This Abandoned School became his Personal Mansion (but you’re invited)

Okay, this probably sounds creepier than it really is. In Japan’s Iya Valley, considered one of the country’s most beautiful but unexplored regions, a remote elementary school was abandoned for nearly a decade, before Yohei Aoki came along and made it his home. Since 2017, the former office worker has also been welcoming off-beat travellers…

Where Is Surrealism Going in These Strange-and-Uncertain Times?

Traditionally, Surrealism is born from confrontation. Confrontation of war, gender norms, existentialism – you name it, Salvador Dali probably addressed it with a melting clock. Given that the 20th century movement emerged from this unflinching dive into the human experience as psyche, we started wondering: where has Surrealism taken us in 2020? In the midst…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DXX)

1. The “Witch’s House” in its original location on a Hollywood studio lot. Moved to Beverly Hills in the 1930s, now a private home. CNN has a great tour inside the house with the current owner. 2. How Wes Anderson Is So Good At “Stealing” Scenes From Other Movies 3. This Fashion Historian’s Humorous DIY…

The Last Thing Paris Needs is an “Emily in Paris”

“I thought we were past this. I thought we’d moved on from Blair Waldorf’s Gossip Girl-era fantasies of Paris.” A link to the trailer of Netflix’s upcoming show, Emily in Paris, had just been pasted into a long-running group text amongst my circle of well-seasoned, apéro-loving thirty-something ex-pat friends in Paris. The discussion was open…

I Accidentally Accumulated the World’s Largest Archive of ’80s Esprit Merch

Ask any ’80s and ’90s kid at heart, and they’ll tell you: Esprit just did it right. The colour-blocking sportswear, the street-casted campaigns, the cutting-edge collaborations with designers that defined the ’80s. Even the brand’s commitment to environmentalism was so ahead of its time. “Esprit was an ethos,” says Michelle Koza, the woman behind the largest…

An Ode to what they call “Duck Architecture”

Now I know. Did you? There’s an official name for all those kitschy roadside buildings shaped like the merchandise they’re selling. Most popular in the 1920s and 30s, giant coffee pots, hot dogs, ice cream cones, beer barrels, farm animals and other eye-catching buildings sprang up along the roadside, competing for the attention of passing…

The Strange Anatomy of ABBA’s Infamous (Tax Deductible) Wardrobe

What do house cats, Euro pop, and the ingenious tax savvy have in common? Owe Sandström, that’s who. As the flamenco-dancing-zoologist-designer behind the costumes of ABBA, Sandström certainly played his part in helping the Swedish supergroup reach fame in the 1970s – where they have remained ever since. In fact, a deeper dive into the…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DXIX)

1. A 350 year old pocket watch carved from a single Colombian emerald, found hidden in a London Cellar For almost 300 years a buried treasure lay undisturbed below one of London’s busiest streets. Discovered by workmen in 1912, the Cheapside Hoard is the greatest single collection of Elizabethan and Stuart jewellery in the world.…

13 Reasons New York isn’t Dead (& Could Never Be)

No matter the circumstance, “life finds a way” in New York City, to quote the wise words of Jurassic Park. This city always had an almost reptilian talent for regeneration, from the Great Depression to the rough ‘n tumble 1980s to that fateful day on September 11th. Now, Covid-19 is the latest crisis to put…

The Vault

The Paris September Guide for La Rentrée 2020

September, which Parisians call La Rentrée, is in our opinion, one of the best months of the year. It’s when Paris comes alive again after the summer drought, everyone’s back from their holidays with a golden glow and eager to mingle. It’s more important than ever to get out into the city and support our local…

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