The Friday Zeitgeist
Issue 7: 'Meaning' is our Language.
“When I speak with young designers, I [tell] them shut your computer […] If you really want to see real things, real beauty, you have to go there by walking.” — Yohji Yamamoto, in conversation with the Business of Fashion.
Hello all, I hope everyone’s had a wonderful week. I’ve been spending my afternoons lounging on a sofa on the terrace; reading, sleeping, listening to great records and it’s my favorite thing to do as of late.
This week at the Journal, we will talk about all-things design. I’m also experimenting with new formats. The Zeitgeist begins with the Field Notes, a combination of stuff on my wishlist and what’s new in culture. Then, we discuss in-depth about the beauty of Bottega Veneta’s “craft” campaign and the visionary behind Charli XCX’s Brat.
I hope you enjoy.
If you’re looking for a (coffee table) book to find inspiration in, this HAY Phaidon Book ($29.97 USD) is great. HAY is a furniture design company based in Copenhagen, Denmark. I first became familiar with the brand through their minimal, yet playful Candy Mono bags. Below is a description of the book:
Since its founding in 2002, HAY has been a beloved resource for colorful, playful, and functional designs. The first-ever book about the brand, HAY (2022) explores the origins and trajectory of the brand – from its founding in Copenhagen by husband-and-wife team Rolf and Mette Hay to its ever-growing roster of collaborations with designers and brands around the world.
And speaking of HAY, I am looking to get their table clock by Jasper Morrison ($65 USD).
There’s yet to be a mainstream version of Linkedin for creatives, but there is New Digital Commune, “A new social app built by creatives, for creatives.” It’s only available in the US and compatible with iOS for now. Couldn’t find much information about it (or their founders) online. If anyone’s ever used the platform, let me know your thoughts; I’m quite curious.
The Gustaf Westman and IKEA collaboration is coming in the fall and I’m excited; Westman is known for his chunky and colorful dish ware. I’d say, I could see Westman falling into the ranks of the Eames or Dieter Rams of the current generation. “Is that a Westman?!” “Yeah, it’s vintage from the 20s.”
Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys has passed away. Rest in Peace. In My Room, Surfer Girl, and Surfin’ USA all have a special place in my heart.
Hailey Bieber’s rhode skin has been doing really well lately. The brand scored a $1 billion deal with Elf Cosmetics; products are soon-to-be in Sephora stores starting this fall; most recently, launched a campaign with Harris Dickinson to advertise their new glazing mist, presumably trying to tap into the male-consumer market. Honorable mention: the smart marketing with the rhode phone case.
441 items belonging to David Lynch was up on auction. Lynch passed away earlier this January, leaving behind a notable legacy in the mystery and thriller cinema; of them include Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and the TV show Twin Peaks. After closing this Wednesday, some of the most expensive items sold include Lot 15: the unfinished Ronnie Rocket Film Screenplays ($195,000), Lot 278: the Lost Highway Script (also $195,000), and Lot 13: the Mulholland Drive Scripts ($104,000 and pictured above). The scripts were only estimated to sell at 200-300 bucks. The auction totaled over $4 million dollars.
Tokyo-based clothing brand Beams is now available to purchase in the United States.
A24’s new promotion for The Materialist: menofny.com
I recently got a pair of L. L. Beans Handsewn Moccasins. Moccasins are usually (and understandably) jumbled into the boat shoes category, as they look similar. The difference lies in the fact that Moccasins are not optimized for the waters. The specific pair I got, Blucher Mocs, are simpler than your typical boat shoes; there’s no rope-like detailing on the sides, but there are a few more eyes (the holes for shoelaces) than a boat shoes’ 1 or 2. Two things to note: (1) There is not much grip on the bottom of these shoes and it employs a rougher sole. (2) These shoes run large — I had to size 1.5 down, and even then there’s still some room, which is perfect for wearing with thicker socks in the autumn. I find them quite versatile; a pair that is somewhere in between your regular loafers and Chuck 70s.
“Craft is our Language” — Louis Trotter’s Bottega Veneta campaign involves hands and features creatives of all fields: Tyler the Creator (musician), Zadie Smith (writer), Julianne Moore (actress), Barbara Chase-Riboud (sculptor), and Lorenzo Musetti (tennis player) to name a few. The diversity in a variety of aspects is remarkable. But more importantly, it’s beautiful to see the attention on passion over product. In the words of Vogue Singapore, it’s a “series of portraits and short films that feel intimate, poetic, and refreshingly human.”
I believe that the qualities for a meaningful product are the message and the emotions that they evoke. These qualities create authenticity. The black-and-white images make you wonder, what are those hands doing and what do they mean? The short one-on-one interviews, where each artist expresses appreciation for their craft, bring out inspiration and draw meaning. It’s an essence only few brands can execute the right way.
Other things to notice are the Bottega partnerships in the literary scene. Recently, the brand has collaborated with The Atlantic Magazine to produce a series called The Writer’s Way. In the past, they’ve supported Air Afrique (this magazine, inspired by the now-defunct Pan African Airlines, is super cool) and a collection collaboration with the NYC-based bookstore The Strand.
Today, the Bottega brand does not have an official Instagram account. However, there is a fan account @newbottega, that has 1.6M followers. The brand deleted their Instagram back in 2021; at the time, under the creative leadership of Daniel Lee.
“Your first profiles painted you as shy. As you’ve acclimated, have you begun to feel more comfortable with the public parts of the role?
I don’t think I’m shy, but I want the focus to be on the work, not on me. I think about Martin Margiela—he was silent and everybody remembers the collections, but how many examples of contemporary houses can you recall where you remember the work before the person?”
Daniel Lee, in conversation with CULTURED.
The seventh of June marked one year of Charli XCX’s Brat. In the span of 365 days, the record (and its variations) went on to take a form of it’s own; influencing presidential campaigns, setting off a flurry of online memes, and defining the care-free, sloppy vibes for the summer of ‘24. It’s quite difficult to see lime green in the wild without thinking of Brat. The blurry Arial type against the repulsive “ugly” green (more specifically, #8ACE00) was an intentional design choice, and behind the front is an 8-persons creative studio called Special Offer, Inc.
Founded in 2014 by Brent Freaney, Special Offer is a web design agency, although their services extend broader in the creative field. For its one-year anniversary, Freaney, who is also the Art Director at i-D Magazine, posted a series of pictures that vaguely detailed the design process. Between Pantone swatches and cover demos, the one thing that stood out immediately in the photo carousel was Figma. The cover was designed on Figma.
I speak for all when I say I wish we could see inside those files. The design process for Brat took 5 months, where they looked at more than 500 shades of green (and eventually settled on Pantone 3507C). As Freaney told the New York Times, “The challenge became — how do I take this thing and make it something that is special? It’s a painfully simple cover, obviously, and I think that lends itself to the reason it’s been recreated in so many different ways.” One year onwards, it’s safe to say that the branding has cemented itself in the cultural zeitgeist.
That is all. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great weekend. I know I’ll be spending mine flipping through magazines and watching the classics, outside of course. — C. S. Indoors.