Mai & Yorgo’s alpine adventure – Pt.2
28 December 2009
We made it safely and quickly to Chamonix, the GT-R’s mean fascia clearing the fast lane of the Autoroute for us. First thing to do here: a bit of Black Crows branding. Keeping it subtle.
Mai & Yorgo’s alpine adventure – Pt.1
26 December 2009
Off to Chamonix for a bunch of Black Crows meetings and some winter testing with Mai Ikuzawa and her Nissan GT-R. First stop: my parents’ house, where the uncanny visual similarity between my mother’s Kia Soul and the GT-R becomes glaringly obvious.
Follow her reports on her Honeyee blog.
Thanks Jennifer!
25 December 2009
The unique, wild, lovely and uber-sexy Jennifer Eymere gave me a great birthday/Christmas present: a pair of sunglasses with FLAT lenses. Somehow all sunglasses today feature curved lenses, and the only way to avoid that is to go for vintage models. But these recent Mosley Tribes specs have got the flat look that I love. Thanks Jen! And check her blog…
Driven: Nissan Cube
17 December 2009
I finally had a brief drive of the Nissan Cube, a car that has been one of my all-time favorites since I first saw it it its concept version (the Chappo). The fact that for years it was a Japanese-market-only vehicle made it even more desirable, and I used to drool with envy each time I saw an imported one pass by in the streets of London.
The Cube in its 3rd incarnation is now available worldwide, and thankfully has not changed much of its boxy shape in the process. I still prefer the old headlights, but the finish and attention to detail on this version is clearly a step up.
The launch took place in the Truman Brewery in London, coincidentally in the exact spot where we shot an Aston Martin a few months ago:
Nice cubic mugs:
Our car had white wheels! Very cool detail, I haven’t seen this on a production car since Peugeot used to fit them on their “rallye” editions in the 80’s:
The Cube:
Assymetry is great:
My bike fit in the back:
And here is the cover we did a year ago, for which we built square wheels and square shoes (by Atalanta Weller):
Vestoj Magazine
14 December 2009
If there was a an award for the person with the most positive energy, the nicest character, the friendliest smile, and the longest legs, Anja Cronberg would probably win. Anja used to work with Intersection years ago, then went back to her native Sweden to work on Acne Paper for a while. Now she is living in Paris, and has just published the first issue of her magazine, Vestoj. I only had the time for a quick glimpse at it, but it felt refreshingly new and unusual, with an impressive roster of contributors, a sophisticated yet simple design approach, and heaps of text to read if you’re tired of fashion magazines that align boring fashion shoots back to back.
Anja:
Vestoj:
Tom Dixon + Audi A8
11 December 2009
The main reason for my trip to Miami last week was the launch of the new version of Audi’s flagship sedan, the A8. In a move that is becoming more common amongst automobile manufacturers (it was about time..), this car wasn’t launched and revealed at a nondescript and generic auto show in Frankfurt or Detroit, but in the rather more glamorous confines of Miami Beach.
Audi being one the main sponsors of Design Miami and of Art Basel Miami Beach, it only made sense to do this during the week when this city transforms itself from slightly cheesy seaside resort for retired folk to international creative hub.
Not wanting to do things in halves, Audi built a huge pavilion to launch and display the car, booked a large chunk of the Fontainebleau hotel to host the hundreds of journalists they’d flown in from all over the world, and had 200 chauffeured Q7’s criss-crossing the city. The pavilion displayed a selection of art from the Rubell family Collection, and revealed a specially commissioned installation by my friend Tom Dixon. The laconic British designer only had a very short window of time to create something inspired by the A8, and came up with a simple yet intricate solution. Light Light took inspiration in the (relative) lightness of the car, and is made of hundreds of chemically etched geodesic domes, cut from aluminum (like the car) and finished manually (like the car), each containing some LED lights (like… you guessed it).
Close-up:
Non-assembled panels:
Assembled:
The installation:
Oh and yes there was a car there too:
As usual with Audis, the design is pretty much irreprochable, clearly in line with rest of their range (some could say that all Audi sedans start to look a tad too similar to each other…), and the technology is mind-boggling (a touchpad on which you can write with your finger, night vision with pedestrian recognition, headlights that follow the road according to the sat-nav system, etc…). But what I prefer about the new models in the Audi range is their use of LED’s and “signature” patterns in their head and tail lights. I loved the Q5 ones, I love the R8 headlights, and the new A8 follows that path nicely:
More on this car when I get to drive it…
Fendi x Abici bike
11 December 2009
One more souvenir from Miami: I finally saw the bike Fendi did with Abici in the (leathery) flesh. Not as extreme as Jacques Ferrand’s leather bike, but slightly more user-friendly. Very impressive attention to detail, I especially love the cladding of the brake levers and of the pump.
Christian Louboutin Miami store
9 December 2009
In Miami I passed by the brand new Christian Louboutin store in the Design District. Designed by Eric Clough of 212box, it’s an unusual store, with a lot of space not dedicated to retail, creating an interesting and soothing area between the street and the core of the shop.
Flowery facade:
The entrance, with shoes trapped into a web of colorful fabric:
Mr. Louboutin:
The walls are covered by small wooden tiles engraved with imaginary alphabets:
And some of these tiles spell “Christian” or “Louboutin” in geometric letters:
Oh and you can also buy shoes there:
Maison Martin Margiela book / Car Cover
30 November 2009
I am in Miami for Design Miami/ and passed by the F Factory building, where Maison Martin Margiela have a space. They were also displaying their new book, which shows the car cover we did together.
Here is a photo of a book in which a photo of a magazine (Intersection) shows a photo of a car cover which has photos of the car underneath printed onto it. Simple.
The space:
Friends and their wheels / pt.19: Mai Ikuzawa
27 November 2009
After 18 Friends and their wheels, some people are getting a bit offended if I’ve not featured them with their mode of transport. In the case of my BEST friend, ex-future wife, future ex-wife, driving partner, and fellow member of team 1974, Mai Ikuzawa, the wait had been really way too long. So without further ado, I shall introduce her. Boss of her own graphic design agency, fellow blogger (on Honeyee), daughter of racing driver Tetsu Ikuzawa, racing driver herself, and worldwide woman of mystery, she is funny, stylish, sexy, clever, fiercely independent and leaves a trail of drooling men in her wake. Her many vehicles add to her mystique of course…
Her German Riese und Muller bicycle:
Her (deceased) Honda Gyro Canopy scooter (with perforated top case to ferry her smelly pug Debu around):
Her Toyota Celica “Pinku”:
And last but not least, her Nissan GT-R, one of the first in the UK:
Today another member of team 1974 was in London – Ramdane (who happens to be a fellow Arkitip reporter):
Previous Friends and their wheels:
pt.1, pt.2, pt.3, pt.4, pt.5, pt.6, pt.7, pt.7 v2.0, pt.8, pt.9, pt.10, pt.11, pt.12, pt.13, pt.14, pt.15, pt.16, pt.17, pt.18
