the premier collection for Lunettes Kollektion, blending a fashion-forward thinking with the annals of style. Recent collaborations with rising names in fashion like Louise Gray, James Long, ODEEH, Christopher Shannon and Michael van der Ham show the brand's deep connection with the best European design, promising a lot for the future. Make sure to keep an eye on the brand. [ Continue reading ]

We have been fans of the American-Japanese brand Postalco for many years now, also including some of their incredible products in our selection for Our Current Obsessions Nº 1 – NOIR. Last month the inspirational people of Postalco presented an extraordinary new collection of stationery and leather items inspired by the work of the artist Alexander Calder and developed in close collaboration with the Calder Foundation. Postalco was founded in Brooklyn in 2000, but soon moved to Tokyo, where they produce all their products from traditional Japanese craftsmanship, with every colorway of this particular collection carefully selected from those found in the artist’s work. After a visit to the Calder Foundation archives in New York, which contains more than 26.000 historic photographs, dozens of films, and over 130.000 documents covering all aspects of the artist’s life, Postalco discovered the artist’s lesser-known works, including jewelry, textiles, and domestic objects. Inspired by the way Calder erased boundaries between established genres, the resulting collection offers a unique glimpse into the prolific life of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century in an utmost elegant manner. [ Continue reading ]

Since the beginning of this year we have been working on some new, very exciting projects, among which is a little trip into the world of optics. A discipline far too complex to enter without proper experience, therefore we’ve combined forces with our good friend Bijan Azami, who has 33 years of experience under his belt. The last 12 years of this period he has been running Azami Optiek in the Dutch city of The Hague. In this period Bijan and his team at Azami have been passionate about finding those glasses that perfectly reflect the personality of the person wearing it. Every frame sold at Azami Optiek is custom made or selected to accentuate the contours of one’s face to perfection with designs that powerfully express inner and outer beauty, through the immaculate combination of craftsmanship and fashion. [ Continue reading ]

We really like the new Australia-based headwear brand named Past Present, which was launched this summer in July, and is inspired by the name itself, merging the old school dapper of the past with the present day modern man. Pair that with the relaxed culture of its city of origin, Perth and you are left with an effortless range of premium headwear. Past Present’s first collection was a selection of five and six panel caps, focusing on quality materials and details. The materials used are a mixture of tweeds and wool sourced from Ireland and produced in New Zealand. Finding a common interest in quality and old school style, Past Present also collaborated with the famous Ebbets Field to create a six panel ballcap to help debut their first collection which shows great promise for the years to come. [ Continue reading ]

Since the moment lifestyle brand GERTRUD & GEORGE came to our attention, we knew we wanted to find a way in seriously cooperating with such a like-minded brand. After a couple of months we found the right context and to our great pride GERTRUD & GEORGE became the main collaborator of Our Current Obsessions Nº 1 – NOIR. The inspirational brand is the brainchild of the very gifted Nick F. Cerutti. Founded in 2001 to serve bespoke and semi-bespoke purposes prominently in Japan to begin with, GERTRUD & GEORGE nurtures an intrinsic sense of equilibrium between aesthetics, function and execution in order to conceive pristine high-end goods. Since 2011 Nick and his partner Mathieu Annen have shifted their focus towards accessories and bags, which resulted in a perfect jet-black line named The Esquire Suite, consisting of 7 models which come in three different sizes and varying river buffalo grains and depths. Being highly inspired by Nick's tremendous history, his current work with GERTRUD & GEORGE and his overall vision, we've asked him some questions on his inspirations in life. [ Continue reading ]

The beautiful leather brand ro was founded in New York City in 1999 by architect Gene Miao and apparel designer Yvonne Roe. With the brand they wanted to reflect the unique energy and character of the East Village in Manhattan, while actively adapting to the expectations of metropolitan life. Through its clean silhouettes and quality workmanship, ro soon became available at prestigious stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys in Tokyo, among others. Despite this success changes would occur in the company over the years, with both founders leaving separately. Gene left in 2005 and established 1:1, an architecture and interior design practice in Hong Kong. But in 2012, Gene was invited to rejoin ro as the design director. After witnessing the wasteful demolition of building and interior sites in his work for 1:1, Gene has developed a keen environmental awareness. The architect-designer now identifies both raw materials and former fixtures to reclaim and recycle into reborn furniture. Similarly, ro handbags that become visibly worn from use can be refurbished, retouched and restored into timeless fashion items. [ Continue reading ]

We are extremely proud to elaborately present lifestyle brand GERTRUD & GEORGE: the main collaborator in the very first Our Current Obsession named NOIR. The brand which is the brainchild of the very gifted Nick F. Cerutti, is a tribute to Gertrude Stein and George Sand, whose lives and respective bodies of work never ceased to redefine the art of writing and one's perception of gender. Founded in 2001 to serve bespoke and semi-bespoke purposes prominently in Japan to begin with, GERTRUD & GEORGE nurtures an intrinsic sense of equilibrium between aesthetics, function and execution in order to conceive pristine high-end goods. Since 2011 Nick and his partner Mathieu Annen have shifted their focus towards accessories and bags, which resulted in a perfect jet-black line named The Esquire Suite, consisting of 7 models which come in three different sizes and varying river buffalo grains and depths. [ Continue reading ]

Once again our friend Sergei Sviatchenko returns with a very interesting project. After starting Close Up and Private in 2009 as an online art project in which he shared his collage-like photographic vision on style, it quickly rose to fame for both this created aesthetic as Sergei's own impeccable style, which gained him personally a lot of rightful attention. Based on this fundament of Close Up and Private, Sergei now decided to take his endeavors one step further, in a concept which features continuing collaborations with an international rage of heritage brands and skilled craftsmen. With the new project, named Private Classicist, Sergei aims to create a solid range of classic menswear items that verges on pushing the boundaries of current minimalist fashion towards the classic style championed by Sergei himself and his work. [ Continue reading ]

The Italy-based jewelry label Loha Vete, which was founded by Max Zubari in 2012, is inspired by crime, by taking this rather large associative concept and creating unique and beautifully crafted items in their italian atelier. We still particularly love their most recent, and possibly final, Autumn/Winter 2013 collection which includes a skeleton hand ashtray, a smashed glass bracelet and a bootlace knuckle duster. The equally striking lookbook depicts illustrated people wearing the jewelry, perfectly conveying an aesthetic connotated to crime, which was created by the Paris-based fashion designer and illustrator Evelina Romano. [ Continue reading ]

It's been a while coming, but good ideas sometimes need time, and the latest by the J. Panther Luggage Co. is again of our highest liking. Their all new 3-way carry RollTote brings modern functionality and refinement, to the classic, utilitarian roll-top backpack. To the standard ruc mode two additional, flexible carry options were added: removable, fully adjustable leather shoulder straps attach via ‘O’ ring for ruc carry, with the option to re-attach one of these straps across the top of the bag for tote-style use. A leather side handle, meanwhile, offers the third option of hand carry. Precise positioning of straps and handle ensures optimum weight distribution and comfort for all physiques; like the reinforced base these are crafted from premium Horween leather that is highly durable and ages beautifully. The RollTote comes in the colors Black, Olive and Sand in J. Panther's signature 21oz lightly waxed, water-resistant canvas promising the RollTote to see you through the heaviest storm. [ Continue reading ]

We love this beautiful collaboration between German fine leather house TSATSAS and photographer Ramon Haindl, initiated by Aesthetics Habitat. The project is the latest endeavor from Aesthetics Habitat's motivation to stimulate independent creation of genuine content in cooperation with brands and creative visionaries. And this particular collaboration is even coming from a like-minded neighbourhood as both, photographer Ramon Haindl and fine leather craftsmen TSATSAS, live and work in Frankfurt am Main. Subtle structures and a high level of attention to the characteristics of surface invite you to observe the fundamental significance of skin without the disturbance of color. A sensitive ensemble of details and protagonists embracing a simply perfect product. Creative Direction on the project was done by our friends of Deutsche & Japaner, completing the line-up of creatives perfectly. [ Continue reading ]

We really appreciated the last parcel of luxury subscription service Svbscription. What was already the eighth parcel stood for timelessness, quality and a respect for function: all things that iconic pieces have in common. A parcel of classics, focussed on enhancing the style and home of each recipient. The entranceway, coffee table, bar and closet were all considered within the curation. Creating classics meant challenging the Svbscription collaborators to push their own practice in new directions. The brief was to revere the old, but create something new. This resulted in the fact that Australian industrial design duo Daniel Emma designed a set of marble coasters cut from the finest Italian and Spanish marble. Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert, the French glass artist best known for one-off large-scale sculptures, crafted individually hand blown whiskey glasses. Bespoke tailor Paul Marlow made an elegant tie, bow tie and scarf, and The Paris Review provided some dignified reading material. In our eyes a great set of modern classics was created living up to the high standard Svbscription has already set for itself. [ Continue reading ]

Recently we came across this beautiful and inspirational project by the Bergen, Norway-based Of and With Studios. They recently released a collection of leather bags crafted from the last batch of leathers ever tanned on Osterøy Island, Norway. The project started in the summer of 2010, when they met Erling Teigland, initially to find out if there were grounds for a collaboration. Erling had worked at the Borge tannery since he came out of high school in 1970. Unfortunately only months after the first meeting between Of and With and Erling, he had his last day at work, because the world-renowned tannery was forced to shut its doors. The company that had been tanning since 1889, quietly supplying the finest names in high-end goods, from Louis Vuitton and Hermès to entire African royal families was no more. This moment sparked the ambition to start a journey to honor sincere and joyful craftsmen like Erling and the fine tradition that Borge represented. A journey that continued on to eventually become the first in-house lifestyle brand by Of and With Studios named Ætt. [ Continue reading ]

We love the amazing still life campaign featuring Linda Farrow's Spring/Summer 2014 icons, shot by the highly talented Belgian photographer Frederik Vercruysse in a collaboration with art direction studio Uber en Kosher. Vercruysse is most known for his minimalistic, but highly stylized photography and former collaborations with Filip Dujardin. For the seasonal pieces shot by Vercruysse, Linda Farrow draws inspiration from cosmetic pastels and a new-found love for the eclectic stylish Seventies, creating a diverse and adventurous exploration of fashion eyewear. The constant elements are the hyper-luxe materials including snakeskin and gold, superlative finish and fashion-forward shapes Linda Farrow has become renowned for. The campaign showcases the LFL306 model, crafted from yellow gold and ash snakeskin frame teamed with gold plated lens, and the LFL300, made out of rose gold and its amazing mocha snakeskin frame teamed with a rose gold lens. [ Continue reading ]

Berlin-based ic! berlin produces beautiful and unique screwless sheet-metal glasses, which are crafted by hand in Germany's capital. With their signature clip-on hinge system all the glasses by ic! berlin feature a hinge, which holds together both frame and temple with a detachable clip totally free of screws. Therefore all glasses can be disassembled and reassembled individually. Next to the clip-on system ic! berlin has also found an extremely flexible steel for their frames, which added up with the hinge system turn the glasses into small unbreakable objects. A very convenient solution for a lot of people, with a lot of glasses being well-designed, but very fragile. For founder Ralph Anderl his glasses combine ideas and perfectionism: the glasses are elementary and naked, in the same way they are as much off the wall as they are suitable for everyday use. [ Continue reading ]