Three styles from the British bike bag company Malle London's new Smoke collection.Credit
Thanks to their fathers’ love of motorcycling, cousins Jonathan Cazzola and Robert Nightingale both picked up an affinity for riding at a young age while growing up in the British countryside just outside of London.
By the time they hit their 20s, they had become accomplished riders who had completed long-distance trips across Europe and India — and realized over drinks one night on the Lower East Side that the state of luggage
for motorcycles wasn’t up to their standards. “You could either go with really cheap, plastic nylon bags and find ways to strap it to the bike, or you go S&M, leather daddy, studded, kinky, that direction,”
Nightingale says. “When you’re two British guys with a Triumph Bonneville, that doesn’t really cut it.”
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Malle London's founders, cousins Jonathan Cazzola (left) and Robert Nightingale.Credit
So they created Malle London — named after the French word for a tool chest or traveling trunk — a line of bags handcrafted in the British capital from waxed canvas and bridle
leather that can be used by motorcyclists and bicyclists. Their first bag was made so that it could be easily strapped to a bike; the cousins, who have backgrounds in branding, design and digital marketing, have since created
more styles that can easily transition from the bike to the boardroom. Their new line of backpacks, totes, weekenders and messenger bags, called the Smoke Collection — after London’s nickname during the Industrial
Revolution, the Big Smoke — is now exclusively available stateside at Barneys. Next up for Cazzola and Nightingale is a true test of Malle London’s durability: a 37-day, 6,000-mile cross-country expedition
on two Triumph motorcycles from New York to Los Angeles, where they’ll visit like-minded craftsmen across North America.
Sean Knibb has emerged as a key stakeholder in the Los Angeles design scene for his quirky, slightly surreal elevation of everyday materials, both indoors and out. Now, fans of his environmental design work — which includes,
most famously, the industrial-chic Line hotel in Koreatown —
can take home a piece of his sensibility at Knibb’s first retail space, Flowerboy Project, opening Saturday adjacent to the Knibb Design studio in Venice, Calif. Like
many lifestyle stores in the neighborhood, the space includes a selection of design, fashion and beauty goods — but is anchored by a daily selection of fresh-cut blooms (bouquets come prearranged in jars in sizes
small, medium and large).
The concept was inspired by Knibb’s grandmother’s flower shop in his native Jamaica as well as his recent experiences as a jet-setting designer. “In Paris and New York, random bodegas have killer flowers
— you just take one and go,” he says. “I wanted to have that same feeling, whether it’s coffee or pastry or an object.” A cafe serving Vittoria espresso, Sugarbloom Bakery treats and Madame
Monsieur sandwiches invites locals to become regulars. And Knibb tapped his friends Raan (co-founder of the fair-trade-focused men’s wear brand Apolis) and Lindsay Parton
(of the Arts District boutique Alchemy Works) to curate an assortment of gifts and wearables — African textiles, Rodin fragrance, jewelry by the celebrated local architecture firm Marmol Radziner — to complement
Knibb’s own furniture and object designs. “In some ways it’s indicative of the spirit of Venice — a patchwork of places and people, high and low,” Raan Parton says. “That’s
what’s kind of dynamic about L.A. right now.”
Andrew Zobler, the man behind the NoMad in Manhattan, took cues from the busy, 24-hour neighborhood to create the Line hotel, its two restaurants, bakery and nightclub.
From left: Looks from Jan-Jan Van Essche's Project #3 collection, available July 18 at Dover Street Market New York; the designer.Credit Pietro Celestina
“The thing that I really love to put in my clothes is a feeling of being at ease – I don’t like the obstruction of too many details and hard shapes,” says the Belgian designer Jan-Jan Van Essche of
his eponymous line of beautifully crafted, understated men’s wear – which includes everything from supersoft marled blazers to linen-blend drawstring trousers. “I hope my designs give a physical feeling
of freedom. We have our own shop in Antwerp, and I notice that when people wear the clothes for the first time, they start moving and almost dancing in front of the mirror.”
This Saturday, Van Essche makes his latest tiptoe into New York, putting his dance-inducing clothes into a new season installation at Dover Street Market New York. (His line
is already carried by Opening Ceremony, and will soon land at ODD, too.) A designer who was born, bred and trained in Antwerp, Van Essche himself is a good fit for the visionary Dover Street Market: He’s a confident
nonconformist. Right now his brand is about to launch Project #3; in spring 2016 you’ll be able to buy Collection #6. If this terminology sounds unfamiliar, it’s because Van Essche has developed his own seasonal
framework. The annual Collections are launched every spring; as he sees them, they’re about building a comprehensive wardrobe of layers. The annual Projects, on the other hand – launched every fall –
are inspired by particular techniques. The first, in 2013, centered around patchwork, the second around Sakiori hand-weaving, and the third – around which his DSM installation will be built – will focus on
rope and yarn-weaving. “With each Project, I focus on one detail or one way of working,” he says. “In my head it’s a totally different way of designing.”
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Looks from Jan-Jan Van Essche's Collection #6 (Spring/Summer 2016).Credit Pietro Celestina
One gets the sense that Van Essche is a designer who approaches his craft as a never-ending study, but you don’t have to be seeking an intellectual experience to get hooked on the clothes. “I want the wearer to
fall in love with the pieces they buy,” he concludes. “They don’t really need to know the backstory.” Van Essche wants men wearing his clothes to feel the way women feel in summer dresses: light
and unburdened. “I experienced that myself when I made my first jumpsuit: You have one piece, one action and you’re done,” he says. “So I try to design things that give this feeling, but look
fit for the city.”
Jan-Jan Van Essche’s Project #3 launches in-store on July 18 at Dover Street Market New York, 160 Lexington Avenue, newyork.doverstreetmarket.com.
The designers behind TenThousandThings, David Rees and Ron Anderson, didn’t just set up shop in a new address — moving out of a Meatpacking storefront and into a TriBeCa studio and showroom late last month —
but also expanded their inventory to include more than just jewelry (despite their already cult following). They’ve stayed true to their all-natural-everything ethos, adding organic pieces for the home (wooden chairs,
glass sculptures, clay pottery), indie fragrances for the body and various accessories, like leather goods, that embody the TenThousandThings spirit. Many were created in collaboration with longtime friends, and everything
feels right at home in the earth-toned interiors. Here, a look at 10 items from the the brand’s new outpost, where the floor and shelves are made, naturally, of neatly stacked bricks.
The Nike MTM includes the company's first and most recent Air Jordan models: the Air Jordan I, at right, and Air Jordan XX9, respectively.Credit
What do you give to the man who has everything — no, really, everything, including a bowling alley in his house? Nike has an answer that’s hard to top: When President Obama visited the company’s
world headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., earlier this month, he was the first person on Earth to receive the soon-to-be-released MTM, a new two-pair pack Nike is releasing in June in celebration of 30 years of Air Jordan.
MTM is named for the three men who designed the two pairs in collaboration: Nike C.E.O. Mark Parker and designer Tinker Hatfield and, of course, Michael Jordan himself. “The MTM is a great way to celebrate the 30th
anniversary of the Air Jordan franchise,” Jordan says of the collaboration. “It was a lot of fun to work with Tinker Hatfield and Mark Parker on reimagining two of the best shoes we have ever created.”
The MTM bookends the history of the world’s most recognizable sneaker: It contains a pair of Air Jordan I, the silhouette first released in 1985, and a pair of Air Jordan XX9, the most recent model released last fall.
The Jordan I shoes have been updated with FlyWeave construction in black and gray, while the XX9s have been reimagined in sleek black leather. “Tinker and I had been talking for some time about doing a Jordan project
together and there wasn’t a more powerful way to do it than by working with Michael himself,” Parker says. “We’re already working on the next MTM project, which will push Jordan to a new place.”
A pair to complement Hillary Clinton’s pantsuit tee, perhaps?
The two-pair MTM release, $700, will be available June 13 at Nike Lab P75 in Paris and June 26 at jordan.com and select Jordan retailers.
Toogood introduces its second collection, a nod to blue-collar workers, stateside at the Tiina boutique in East Hampton.Credit Osma Harvilahti
“We hereby reject and reprehend the cruel diktats of the discredited fashionista treadmill,” reads the brand manifesto for Toogood, the clothing line created by the British designer Faye Toogood and her younger
sister, the Savile Row-trained pattern cutter and fashion designer Erica Toogood. Like the elder Toogood’s celebrated furniture and interiors, the project — which introduces its second collection this spring,
though the sisters disavow the concept of fashion seasons — is a humanistic exploration of the possibilities of handicraft. Each unisex, oversize piece is named for a profession (the plumber jumpsuit, the beekeeper
jacket) and finished with droll details (handpainted mask appliqués, “Abolish the High Street” spelled out in frayed rope) that must be seen in person to be fully appreciated. Now, Statesiders will have
the chance to do just that thanks to a new installation created by the sisters at Tiina, the Amagansett boutique owned by the influential Finnish-born stylist Tiina Laakkonen.
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From left: Faye and Erica Toogood.Credit Osma Harvilahti
Housed in the shop’s back room, the clothes hang opposite a series of elaborate handmade puppets wearing miniature versions of the same silhouettes; scattered about are three-legged aluminum chairs designed by the elder
Toogood. And an entire wall is covered by a boroesque quilt made from leftover fabric scraps and embroidered on both sides with snippets of the brand’s antifashion philosophy. That the room is rendered entirely in
shades of indigo — Laakkonen, and her store’s, signature color — is a happy accident; the sisters first conceived of the collection as a salute to the blue-collar worker. “I’m telling
you, the whole world is catching on to this indigo thing!” Laakkonen says with a laugh when asked whether she had any sway over the design process. “It was just one of those lucky coincidences.”
Then again, perhaps it wasn’t: Both Laakkonen and the sisters Toogood espouse a relaxed, cerebral mode of dress that transcends trends. “I’ve worked in fashion most of my life and I think it’s really
hard to create anything these days that has a unique point of view,” Laakkonen says. “Because of the materials and cut, these are statements, but in a subtle and real way. These kinds of clothes make me happy.”
Open through June 7 at Tiina the Store, 216 Main Street, Amagansett, N.Y., tiinathestore.com.
The British designer conceived a back-to-basics retail area for the London department store: cagelike structures that span three levels and are comprised largely of chicken-wire mesh.
The stylist and owner of the Amagansett boutique Tiina is debuting limited editions of four of the knitwear brand’s styles in striated shades of natural indigo.
Steel Cyclewear & Coffee Shop is a new concept store in Paris, vying to be both a community hub for the city's cyclists and a base of operations for the bilingual style and cycling magazine Steel.Credit Jesse Morgan
On a recent Thursday morning in Paris, Kévin Reza cracked a half smile and readied himself for the camera; his urban cycle-wear snug against his lean, muscular frame. The 26-year old professional road cyclist wasn’t
posing for a sports magazine but rather for the next issue of Steel magazine, a lifestyle and urban cycling quarterly. And he wasn’t in a photo studio but at
the city’s newest concept shop, Steel Cyclewear & Coffeeshop, launched by the magazine’s founder/editor in chief Marc Schmitt (also known as
“Sich” from his days as a street artist).
The first of its kind in Paris, Schmitt’s new space in the 11th Arrondissement serves as a shop for amateur and professional cyclists — carrying a selective edit of gear from niche labels like Tenspeed Hero,
the Athletic, Search & State, Nanamica and Narifuri — and also has a specialty coffee bar on the premises, meant to anchor Steel as both a unifying social sphere and a welcoming departure point for group rides
outside city limits. In creating the bilingual magazine in 2011, he presented a unique image of cycling, one that eschewed all hipster pretenses to focus on where style meets technique. “We show fashion-style photography
because ultimately, we’re a style magazine that covers cycling, not the other way around,” Schmitt says.
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Clockwise from top left: the barista Damien Crémois in the cafe; Steel magazine editor in chief Marc "Sich" Schmitt (left) with store manager Aurélien Bigo; the most recent issue of Steel; Scmitt hopes the specialty coffee will make Steel a destination for Parisian cyclists; a selection of curated cycling gear.Credit Jesse Morgan
Convinced of the natural synergies between coffee and cycling — for one, both are practices of passion — Schmitt enlisted Damien Crémois, an urban-cycling enthusiast and ex-Fondation Café barista, to
manage the Belleville Brûlerie-driven coffee program. The team itself, like the products, embodies Steel magazine values — which is to say, they carry the message that cycling is not just a sport,
but a lifestyle. And the shop’s airy, minimalist design by the architect Julie Deglesne recalls the publication’s sleek white cover. “Having an actual space is not only a way to bring our content to
life,” Schmitt says. “It’s a way to bring people in and create a community.” With the boyish enthusiasm of someone who turned his dream hangout into a reality, he added, “We’ll
boost your day or boost your ride. Open to all!”
The window of Amé Amé, where the Soy Este Swatch Roller will live through June.Credit Este Lewis
“I’m into dollar store and supermarket culture — I walk around and see things, and immediately see their potential,” says Este Lewis, the multidisciplinary artist and founder of the independent design
company Soy Este. She has translated her fondness for the familiar into a range of wallpaper patterns, 12 of which will be featured by the Manhattan store Amé Amé for May and June on a hanging, motorized belt,
dubbed the “Swatch Roller.” Among the selected arrangements: “Ruth Bender Fruit Roll-Up,” which overlaps prints
of the yoga pioneer and scans of the snack; “Blueberry Stains on Paper Towel,” a kind of tie-dye motif; and “Cinnamon Gum,” a reference to the classic Twin Peaks line “That gum you like
is going to come back in style.” For Lewis, the Swatch Roller is an extension of the very interactive Soy Este site — a way to sell her wares and “also,
an art piece in and of itself, a studio space and a space for other people to imagine being in, but it’s real,” she says. “There’s so much imagination within the Internet … and the patterns
are patterns, but the wallpaper is a method of archiving our everyday.”
Soy Este’s pop-up wallpaper shop is open tonight through June 30 at Amé Amé, 17 West 29th Street, New York, loveallseasons.com. Lewis will be in the store in person on Thursdays and Fridays in May.
For many, the word “milliner” evokes figures from a bygone era — antiquated artisans whose skill sets were passed down to them from earlier generations, and whose numbers have dwindled in recent decades.
Today, their creations can come to define a person or look, like that vintage Vivienne Westwood hat has done for Pharrell Williams, or those Stephen Jones Millinery masterpieces have done for the Thom Browne runway. “In
our millinery program, we’re seeing a younger student who is really interested in the art of the hat,” observes Ellen Goldstein, a professor of accessories design at F.I.T. for over 30 years and the founder
of the school’s accessories program. “This is someone who is not looking to make ‘just some hat,’ but to experiment with material, size and style to create that sculptural piece of art”
— like Gigi Burris, a young milliner who was among the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund nominees in 2014.
Here, just in time for the season of wide brims and baseball caps, we round up some of the dedicated women breathing fresh air into the Old World craft.
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Inside Virginie Promeyrat's New York store House of Lafayette.Credit
House of Lafayette: The classicist
Growing up in France, Virginie Promeyrat saw the chapeau treated with reverence and regularly “borrowed” her grandfather’s hats to wear herself. She carried that affection for the accessory through business
administration school, all the way to New York City, where she worked for Chanel and eventually began creating her own hats, the first of which she introduced in July of 2014. She plays on classic men’s silhouettes,
adorning them with feminine elements like scarves and beads. Her Johnny Panama in light grey, which has a raw edge and a bit of sheen, sums up her approach: “Hats are easy,” she says, “and yet can change
your entire appearance.” Read more…
“I definitely didn’t take a ‘normal’ art path,” says the Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist Amit Greenberg. Yes, his works have been displayed at institutions like the Whitney Museum
of American Art and SFMOMA Artists Gallery — but his debut solo show, “This is a happy thought,” featuring a character called BLU, fills
the floors of the Paris shop Colette. Greenberg and a series of collaborators cooked up backpacks, T-shirts and tomato sauce; he asked Laura Wass of WXYZ Jewelry to customize the brand’s
caps and headbands, made from metal tubes coated with car paint and hand-woven on rubberized elastic cording. The “dream helmets,” as Greenberg dubbed them, are meant to transform the viewer into a real-life
BLU, and include a dose of Beyoncé freshness — the musician wore an upside-down WXYZ visor as a crown in her “7/11″ music video, released
late last year.
$200 – $750; “This is a happy thought” is in the store today through May 30 at Colette, 213 rue Saint-Honoré, Paris, 75001, colette.fr.
