Hasta La Ideas

A luxury denim brand partners with Swiss furniture pros for a fresh update of mid-century classics

Prouvé RAW, G-Star’s latest collaboration in promoting its creative approach to other fields outside of clothing, links the denim brand with modernist Jean Prouvé’s furniture designs. Two years ago, the Amsterdam-based company approached Swiss contemporary furniture manufacturer Vitra and proposed a makeover of 14 pieces by Prouvé. Creative teams from both sides worked via email, video conferencing and in-person meetings to realize the project, the fruition of which is on display at the Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein, Germany until 31 July 2011. Between October and November this year, nine of the pieces, ranging from $1,210 to $7,225, will be available to buy through Vitra. Here, G-Star’s Global Brand Director Shubhankar Ray gives us more insight into the partnership.

Why did you choose Prouvé?

Over the years [we’ve] collected, bought and appreciated Prouvé’s furniture pieces. We ended up meeting Vitra and found that they also shared our maniacal dedication to design innovation, technology, craftsmanship and quality. So we decided to work together on a unique design experiment fusing our design DNA with Vitra and Prouvé. We jointly wanted to re-launch Prouvé’s classic pieces… to make Prouvé available and accessible to more people and not only the happy few who can afford, collect or find Prouvé’s furniture.

What was the process behind the collaboration?

Both creative teams visited and were immersed in each other’s world. We even tested Prouvé RAW prototypes as the set built for one of our fashion shows last summer where we had the audience sitting on Fauteuil Direction chairs. About 20 people were involved from both sides, along with Catherine Prouvé, Jean’s granddaughter.

What are some of the distinctly G-Star updates that were incorporated into Prouvé’s designs?

We re-interpreted Prouvés originals by using new production techniques and adjusting the ergonomic aspects, such as size correction in the chairs to make them more suitable for today’s man and woman versus the 1951 original. We also used new materials for the Fateuil Direction chair, like square-weave canvas, which ages with character – it’s too obvious and expected for us to use denim. We used natural leather for the armrests of the Cite chair, like [with our] belts. For some of the tables, like the Tropique, we changed the top from solid wood to a more modern steel. The other element was the colors; for example, with the Direction chairs, we finally settled on neutral dark gray – close to G-Star’s DNA.

Which sorts of challenges did both teams have to overcome in coming up with the updated designs?

The challenge was to add as little design as possible, to just underline the usefulness of the product.

What did the G-Star team take back to the company from this experience?

A focus on democratic functionality and the use of raw and high-quality materials to incorporate into our store designs, showrooms and brand architecture. A good learning [point] is also of our democratic purpose and the usefulness of modernist furniture and particularly Prouvés designs that match denim. When Prouvé’s furniture gets old, it ages with character just like worn-in or damaged denim.

Learn more about the collaboration in G-Star’s video

A master of needlepoint designs exclusive belts for everyone’s favorite Olympics-inspired retailer

Inspired since 2007 to bring color to corporate America with whimsical belts looped around the waists of businessmen, Washington, D.C. Tucker Blair is now teaming up with New York-based retailer, Opening Ceremony. Their collection of belts for men and women is a perfect marriage of Tucker Blair’s artistry with embroidered leather belts and Opening Ceremony’s emphasis on creativity.

Among the collection’s five designs is a particularly fitting belt featuring various colorful flags. This international motif references Opening Ceremony’s mission of celebrating the work of designers and artists abroad. The other designs include a standard leopard print, an eye-catching geometric pattern and perhaps the most adventurous, quirky white rabbits prancing across a black scene.

Beginning 15 July 2011, snag one of these snazzy, limited-edition needlepoint belts at Opening Ceremony’s New York and Los Angeles locations or at Ace Hotel in NYC. Otherwise, visit Opening Ceremony’s website to purchase one online for $110.

Tumblr’s first retail blog taps new Los Angeles label RTH as its next designer du jour

Seven months ago, college friends Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo launched Of a Kind, the first retail site on Tumblr and “online art gallery for emerging designers.” Since the explosive debut, the site has racked up thousands of followers, unsurprisingly attracted to the platform’s simplified interface and rotating cast of exciting new talents.

The pair’s knack for touting appealing up-and-comers isn’t the only reason the shopping portal remains ahead of others in the field of e-commerce. Offering up exclusively-designed items—in runs spanning five to 50 pieces—each piece is signed and numbered by the designer. As a supplement to these limited editions, Of a Kind publishes a series of editorials lending insight on each designer’s process and inspirations. This intimate approach to retail enables readers to be virtual experts on every Of a Kind edition and designer.

This week’s featured edition comes from the new Los Angeles company, RTH, which crafted an edition of 30 soft leather wallets, evocative of founder Rene Holguin’s Texan upbringing. Made in his dad’s El Paso boot factory, RTH finishes each with leather treatment, an added strap and a Southwestern pattern of holes punched on the flap.

Sign up for the Of a Kind newsletter between today, 15 June, and Monday, 20 June 2011, for a chance to score one of the unisex wallets in a special CH giveaway or pick it up from Of a Kind for $101.

East-meets-West in Vietnam’s art celebration focused on growth

As the cultural center of Vietnam, Hanoi recently made the ideal location to kick off Tiger Beer’s latest event in its free art and music series, Tiger Translate. With more than half of the country’s population born after 1975, the theme focused on growth, providing a badly needed forum for local Asian artists to come together and show off their work on a bigger scale and international platform.

Overseas artists included Prefab77, a wheat-paste trio from Newcastle, England, and JabaOne, a street artist from Belgium who resides in Singapore. They were matched with locals Hoang Art, whose Western-influenced style earned him a first-prize award in Hanoi’s Long Bien Festival of Arts; Pham Huy Thong, a studio painter and teacher whose work doubles as social commentary; Linkfish, a name recognized for being one of the first pioneers of the street art movement in the country; and DungJoon, a painter who is also an architect and art director. “For us, the reason we have such shows is to create the exchange,” said Tiger Translate Global senior brand manager Patsy Lim, citing how the invitation of major-name international artists helps shine the spotlight on lesser-known ones.

Tiger Translate Hanoi unfolded on Hoa Lo, the same road where the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison is located. Although it took eight levels of approval by various city departments to close off the street for the event, the choice clearly worked to drive home the growth theme.

Under a cloudy sky, heavy heat, humidity and the never-ending honks of scooters and cars, the artists spent a few days before the event painting the wide walls installed along the block, occasionally switching their focus to six plywood trees. Nearby, workers installed pieces by international artists turned into mesmerizing 3-D by Tiger Translate. The final touches were made in front of more than 3,200 eventgoers on the evening of the show. While most of the Vietnamese artists already spoke a little bit of English, language wasn’t a problem. “Because it was all visual, it’s people who have sketchbooks,” said Marc Ross of Prefab77. “The language barrier doesn’t matter.”

While spray painting his own piece, Hoang Art observed Prefab77’s wheat-pasting technique and invited them to collaborate on an area of his piece. In fact, all of the collaborations worked similarly. Artists began their pieces, and as they checked out each other’s progress, they’d suggest how they could add their own signature.

For such a young street art scene—Linkfish told us it’s only about five years old, originating from hip-hop parties held in underground Hanoi locations—both Prefab77 and JabaOne were surprised with the art prowess of the Vietnamese. “They have a very good level for beginners,” said JabaOne. He was particularly impressed with their lack of access to more sophisticated types of spray paint. “When they move to the modern spray can, their technique will even be better,” he said. Prefab77 echoed the same sentiments about Hoang Art. “His style is incredible. I can’t imagine there’s many of that size of walls in Vietnam that you could paint and not get arrested,” Ross said.

The rapidity with which the Vietnamese artists did their work was also something Prefab77 found remarkable. Pham Huy Thong, who had never painted on outside canvases before, painted his tree with a picture of a baby—as a representation of the changing consumer habits of today’s youth—in under an hour and a half. Using brush and acrylic paint on top of Prefab77’s wheat-pasted posters, his piece ended up being the paradigm of the East-meets-West goal of Tiger Translate.

From the side of the local artists, they were most taken with Prefab77’s wheat-paste method, a style they had never seen. “We have spray cans, pens or brushes,” said Linkfish. “They have stickers and posters.” Whether it was a matter of tradition, the local artists said they never realized street art could be made outside of the use of conventional materials. Prefab77’s response was a little ironic, “They have the best glue we’ve ever used!”

Tiger Translate will run in other cities this year and continue exploring the themes of growth and metropolis.

A master craftsman’s line of carbon steel knives for at-home chefs

The term “Master Bladesmith” may stir images of medieval men hammering steel on anvils, preparing for battle. Yet visit the workshop of Bob Kramer, one of only a hundred certified such experts in the world, and you’ll find a modern craftsman at work, renowned for his custom-made carbon steel blades—which regularly sell for up to $26,000 per knife. For those without Batali-deep pockets to afford the $400 per inch his one-offs typically run, Kramer will release a new knife in collaboration next month with Zwilling J.A. Henckels to arm today’s cooking aficionados for skirmishes on cutting boards.

The partnership was born from a recognition that many Americans are returning to the kitchen with a desire for high-quality ingredients and and the tools to match. Not for the amateur culinary enthusiast, Kramer’s blades require a much higher level of care then their more widespread cousin stainless. But if you are serious about cooking and can commit to the maintenance, the rewards are plenty—carbon steel can hold a keener edge, will retain that sharpness much longer and will develop a patina over time giving each blade a totally unique look.

Kramer designed the series of blades from tip to handle and, by taking advantage of Zwilling’s scale and technological capabilities, was able to create a product that meets his standards but at a more realistic price point for the average domestic chef. Lightweight, precise and with grenadille wood handles, the hand-finished knives feel amazing in the palm, and make an impressive addition to any kitchen.

The series ranges from a 3.5″ paring knife to the classic 10″ chef’s knife. They will be available in June, exclusively from Sur La Table and ranging from $140-350.

Also on Cool Hunting: Cut Brooklyn