The luxury goods market has had many connections with gastronomy over the years – from running in-store cafés to dressing the staff and designing the tablewear – but food itself seems to be having a bit of a moment too: this week we saw designers taking inspiration from vegetables and confectionery, albeit it with a big dose of humour. Elsewhere, there are more collabs, new luggage collections, and some BIG money to be made (or spent) in the watch world. This is what caught our eye recently…
Dior’s pop-up is a giant slice of cake
Retail architecture – especially in the East – has, for a long time, been a flex for the luxury superbrands to show that not only do they have great style but also the bottomless pockets to hire some of the best architects in the world to create astonishing stores (think Prada and Hermes in Tokyo that still make Instagrammers dizzy after 25 years). Dior, usually the bastion of quite reserved good taste when it comes to spaces, has clearly decided to let loose a bit with the opening of two new stores that range from the sublime to the, quite frankly, ridiculous. The real beauty must be the Bamboo House in Tokyo’s cosy Daikanyama district, a stunning pavilion that reinterprets the Paris flagship store but in golden bamboo, set in a Japanese garden. Somewhat more kitsch is a pop-up in the Chinese city of Nanjing, which resembles three giant slices of cake, topped with icing and cherries. More Disneyland than Dior, it will probably create more social media posts than sell Bar jackets, but we do still admire the chutzpah.
Arket reimagined a fairground ride at Milan’s Giardino delle Arti & Loewe launched a bag that resembles an artichoke
Maybe after cake shops, the fashion world is going to be looking at greengrocers because, forget your designer macarons and overpriced pastries, vegetables seem to be having their moment. Loewe have always had a good sense of humour when it comes to their accessories and have just launched a beautifully made but frankly hilarious handbag made to resemble an artichoke. It could certainly confuse regulars at Copenhagen’s Apollo Bar, who seem to live on the stuff. Elsewhere, Arket worked with artist Laila Gohar to convert a three-hundred-year-old carousel in a Milanese park into a series of revolving fruit and vegetables. If your idea of fun is to revolve on a giant aubergine, fig or pear, then this is your chance!
Junya Watanabe and Alpha Industries introduced a reversible denim bomber jacket
Junya Watanabe has, throughout his career, worked with dozens of other brands, but less in the sense of straightforward collaboration and more in using and acknowledging their expertise in their field (this was the origin of collabs back in the day, before they became vehicles for press rather than sharing skill sets). Continuing this trend, he worked with US specialists in military clothing, Alpha Industries, to produce a seriously clever take on the classic MA1 jacket that combines it with a denim jacket to make something completely reversible. Whichever way round it is worn, clever hints of its other personality appear in little details that are sophisticated and creative. It’s not cheap, but you do get two jackets in one…
Rimowa Aluminium Grid Collection
Rimowa’s trademark rigid aluminium cases might be ubiquitous, but they still set the standard for the elegant urban traveller who hasn’t quite got the budget for a ten-piece Hermes luggage set. But if you really fancy standing out from even that demographic, try and grab yourself one of the revivals of a classic 1969 grid design, just released in a limited number (1969 pieces to be exact). Still in the same metal, they have a retro, graphic look to them but feature all of the modern features, such as a completely adjustable telescopic handle and excellent locks.
Cartier Crash is the most valuable brand’s watch ever auctioned
Regular readers of The Editors will know that, for a long time, Robin has been telling you to think about investing in a vintage watch. Well, those who took notice a while ago might well be glad they did if a ground-breaking auction at the Hong Kong Sotheby’s is anything to go by. The ‘Shapes of Cartier’ sale, which grouped together some of the brand’s most iconic timepieces, defied all expectations and sold at a whopping seven times the estimates, raking in $53 miillion USD. Running for a marathon thirteen hours, the auction was, perhaps surprisingly, dominated not by antique models but rather by those from Cartier’s so-called London Era from the 1960s to the 1980s. The highlight was the sale of a yellow-gold ‘Crash’ watch from 1987, which sold for nearly $2 million – a world record for the brand. Now that is one you don’t want to leave unattended by the pool…
