Hidden behind a cluster of moss-covered boulders in a Portuguese garden lies a well. It’s no ordinary well, as you’ll see when you push the stone slab that leads you to the top of an inverted tower that plunges into an underworld. With curving arches flanked by ionic columns, lic … | Continue reading
Before the Juke Box, there was the Juke Joint, a reverberating sanctum of the Mississippi Delta and the indefinable heartbeat of southern African American culture. The traditional Juke Joint seems to have grown out of the landscape more than it was constructed. A ramshackle colle … | Continue reading
If you had lived in 1920s Paris, you would know who Barbette was. She was an icon of the night. A muse to the greats. A pioneer of queer. She might have built a career as a trapeze and high-rope performer in the United States, but made a name for themself in a very different… | Continue reading
What shall we keep a keen eye out for at our next expedition to the flea market? Tramp Art! No I haven’t just insulted you, I’m talking about the little-known and often misunderstood branch of outsider art; curiously whittled wood works intricately carved from discarded cigar box … | Continue reading
She is one of the most prolific photographers of the Victorian era, but much of her life remains a mystery. Clementina Maude, also known as Lady Clementina Hawarden, took up photography in 1857 and in seven years shot more than 800 images, mostly sun-drenched portraits of her dau … | Continue reading
Some American companies are such a part of our everyday lives, they’re taken for granted, the likes of Apple, Microsoft and Google for example. But there is another company that although it can be seen everywhere, no-one notices. Even more mysteriously, the company no longer exis … | Continue reading
A couturier-friend of mine once wryly remarked (as she meticulously contemplated the exact landing spot of another rose-gold sequin destined for the bust of a ballgown) that her life effectively was a fashionable road-map signposted by all the memorable gowns she’s made for bride … | Continue reading
Once upon a time, in 1927, Walt Disney created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit for Universal. This bunny had a round white face, a button nose, and floppy black ears. After Disney sold a series of shorts to Universal, he returned in 1928 to offer his services to create more cartoons feat … | Continue reading
There is much debate on who was the first Black supermodel. Several Black models have accumulated a series of firsts between them throughout history; Helen Williams became one of the most familiar faces in Black advertising in the 1950s, Donyale Luna was the first African-America … | Continue reading
Ever since humanity invented cake, we’ve been trying to have it and eat it, too. And while we haven’t yet figured out how to do both, we have been saving slices of this most celebratory of desserts for several millenia now. The Egyptians gave us the world’s oldest known cake–and … | Continue reading
Merle Oberon, the Hollywood actress who to this day remains the only Asian actress to be nominated for a Best Actress award at the Oscars, was born in Bombay, India in 1911. Merle however, would have you believe that she hailed from Tasmania, Australia and was born to Caucasian p … | Continue reading
Let’s catapult straight into the centre of Paris’ exotic dancing universe, the Crazy Horse Saloon, temple of burlesque. This glamorous establishment has had the pleasure of seeing a stellar selection of glamorous women strut and strip their stuff over the decades since opening in … | Continue reading
As far as islands go, Manhattan is one of the most famous and instantly recognisable. But if you were to charter a boat and sail around its coastline and through New York’s natural harbour you’d come across many more islands so small that hardly anyone knows are there. There are … | Continue reading
The nefarious world of conning has long been considered a boy’s club. Even when you google “biggest con artists in the world,” men’s names overwhelmingly dominate the search. Historically, women were thought to have lacked the social capital needed to shrug off the moral trapping … | Continue reading
The history of Belleville, the Parisian neighbourhood where legendary French singer Edith Piaf lived and called home, is a dazzling mix of folklore and fact, like all the best places to visit. There will always be an air of rebellion up in Belleville, the wine-making village buil … | Continue reading
There is a grande dame of Dutch fashion you’ve probably never heard of (if you live outside of The Netherlands). We hadn’t. But then when found a series of photos taken in the 1970s of legendary musician Kate Bush, dressed more exquisitely that we’d ever seen her. Who was she wea … | Continue reading
Artificial intelligence is well and truly here. In the past few months, we’ve seen the release of revolutionary software that puts the technology in the hands of the general public as a creative tool, both for generating art and written content. Whether your experience with AI-p … | Continue reading
A relatively austere low-income housing complex in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, the Cité de la Muette is not a remarkable collection of buildings. At first glance, it’s a council estate like any other, where residents go about their daily business seemingly unfazed by the h … | Continue reading
If the Emerald City of Oz had ever been in need of a new architect, he would have been just the man for the job. In his fight against the “godless line”, Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s buildings swirl into the sky with undulating curves in a kaleidoscope of colours, pierced by tre … | Continue reading
There is a line in Don McLean’s Vincent, the poignant folk song released in 1971, that always stuck with me. It goes, “but I could have told you, Vincent, this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.” The bittersweet lyrics are a tribute to the great Post-Impressionist … | Continue reading
The antics of those with blue blood don’t shock us, in fact we covet their blatant flaunting of taboos and we (albeit secretly and with much envy) gag at what seems like their infinite potential and unlimited opportunities for fornication, frolicking and cavorting. Having said th … | Continue reading
You name an avant-garde brand of note – Saint Laurent, Rick Owens, Moschino, Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto, Jacquemus – and chances are they’ve been overtly influenced by a shoe designer extraordinaire, André Perugia. Cage heels, no heels, disappearing heels, under-slung heel … | Continue reading
Theirs is a fairy tale with all the elements that titillate and intrigue us mere mortals no end: a glamorous royal couple living in the lap of luxury, a marriage at an unimaginably young age, the flamboyant holidays on the Côte d’Azur in the company of Man Ray, a jaw-droppingly a … | Continue reading
1. A giant snowman measuring 17 ft., made by two girls in Aberdeen, Scotland, Jan. 3, 1963 From the collection of Paul Popper found via The Folk Archive. 2. The Man Who Invented More Than 800 Iconic Toys 3. AI generated renderings of Gaudi-inspired Architecture Made with Mid Jour … | Continue reading
Theirs is a fairy tale with all the elements that titillate and intrigue us mere mortals no end: a glamorous royal couple living in the lap of luxury, a marriage at an unimaginably young age, the flamboyant holidays on the Côte d’Azur in the company of Man Ray, a jaw-droppingly a … | Continue reading
“I am to be executed like a criminal at eight in the morning” is a heartbreakingly frank line taken from the final letter written by Mary Queen of Scots, on 8th February 1587, the morning of her execution at the command of her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. This brutally honest letter … | Continue reading
By 1994 David Bowie’s musical career was in a bit of a quiet phase, let’s say. He hadn’t managed to recreate the massive success of his 1983 album Lets Dance. Ziggy Stardust had long since departed back to the cosmos, The Thin White Duke had been retired, and Bowie’s latest incar … | Continue reading
1. Retro Paper Architecture View this post on Instagram A post shared by Charles Young (@paperholm_) Paper art and architecture (available in glass domes) by Charles Young. Shop the art here. Found via Present & Correct. 2. Tracing the tracks of Paris chimneys Once one knows what … | Continue reading
When you were young, what did you want to be? An astronaut, a princess, maybe a superhero or president of the world. Mike Stevens dreamt of being a soul super star, he wanted to tour the world, to write and produce award-winning albums and run his own record label. He would star … | Continue reading
Merle Oberon, the Hollywood actress who to this day remains the only Asian actress to be nominated for a Best Actress award at the Oscars, was born in Bombay, India in 1911. Merle however, would have you believe that she hailed from Tasmania, Australia and was born to Caucasian p … | Continue reading
Where is the best place in the world to die? According to Hindus, dying in the sacred city of Varanasi brings liberation –mukti– no matter your faith or religious denomination. If someone needs a place to stay before embarking on their final journey, they’ll find it in Mukti Bhaw … | Continue reading
1. Photographed by Man Ray in the 1930s (not the 1970s) Helen Tamris photographed by Man Ray, found here. 2. Her shoe game Hand coloured photograph of a Jewish girl in Damascus, Syria (1865). Found on the Institut du Monde Arabe. 3. Jackie O Jackie Kennedy (1968). Photograph by H … | Continue reading
That inimitable bedrock of Parisian social fabric, the traditional French brasserie has been synonymous with French lifestyle since the second half of the 19th century, but during a little-known a moment in history, one could indulge in a whole lot more than a good ol’ steak-frit … | Continue reading
In 1943, the New York art world was abuzz about a new exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The esteemed institution was hosting a show featuring one Morris Hirshfield, an immigrant who had found success as a tailor and then shoe designer before becoming a self-taught artis … | Continue reading
Sure, we’ve all admired picturesque lighthouses on rocky shores, or with waves crashing over them at the edge of a harbor, but…what about floating lighthouses? Like something out a Wes Anderson movie, these fascinating vessels did exactly what their name suggests: they were light … | Continue reading
“Remember, the big stores don’t do ‘a little Jig’ when they make a sale. Make someone ‘jig’ this year.” I’ve always put a lot of thought into finding unique gifts at the holidays and if you’re a long-time reader, chances are we probably share similar tastes. So without further ad … | Continue reading
1. Shell Glasses By Centa, Lisbon. 2. Inside Jeremy Irons’ Incredible Rescued & Restored a 15th-Century Irish Castle In the midst of a creative crisis, the British actor impulsively purchased Kilcoe Castle, a long-abandoned fortress near the water. David Kamp learns how a magical … | Continue reading
It will probably sound out of character if we told you that to discover Europe’s most secret corners, you should follow the herd and keep to the beaten path, quite literally. But hear us out and grab your hiking boots because today we’re taking notes from a very small group of fo … | Continue reading
Our eyebrows are arguably our most expressive, and some would even go as far as to say, dominant, facial features: they frame our faces, their expressions speak louder than words and what these non-identical twins say about the windows to our soul can be, well, rather telling, wi … | Continue reading
“I’m Pierrot,” once said the late, great David Bowie: “I’m Everyman”. We all know his face: white like the moon, his only friend, with sad black lines drawn around the eyes, smudged by a teardrop or two. He’s dressed in an oversized white shirt with ruffles and pompoms and a litt … | Continue reading
Theatres are inherently haunted places. By night, actors tread the boards, conjuring the spirits of those who lived and those who never were. We can hardly expect all those shades to simply evaporate into the ether after the final curtain. Instead they seep into dark and secluded … | Continue reading
1. Crow Native Americans watching the rodeo at Crow fair in Montana, 1941 Colorisation by Sanna Dullaway. 2. The first kiss captured on camera was between two women in 1887 (contrary to Edison’s “The Kiss” film, widely accredited to being the first, 9 years later) “The First Nake … | Continue reading
Whilst exploring the abandoned Grossinger’s holiday resort in New York’s Catskill mountains one last time before it was torn down, something caught our eye in the crumbling ruins of what had once been the ice skate house. Propped up against the wall was a large wooden sign that h … | Continue reading
Cairo, 1938. Around 140,000 British troops occupied the city, and World War II was ready to burst. Thirty-seven artists and writers gathered to fight against a rising Fascist ideology, British colonial rule, and the local conservative art scene. The first inklings of Surrealism a … | Continue reading
‘A bandstand is, merely an empty shell unless music is played upon it,’ so laments Pavilions for Music, a website dedicated to the humble bandstand. Indeed, these empty shells with their elaborate ironwork and faded glamour, rushed past by commuters, utilised as climbing frames b … | Continue reading
Despite inflation and skyrocketing energy prices, The City of Lights isn’t going dark during the holidays, but instead is relying on LED lights and shorter hours (ie turning off all of the lights before midnight) to maintain the usual festive mood throughout the city. Let’s start … | Continue reading
1. Living Paintings By Thierry Mandon 2. Joan Didion’s belongings from her NY apartment are up for auction See the catalogue here. 3. The New Yorker’s List of Best Books of 2022 so far If this list doesn’t get you back into reading, I don’t know what will. 4. This Instagram accou … | Continue reading
When most people think of secrecy in Washington, DC, they probably think of the FBI, the CIA or the Pentagon. But just south of Embassy Row, nestled behind the façades of five row houses, there stands an icon of kitsch, African American history, and rock and roll: the Mansion on … | Continue reading