A list of intriguing things
One: Remember when fashion was about something other than overpriced streetwear? In 2018, Spanish artist Ignasi Monreal was hired by Gucci to create an ad campaign made up of “hallucinations” inspired by art history:
[G]lossy models were substituted for ornately-illustrated characters culled from art history’s most important sources, each ironically donning the collection’s colorful and printed designs. mermaids on a rock sport ice-skater inspired gowns; women fishing in the clouds carry gucci’s ‘ophidia’ tote; and a hybrid human-tigress touts the radical rectangular-frame acetate sunglasses.
The result is weird, surreal and instantly memorable. For example: the clip below is inspired by John Everett Millais’ painting of Ophelia:
The lead image is a take on ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ by Hieronymus Bosch. You can see more over at HypeBeast, ArtNet or the Gucci website.
Two: How about a foldable balcony? Seems just right for Indian weather—which can swing wildly from unbearable to brilliant—from one season to another. Also: it’s excellent for so many of us who have to make do with tiny flats with no outdoor space. Bloomframe is the brainchild of an Amsterdam firm. It turns a floor-to-ceiling glass door into a lovely portable balcony—like so:
Less dramatic but no less cool are the ‘More Sky’ windows—which are more like a covered deck chair than a proper sit-out. This one is from an Argentinian designer Aldana Ferrer Garcia.
Three: The Japanese do everything in their own unique way. As you may know, the country has the largest population of elderly people—and is struggling to take care of them. Mercifully, citizens like Shiro Oguni are doing their bit. In 2017, he opened the Restaurant of Mistaken Orders. The waitstaff are people suffering from dementia—who are very likely to serve you burgers when you ask for pizza. But this eatery is about community not just another meal:
During one of the first pop-ups, 37% of the orders were mistaken, but afterward, 99% of the customers said they were happy with their meal. At one event, one of the servers absent-mindedly sat with her customers. Another asked one diner to take orders from the others around the table. None of this fazed anyone who came to eat. They know they are coming for something like compassionate and improvisational cabaret comedy.
What really moved us is this bit:
Oguni has said that his project isn’t simply about being more understanding and embracing of those who have dementia; he’s trying to show how people can be kind to one another, regardless of shortcomings.
The vid below offers a lovely glimpse of the restaurant’s warm and welcoming atmosphere—and the vision that drives it. (Forbes)
