Consume – The Word Magazine

Art

Ten things to do during Design September

What to eat, see, buy, visit and listen to during this year's edition of Design September, which opens tomorrow.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

Komplot, rooftops, Parr and prodigies. This weekend in Belgium.

The sun will be out for The Word's Antwerp BBQ (promise!) while Brussels basks in the warmth of a Martin Parr retro.

Neighbourhood life

Preview: How to make it without IKEA

Our April edition will see us dig deep into the spirit of hacking while finding out what life looks like without IKEA

Holiday gift guide: The Word’s Christmas wishlist

We help you keep the holiday season's shopping stress levels down with this hand-picked, carefully-selected gift guide.

Stephan Schneider on curating the Nationa(a)l Pop Up Store

We spoke with the German designer about his selection, the new generation and why a strong product is always key.

Neighbourhood life

The fashion world of London-based Belgian photographer Gael Delhaye

London-based Belgian fashion snapper Gael Delhaye shot this series exclusively for The Word. Lucky us.

Art

Adeline and Alexandre on the opening of Nationa(a)l Pop Up Store

Cousins Adeline and Alexandre's blink-and you'll-miss-it one stop shop for Belgian creative entrepreneurs sets up in Brussels.

The weekend has landed

"All that exists now is clubs, drugs, pubs and parties. They’ve got 48 hours off from the world..." Our pink album's fashion series shot by Antwerp-based photographer Kris De Smedt.

Neighbourhood life

Iconic Brussels bookstore Darakan’s dying days

We drop-in for a browse and a chat as a new (and final?) chapter opens in the Darakan saga.

Music

Cult Belgian blog On-Point’s exclusive playlist for streaming site Juke

The second instalment in our sponsored playlists feature sees us hand selection duties over to Belgian blog On-Point founder Alex Deforce for an 80-minute plus playlist of sun, smiles and soul.

Art

The Butt book, a numbered Absolut Vodka bottle and Sandra Kim.

Our manifold inspirations for the pink album, from Bubblicious gum to the Pink Panther and Belgium's Delirium beer.

Neighbourhood life

Design District brings Scandinavian cool to Leuven

The final installment of our series on Belgian design high street gems sees us wandering through Leuven's 'Design District', one of the country's major hotspots for Scandinavian design devotees.

Neighbourhood life

Antwerp’s Helder: a design studio and interior store all in one

At the helm at Antwerp's Helder are a couple of designers whose own creations accompany those of a myriad of young international names...

Neighbourhood life

Brussels design emporium Espace Bizarre

A Japanese furniture shop turned concept store with everything from Muuto to Maroso on the shelves, Jens Rodieck transformed Espace Bizarre into the eclectic design address we know and love today.

Neighbourhood life

Brussels retail tastemaker La Fabrika’s ode to design restraint

Number two on our tour of Belgium's most exciting design shops is Brussels’ La Fabrika, a 230 square metre patch of the city's design-friendly Dansaert district.

Neighbourhood life

A design and interiors selection to take you through the winter

We’ve done a room-by-room survey of essentials, rounding-up those items that were most in need of replacing. From bedroom to bar, here’s our selection of design delectables topping our must-have list at the moment.

An interview with high fashion shop Smets’ buying director Pascaline Smets

Glamorous style heiress Pascaline Smets uses her role in the family business to bring a cosmopolitan edge to Brussels.

Music

Juke playlist by Damien Aresta

We were quite keen to give newly-launched music streaming service Juke a try, so we asked some members of our extended family to toy around with the newcomer, create an exclusive playlist and get back to us with some feedback.

Seven things you should buy before you leave

We’re keeping both him and her happy with this month’s showstoppers selection. We have the iconic bag, shoes and polo shirt, the future-friendly dresses, the obligatory pair of high tops, the jacket to go with them as well as the scent of the moment.

Welcome to the jungle

We invited a number of fashion experts including American style icon Diane Pernet to discuss the industry and what it takes for young designers to make it.

Art

Fifteen questions to Caroline Van Hoek

Here's us chatting with Brussels-based gallery founder Caroline Van Hoek about her take on the artist-as-jewellery-maker, why she expanded her space upwards and talent-scouting.

A brave new world

Upcoming Brussels-based photographer Ismael Moumin shot the orange album's fashion series for us, futuristic, dark and somewhat dystopian.

Neighbourhood life This is Belgium

The best online shops for fashion

Online shopping goes native with our pick of Belgium's best e-tailers, plus a round-up of our favorites abroad, with a focus on sites featuring Belgian brands.

Destined to shine

Our pick of orange show-stopping goodies, from a Burberry trench to Kenzo's latest perfume.

Music

Orange amps

We talked to three Belgian musicians about their 'thing' for Orange amps. One of them is Wallace Vanborns frontman Ian Clement, who made it onto the cover of our orange album.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend in Belgium 19.04

Here's our pick of somethings for your Belgian weekend, lovingly laid out with Art Brussels sitting pretty at the top of the pile with expos by Roe Ethridge and Felicia Atkinson, 40 murals by Invader, and some art fair side-shows.

Neighbourhood life

Pimpinelle

Pimpinelle, a new boutique in Brussels for foodies, inspires Damien Aresta to sample some other recent delicious food experiences. Dig in.

Neighbourhood life

The Word’s limited edition tote

Our new collection of The Word totes hit the streets today, with a limited edition illustration by Virassamy. Get yours and support your favourite Belgian bi-monthly.

Spring cleaning

Spring is a time for new beginnings (read: new clothes). But what to stuff in your closet once you're done clearing out the cobwebs from your woolly Belgian winter wardrobe? Here's our handpicked selection of lovely spring things.

Neighbourhood life

Hunting and Collecting’s Niels and Aude

Niels and Aude are the creative geniuses behind Hunting and Collecting, a Brussels-based concept store that's made a name for itself in Belgium and beyond.

Art

The Valentine’s Day gift guide

Every day of the week we'll be hand-picking one gift that is guaranteed to get you in your loved ones' good books. And we ain't talking heart-shaped boxes...

Art

Grey Gardens

By telling the story of the aunt and cousin of Jackie 'O' Kennedy, 1976 documentary Grey Gardens shows the face of the American aristocracy fallen from grace.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 03.02

It's a balmy minus 8° out there, but these weekend shindigs should warm you up: ProPulse Festival, Catclub and a Pierre Besson expo in Brussels, vintage shopping and a metal gig in Antwerp, and electronic music in Ghent. Have an outrageous weekend.

The Beautiful Fall

A fascinating read about the bitter rivalry between iconic fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent.

Premiere Vision

Twice a year Premiere Vision, the world's number one fabric fair, brings together designers from all over the world in Paris.

Art

Bruce Davidson’s Subway

We take a closer look at Steidl's recent reissue of American photographer Bruce Davidson's groundbreaking photographs of the New York subway back in the 1980s.

Neighbourhood life

Delvaux and Wouters & Hendrix collaboration

We sit down with jewellery designers Wouters & Hendrix to get the lowdown on their Delvaux collaboration.

Neighbourhood life

Our Christmas wish list

Starting today and up until Christmas eve, we’ll be putting forward two present proposals a day meant to make your end-of-year gift search that little bit easier. Today: A knitted cardigan from Henrik Vibskov and scarf by SPRB.

Art

When Hedgren met Sonny

Belgium bag maker Hedgren teams up with happy snapper Sonny Vandevelde for the launch of their capsule collection.

Neighbourhood life

The king of clean

Eddy Beaurain's Pressing No1 is an institution amongst Brussels' fashion folk. We pay him a visit days before he closes shop for good.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 15.12

Three exhibitions, a Black Lips concert and a DJ set in Brussels, photography in Antwerp, painting in Ghent, popular culture in Leuven and, last but not least, a quick-shot selection of leftfield Christmas markets to catch this weekend.

Music

White labels

Brussels nightlife queen and Word-columnist Lady Jane on white labels and the luxury of having record store clerks keep little gems behind their counters for their trusted customers.

Art

White coats: The baker

In part three of our feature on wearing white coats at work, we profile Himschoot, Ghent's oldest bakery.

Neighbourhood life

The shelf: Shedding light

Chinese living, the most dangerous city in America, the disappearance of landmarks in Colorado, colour-coded foreplay and a personal history of the household. Five fine art and photography books that'll see you through the winter months.

Art

Rue Blanche

Rue Blanche is not only known as a purveyor of softness for everyday women but also for its outstanding look books. We dived a bit into history and had a closer look at its catalogues of the last 25 years.

Neighbourhood life

Chauncey’s white crew neck

Cosy-up to this white sweater from Brussels-based knitwear label Chauncey made of the finest Mongolian cashmere.

Neighbourhood life

Damir Doma

We sit down with 30 year old Croatian fashion designer Damir Doma to talk production issues, being an introvert in Antwerp and choosing white for his latest collection.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 01.12

Lineart Art Fair and Hercules and Love Affair's Andy Butler in Ghent, Belgian photography and discount designer shopping in Antwerp, Jasper Johns in the countryside and, last but not least, Robert Devriendt and a temporary design store in Brussels.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 18.11

Design exhibitions, photography fairs, fashion sales, vintage markets, live shows and DJ nights. People take note, your weekend's about to kick off and it's going to be big.

Neighbourhood life

Fifteen questions to: Zhao Li

With her playful, animal-shaped creations, up and coming jewellery designer Zhao Li has roots in China and a home in Antwerp, adding some much-needed colour to the local jewellery scene. We speak with her about the beauty of spiders, using medical plastic and her jewellery line 'talitali'.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 11.11

A camera phone photography exhibition in Ghent, a Paul Smith exhibition in Antwerp, a fashion show of second-hand creations, a gay-cinema festival, I Love Techno in Ghent and a rap concert in Brussels.

Neighbourhood life

A Sofie D’Hoore dress

The little black dress gets given a Belgian twist in the shape of Sophie D'Hoore's upscaled offshoot for the modern woman.

Neighbourhood life

Fifteen questions to: Peter Ceursters

Fifteen questions put to Peter Ceursters, manager of Antwerp's Acne store by day and accessory designer by night.

Neighbourhood life

Bleu de Chanel

Chanel's latest fragrance for men 'Bleu de Chanel' hits all the right notes. Neither too girly nor too macho, the perfectly balanced manly scent offers just the right mixture of confidence and unpretentiousness.

Neighbourhood life

Fifteen questions to: Sofie Claes

We sit down with Antwerp rising start Sophie Claes for the second in our instalment of fifteen question sessions to talk doing charity in India, starting her own business and what characterises her style.

Neighbourhood life Do the right thing

The weekend 21.10

Berlin's electro legend Apparat is coming to Brussels as well as the Californian quirky three-piece Why? and Bepotel throws its release party - it's going to be a busy weekend for music lovers. For all others there is Bob Verschueren's quite original exhibition of vegetal artworks in the Botanique or the so-called Micromarché, an indoor art and fashion market showcasing Belgium's young talents.

Neighbourhood life

Kiehl’s Creme de Corps

You know what they say: a good defence is a strong offence. Don't wait for the winter to take its toll on your skin, and pre-empt the cracks with Kiehl's Creme de Corps, a face-saving, all-encompassing body cream that'll act as damage control to the winter months' wrath.

Neighbourhood life

Spicing it up: Saveurs et Savoirs

For the last instalment in our four-part series of inspiring retail start-ups, we spice things up a little with Saveurs et Savoirs, a temple to the senses set to open in Brussels this December.

Neighbourhood life

YMC sweater for girls

Nothing says cuddle up and snuggle like a heavy-knit sweater, and this YMC crew neck has got the entire office dishing out group hugs as defensive measures against the week's depressing weather.

Neighbourhood life

Ménage à deux: When fashion, art and lifestyle collide

In the third instalment of our series on new retail innovations, we meet DJ duo Ménage à deux a couple of days prior to the opening of their concept store of the same name, a fashion, design and culture emporium nestled in the heart of Brussels.

Neighbourhood life

Fifteen questions to: Eric Beauduin

Fashion designer Eric Beauduin's leather good creations have taken the fashion world by storm, resulting in prestigious retails imprints such as L'Ėclaireur in Paris and Halelujah in Brussels carrying his line. In a new, weekly series of rapid fire questions to the fashion folk, we quiz the Brussels-based bagman on everything from the meaning of luxury to the importance of retaining his independence.

Neighbourhood life

Nike Sky Force ’88

The re-edition of Nike's Sky Force '88 has got the whole office reminiscing about the days when we spent more time on the basketball court than at the local. A time when scoring a three-pointer didn't yet have a double entendre.

Neighbourhood life

Miam Miam Bio: Organic food Grandma-style

In part two of our ongoing series on dynamic, local retail start-ups that enliven your neighbourhood's retail landscape, we meet the owner of Miam Miam Bio, an innovative organic concept that puts Grandma-style cooking at the centre of its philosophy and offering.

Neighbourhood life

Les jeans de Chanel

Denim is everywhere and now you can even wear it on your nails: We love Chanel's jeans inspired shades of blue.

Neighbourhood life

London’s The Peoples Supermarket wins smart future minds award

A supermarket for the people by the people - this is the motto of the winning project. A sustainable food cooperative that provides healthy, local food at reasonable prices convinced the international jury at the smart urban stage Frankfurt.

Neighbourhood life

Meeting Dries Van Noten (or the day my heart stopped beating)

We meet Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten to discuss distance, independence and advertising (or lack of).

Style spotters: Manu

For the fourth and last in our series of visual chapters on individualism and style, we hand the camera over to Manu from Mapp Store – one of those people who always has something good to say. He might have just given a new album a listen, and thinks you should too (we recently discovered Holidays […]

Neighbourhood life

A few words about our iPad app

Our iPad app having hit Apple’s AppStore last week, we thought it useful to give you a little background information on it. You know, the why, who, what, when and all. We first started toying with the idea of developing an iPad app towards the end of the summer 2010. Apple had just released its […]

Neighbourhood life

7d Bermuda shorts

Sunscreen, shades, a good book and a killer iPod playlist might be the essential components to a perfect holiday although one shouldn’t underestimate the life-changing capacity of certain often overlooked items like, say, a pair of Bermuda shorts. Starting today, each week will see its new suggestion, a little something that somehow caught our attention […]

Those everyday little things

What better way to tackle our pick of items that tickle our fancy this month than by pigeonholing them into categories? Not just any categories. Categories we entertain somewhat of a love and hate relationship with. Love because they inspire our everyday. Hate because they make our everyday budgets smaller by the day. Photographer Melika […]

Let there be light

With our wardrobe summer lift nearly complete, there still are a couple of things we need to bag before setting sail for the month. Need a watch, a pair of sunglasses, shoes, a perfume, a pair of Chinos and sandals. Easy. Writers Nicholas Lewis, Philippe Pourhashemi and Randa Wazen 01. Scent of a summer We […]

Art

That’s yellow spelt L-O-W

Gucci, Chanel or Mercedes will never push money-off coupons through your letterbox. Just like they will never use yellow in their corporate colour portfolio. Yellow is used in marketing to mean cut-price bargains for the proletariat, and the last thing a luxury brand wants is for customers to think that their products are made “for […]

The yellow board

You might have noticed that we’ve taken to immortalising some of the things that inspire us whilst working on any given issue. Some are obvious hits, whilst others deserve an explanation. We call these pages our boards. The black album had its blackboard. The red album had its red board (although readers with an eye […]

Neighbourhood life

When old meets new: J.M. Weston invites Kitsuné

Collaborations are a hard thing to pull-off in the finicky and fickle world of fashion. Egos tend to get in the way, brand values get muddled and no one really is fooled. Yes, ok, we’ll buy into the ‘meeting of minds’ thing, but that’s about as far as it goes. Don’t expect us to believe […]

Fashion: The wish list

01. Penny for your style Belgian-born Diane von Fürstenberg knows women. Her upbeat energy, passion for life and positive attitude shape her work. She likes to empower her customers and caters to her desires and aspirations. With talented Frenchman Yvan Mispelaere now at the helm as creative director, new blood keeps flowing through the house’s […]

Neighbourhood life

Fashion: Shoe shining

Footwear fetishists are one step closer to shoe bliss thanks to Walk The Line, a brand new boutique opened by Audrey Jaeger little over a month ago, near the posh Place Georges Brugmannplein. After working in boutiques such as Paule Ka and Chanel, she found the incentive to set up her own place following an […]

Neighbourhood life

Faguo – world dominance one tree at a time

There’s something rather heart-warming about seeing a start-up coming-of-age, especially in the fast-paced and unforgiving world of fashion. If you’re anything like us and keep a close watch on the daily going-ons of the industry, you’ll agree that certain new arrivals somehow seem more astute than others at remaining at the top of the hype […]

Red hot like a chili pepper

We’re raising the stakes and turning the temperature up this month with our pick of red marvels – everything from a life-changing camera to a revolutionary little notebook. Photographer Benoît Banisse Art direction and styling Flore van Ryn 01. Just click it We’ve become experts at commissioning photography, art directing as well as styling it, […]

Art

Amsterdam Fashion Week: the report

What is Dutch fashion? I guess it’s fair to say that an instant answer does not come to mind. Unlike Italy, France or the UK, Holland does not seem to have a fashion tradition as such, even though the Dutch appreciate craft and originality. It often seems that art and design are more valued within […]

Neighbourhood life

2011, année érotique

Année Erotique. What might sound like a brand of kinky lingerie is actually the new range of high-end womenswear that will be launched this summer by Kaat Bloomaert, of Le Fabuleux Marcel de Bruxelles fame. This very feminine line only features five designs per season – all exclusively dresses. “I think there’s definitely a trend […]

Music

Converse and Marimekko celebrate their collaboration with a movie

To celebrate its collaboration with Finnish textile icon Marimekko, Converse has commissioned a short movie shot in Helsinki. Introducing some of the print designers entrusted with the task of bringing the Marimekko aesthetic to Converse’s classic shoe, the film sheds light on the slightly women’s focused collection – a pair of which will be featured […]

Neighbourhood life

Black beauty

Working exclusively with French tanneries and the best skins available, Noir Basic‘s exquisite outerwear pieces reconcile craftsmanship with the world of streetwear. Writer Philippe Pourhashemi Inspired by American culture and the refinement of Parisian ateliers, Anthony Lellouche, Romain Bernardini and Marc Leblond set up the brand in 2008, appealing to leather aficionados around the globe […]

Neighbourhood life

The black market

For a “non-colour,” black has surely seeped its way into every aspect of our lives, from fashion and food to beauty and bathrooms. Photography Benoît Banisse Art direction and styling facetofacedesign 01. Royal rolls Toilet paper doesn’t usually get us talking, but that all changed on a recent night out. After having downed one long […]

Art

The black books

Turn the lights off, and this month’s pick of books suddenly looks more menacing than their authors had intended them to be. You won’t hear us complaining though, as it probably means we’ll get to hold on to them a little longer… Photography Yassin Serghini Drawings – Work comes out of work (2008) by Richard […]

Neighbourhood life

Noir: entertaining a dark passion for sustainable fashion

Sustainable designer lines might flourish all over the fashion sphere, yet it would seem that only a few brands can be credited for making it happen. Noir, a Copenhagen-based fashion group, was smart enough to get rid of all the hippie dippie connotations the fad carries by injecting some major sex appeal into sustainability. Writer […]

Art

The winners of our Swatch New Gent contest

Following an overwhelming response to our Swatch contest, we needed a little more time than expected to sift through your recollections and, ultimately, decide upon three winners. The jury has now spoken and, with somewhat of a preference for contestants who went that extra mile, here are the contest’s three winners, complete with their submissions: […]

Neighbourhood life

Goods from the Gulag

Just when we thought we finally had found an excuse to call in caviar by the kilos and crates-full of vodka to brighten up our days, we settled for nostalgia over flamboyance. Frugal meals and geeky memories prevailed, which didn’t stop us from messing about with KGB worthy spy gear or Tsar-like ornaments. Photography Benoit […]

Neighbourhood life

Win a watch from Swatch’s New Gent collection

Many objects come with the added bonus of announcing a certain coming-of-age. A maturity. A willigness to take a step up and, well, grow up. In the same way as you now start looking at blazer coats in a different light (“they’re ok when worn on top of a pair of jeans” you might even […]

Art

If you don’t read books, you will soon forget how to read

When anything and everything remotely linked to culture better happen behind closed doors, you better hope your library is stocked with the right balance of books. This, we imagine, is what a book shelf would have looked liked in St Petersburg circa 1984. Photography Yassin Serghini Verses and Versions; Three Centuries of Russian Poetry (2008) […]

Neighbourhood life

Tell your people to call my people and we’ll do lunch…

Midday is crunch time at Word HQ, which means we’ve built up a considerable knowledge bank of places we can call upon for an immediate fix of culinary double-deckers. Spanning our customary urban triangle of Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels, these are the places you’ll find us queuing up round about 12h10. Photography Veerle Frissen Brussels […]

So Fresh, So Cool

Following in the footsteps of its sister shop, Fresh Kicks, is a new sneaker store from Brussel’s Youssef Hebidel, catering cool for the city’s urbanites. Having started a graf shop back in the late 90s, Youssef established himself as somewhat of a doyen of street culture in Brussels. Tapping into the extant need for a […]

Art

FAntastic and FAbulous: the opening of FA Gallery

The project was an ambitious one right from the word go. The idea, although simple, was massive in its scope: to reinvigorate a dire and rather stale local fashion and art landscape (in this case, that of Kuwait), and infuse it with much-needed pep. Whilst style staples such as Villa Moda had dominated the local […]

Art

The Special Showstoppers: The Goods

We touch upon all aspects of design – from creation through to completion and reparation – in this month’s selection of special show stealers. We’ve got the software to prototype it, the loungechair to ponder it, the stool to rock it out, the plasticine to fix it, the mirror to have a final look at […]

Music

Some like it rough

Unpolished, stiff, battered and worn-out, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this month’s showstopper selection was handpicked by a bunch of brutes. A far cry from the smooth and flashy must-haves spread all over the glossies’ gargantuan September issues, we lay our latest cravings bare and rough. Photography Benoît Banisse, art direction and styling facetofacedesign 1. […]

Art

Oooh Wordiors, come out and play…

The indefatigable and near indestructible KKGB gang produced one of the most ambitious fashions series to have graced the magazine pages for our Rough Edges Issue. Indeed, each day of shoot was a cacophony of surreal situations, future-funky hairdos and menacing weapons. Before we show you the series in its entirety as well as a […]

Art

The Word x Jack Purcell

You might have noticed that we’ve recently taken a liking to sneaker brand Jack Purcell (Check our Rough Edges Issue for more). Having out-worn, out-grown and near out-dated our Converses, we thought it was about time to turn things up a notch and upgrade. In steps often heard-about but seldom seen Jack Purcell sneakers. The […]

Art

Giving the people what they want

Citroen’s new DS3 has been on my mind ever since I took it for a test drive over three weeks ago. At first sight, you’d be forgiven for thinking they got it totally wrong. It’s much more muscular, intimidating even, than the original model (which we paid respect to in our Rough Edges Issue). It […]

Art

The Word x De Nieuwe Brasserie

Recent downtown descends have seen our usual paths veer somewhat off track, our urban instincts for discovery somehow enticed by murmurs of renovation and rumours of regeneration. Steering away from the usual Chartreux-Dansaert-St Catherine triangular hotspot of hipness, our latest wanderings have brought us to place du Samedi/Zaterdagplein, located just behind place St Catherine/Sint-Katelijneplaats. A […]

Art

The Shelf: rough, rugged and raw reads

These are some of the novels and photo-books we had lying about the pool house over the summer. Some were good reads, some were immersing reads, whilst others just made us reach for the ever growing pile of trash-mags, the result of 10 days of poolside dilly dallying. Slaughter on a snowy morn by Colin Evans, […]

Art

Label legend

Profiling Rough Trade had been on our wish list for quite a while. Call us uninspired or lazy, but doing it for our Rough Edges Issue felt like an obvious no-brainer, or just an excuse to day trip our way over to London. We hopped on the 8.05 Eurostar and started with the label’s headquarter, […]

Neighbourhood life

Inside the Glorybox

Newly opened and already making its presence felt on the fashion thoroughfare of Dansaert, Glorybox is a bastion of Belgian and French design. Stocking new designers solely from Belgium and France is a primary and appealing feature of the boutique, distinguishing it from other shops in the area. Another somewhat atypical quality is the friendly, […]

Neighbourhood life This is Belgium

The best for food in Brussels

After sharing our favourite places to have a drink we share our adressess for the best food in Brussels and morem, from Delecta to Yamoto.

Art

Brussels: where we shop

Sales have kicked off – which means we can finally indulge in some of our favourite brands without fear of ending up blacklisted by all the country’s banks. Scroll down for a selection of boutiques and stores that have become inevitable stops in our retail therapy marathon route. Mapp Store (Men and Women) © Mapp […]

Art

Brussels: where we drink

Together with the start of the summer comes the cringe-inducing ‘city guides’ we’ve all grown accustomed to, from American broasheets’ “36 hours in…” roundups to glossy magazines’ “10 things to do in…” selections. Directories of the usual suspects, these guides hit all the right (touristy) chordes, without ever delving deep into the city DNA. And […]

Art

Lynch: Saying it without words

David Lynch’s career has spanned over 40 years, directing critically acclaimed films like Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive (2001). What is less known is his parallel and extensive oeuvre of surrealist artwork. The Max Ernst Museum in Germany held a major exhibition this past winter, presenting more than 150 pieces by […]

Art

DJ Kicks given the Kode 9 treatement

There was never any question that Kode 9’s DJ Kicks mix would be an interesting, time-travelling foray into bass music. The London-based producer, DJ, label boss and author – the closest the UK’s dubstep scene has to a spiritual godfather – has relentlessly been crafting a unique musical identity that has won him the respect […]

Art

Faith No More

The Dance is house music legends Faithless’s first album in 4 years. Their last album, 2006’s To All New Arrivals, was a polemic loaded record that boasted the group’s socio-political awareness. It seems with The Dance Faithless have decided to re-engage with their prior material, with tracks like ‘Not Going Home’ which attempt to recapture […]

Art

We made your world

Many of the objects that we overlook or take for granted have had an extraordinary role to play in human history. From concrete to the cathode ray tube: yesterday’s breakthrough discovery often becomes tomorrow’s trash. Photography Guy Van Laere Additional research Hettie Judah “For over one billion people in the developing world, glasses are a […]

Art

Absolutely smashing

Life at the cutting edge can get pretty exhausting – kept awake at night by genius ideas, burning through the shoe leather as you sprint your way too and from the patent office, wrestling frustration as things fail to fall into place just so – we thought we’d help out with a little selection of […]

Art

Oh Oh Emmanuelle

Giving into a little teenage nostalgia, we profiled cult figure of night time television Emmanuelle for our Skin edition. Here, you’ll find a selection of some of our favourite Emmanuelle moments, as balmy as they are classic. The original article we published can be found at the end of the post. Additional research by Timothy […]