Fred Perry
has become known for its limited edition collaborations with eccentric
designers and artists alike. The outfitter has collaborated with
everyone from David David to Peter Jensen to Jessica Ogden, all to
popular acclaim. Most recently, New York Times' T Style magazine
featured Fred Perry's fashions in a fashion editorial spreads with the
description: "Disaffected anglo youth at their snappiest."
For
the Fall/Winter 2007 season, Fred Perry is showcasing another of their
popular partnerships with Japanese design team Comme des Garcons. The
spunky lineup includes Comme des Garcons' signature stripe-age, infused
with eye-popping turquoise and hot pink. They will also retail a pair
of red-and-black checkered kicks - ideal housing for the feet of Fred
Perry fanatics everywhere.
And stay tuned for
their next fashion-music rendez-vous: rumor has it Fred Perry will team
up with Brit-punk-ska-rock bank Dead 60s for a limited edition offering
of "of reversed tartan Harringtons." By L. Harper
Bodrum in Turkey is home to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and birthplace to Herodotus. It is also Turkey’s answer to what Cannes is for the south of France. So it’s not the kind of place you want to build a tower block slab bang on the beach.
House ’Ö’ is a building perfectly in tune with its surroundings but still has an eye on modernising the idea of a country retreat. The ornate mosaic of heavy stone is a familiar building practice in the Mediterranean, but the use of large floor to ceiling windows certainly is not.
The building comprises three units joined by glass boxes allowing bags of sunlight in, but also allows the structure to cool quicker than houses favouring large swathes of white concrete as a method of regulating temperature. Inside, there are no separating walls in the central living area. Instead, furniture positioning and small partitions create individual spaces within an open whole. A fitting tribute to cultural and architectural traditions of an area steeped in history, but a refreshing approach to a home in the hills that isn’t all bling and dodgy ‘period’ features. By Matt Hussey
From the far reaches of Berlin to Barcelona to Rio to Rotterdamn the glittering halls of fashion wares reign supreme on any savvy Coolhunter's "sights to be seen"
Similar to the best museums, the finest boutiques entice the visitor to gawk, admire, feel at home, or feel pampered - dependent on its design – to pursuits which are greater than stop-and-shop purchasing.
The Nestlé Chocolate factory in Mexico City's Paseo Tollocan near Toluca has never been a site anyone went to see for its beauty. It is what is inside that has always interested chocolate-lovers.
That changed earlier this year when Michel Rojkind, the 38-year-old principal of Rojkind Arquitectos, decided that he was not satisfied with the original idea of just revamping the factory's viewing gallery.
He put together a team that came up with an entire museum, with a shop, a theatre, and direct access to the factory as well. The 300-meter-wide scarlet building cannot go unnoticed by anyone driving the entrance freeway to Toluca.
This is by far not the first chocolate museum in Mexico, the ancient home of chocolate. Neither is it the first sweet museum for the Switzerland-headquartered consumer-product behemoth Nestlé.
However, it is probably the first chocolate museum ever to be called both a piece of origami and a shipping container. The corrugated metal look gives it an air of impermanence and industrial clunk while the bright color and crazy shape evoke play and fun. What any of this has to do with chocolate, we are not exactly sure, but we almost managed to fold a KitKat wrapper to a similar shape. By Tuija Seipell
The boutique juice industry is crammed with players already – now you can add a new one to the list. Wild Bunch & Co produces a mouth watering range of healthy juices including vegetable juices which are bulging with energy boosting vitamins. But our favourite thing about this Singapore based company is the packaging. Smooth and ergonomic, the bottles are like little design pieces decorating your refrigerator. By Billy T
It's the only feasible explanation for Jason Markk's devoted following and wide online acclaim at sneaker-fanatic blogs worldwide. Of particular note is Jason Markk's Premium Sneaker Solution, which does something truly revolutionary: it cleans your sneakers.
With a wave of a hog-hair bristle brush coated in their specially formulated magic potion, Jason Markk P.S.S. rids your kicks of the grass stains and gook soils even your mom can't eradicate. The solution consists of natural soaps derived from coconut and jojoba oils, a 98% natural product that is also said to be biodegradable.
In addition to Jason Markk's online store, you can find this trainers cure-all at renowned sneaker shillers: Ubiq, Kendo, NortStar and Colette, among others.
Add this to your long list of things you didn't know you couldn't live without. By L. Harper
Fashion scholar Sophie Albou first got her stylish feet wet at France's Fashion Institute. She followed her graduation with an appointment at Azzedine Alaia and then became a stylist for Le Garage.
In 1995 Albou launched her first menswear collection, under the name "Paul and Joe" - a shout out to her two young sons. Two years later the designer released a womenswear line under the same moniker, to critical acclaim
2007 finds Albou celebrating the tenth anniversary of her Paul and Joe womenswear line with a festive (bordering on cartoonish) collection of clothing. The billowing royal purple coat, a blouse with enormous white bell sleeves paired with dark khaki slouchy, pirate boots proudly declare Albou's standing as a "resolute anti-conformist." Even her primmer outfits - a conservatively tailored mint green coat with gold button accents comes to mind - are punctuated with loud purple, white or green stockings and patent knee-high boots.
Currently Paul and Joe offerings are available in over 30 boutiques around the globe, as well as in retail giants Barney's, Harvey Nichols and Harrod's among others. By L Harper
Here at TCH, we love riding bikes through the city. There's something immensely pleasing about sailing past scores of traffic with little more than a push of a pedal. And at the same time, you're burning the calories, and doing your bit to stay green. But there's one thing we hate about this simple mode of transport. People like nothing more than stealing them, damaging them, or driving buses into them. While your safe at work crunching the numbers, who's looking after your ride home?
Cue the bike dispensing machine. Brought to you courtesy of bikedispenser.com, a small firm from Amsterdam, the idea is to help facilitate bike rentals in urban areas. Cyclists pay a small fee to hire a bike, and then they can take it where they please. Once they’ve finished, they can return it either to that machine, or another one across town. And because they’ve been fitted with RFID tags, they won’t all have been nicked before you can get one.
Now, if only they can do something about those van drivers… By Matt Hussey
For most of us, buying an old campervan normally
involved some sort of cash-in-hand deal with a man called Stig and the
crushing reality that the reason why a car costs only $100 is because
it doesn’t have an engine.
For mega-brands like
Adidas however, buying an old Volkswagen presents a unique sales
opportunity. The label’s new skateboard clothing range will be marketed
via this old jalopy that has been customised with prints inspired by
skating legend Mark Gonzales. The ‘Kombi’ will cruise the streets
of Sao Paulo with its custom interior throughout August, before it goes
on tour to promote the new range. By Matt Hussey
Berlin is one of the world’s most creative cities and now you can get your way around a lot more easily. Don’t bother with the public transport system (even though its good), rent your own little buggie style karts, which surprisingly, you are able to drive legally on the roads alongside real cars. The mini size makes them easy to maneuver and parking is a breeze. Not to mention the fun factor – it’s like one big game of dodgem cars for grown ups. Rent them at kart4you.de By BillY T
Berlin is one of only three UNESCO Creative Cities and it has a distinctive and strong creative subculture.
But it takes a while for the cool aspects to become apparent because
Berlin is not a city with instant sex appeal like Paris or Rome. And
don’t try to do anything before 11am - the place is dead till then.
Luckily,
we knew where the action is. In Berlin, it is in the Mitte district (German
for middle or center), a historic district formerly part of East
Berlin. Now, it is somewhat edgier than SOHO but also similar with its
refurbished buildings, one-of-a-kind designer fashion shops, cafes,
bakeries, restaurants, bars, art galleries, studios and an overall
creative vibe that attracts the city’s designers, architects,
photographers and artists. Mitte is also the historical heart of Berlin
with most of the main sights and many media companies within its
borders.
In Mitte, we stayed at Lux 11.
Lux 11’s name gives a nod to Rosa Luxemburg, the German champion of
socialist causes, after whom the street is also named. The hotel name
also refers to luxury and light (lux is light in Latin).
Lux 11
is a chic 72-room apartment hotel opened in 2005 in a renovated
building that started as a stately residences in the late 19th century.
It was later converted to an office building from which the KGB was
apparently in direct contact with Moscow during the Cold War. We don’t
know if this is true but we like the story.
The hotel concept and interior are by London-based architects Giuliana Salmaso and Claudio Silvestrin.
They‘ve managed to create an environment that combines a clean,
minimalist and practical style with an abundance of tactile and sensual
details, white walls, natural wood, concrete in China green, curtains
in leather, upholstery in rough canvas. We liked the simplicity – no
frilly things to annoy you, no boring sets of matching bedding and
window treatments. We also liked the little kitchen (the hotel buffet
breakfast did not appeal) which we stocked at Bio Organic Supermarket a
block away on Dircksenstrasse. We found the best coffee at Buscaglione
on Rochstrasse (1 Block away) and the best soup at Kultur (opposite hotel).
What You'll Love: Location, location, location. Mitte is where its all at.
What You Wont: No air conditioning, lifeless pillows. Expensive internet access (12 Euro for 5 hrs)
Shiro i Shiro
is a Japanese-Mediterranean fusion restaurant with French undertones.
It is located at Rosa Luxembourgstrasse 11, on the ground floor of the
chic Lux 11 apartment hotel
in Berlin’s trendy Mitte district. Shiro i Shiro (Japanese for White
Castle) is the second concept of Vietnamese-born owner and sous-chef
Duc Ngo (aka Mr. Duc) whose three Kuchi restaurants are Berlin’s best-known hip sushi bars.
Korean-born Huyn Jung Kim designed Shiro i Shiro’s fantastic interior
- a huge, open-concept white space with prim Neobaroque luxury and
richness of color combined with stark and edgy Asian minimalism. French-trained chef de cuisine Eduard Dimant is in charge of the
kitchen offering an exciting array of unexpected culinary
combinations. In its German version, the prestigious Gault Millau guide,
considered even more purist than Michelin, praises not only Shiro i
Shiro’s cuisine and wine but even the prices. No wonder the restaurant
is packed every night and Dimant is celebrated as one of the city’s
culinary shooting stars. By Tuija Seipell
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