As a follow-up to the article below about “low” and “high” culture, I decided to write a few words about the relationship between fashion and art. I visited the Espoo Museum of Modern Art last Sunday. The main reason for the visit was the Claude Monet exhibition which is on show over there, but I did take a good, long look at some of the more contemporary stuff that was on show over there. Although some of it was thought-provoking and interesting, I sometimes can’t help but wonder if some of the most creative people are not working as artists after all. There is a huge amount of creativity and depth in modern advertising landscape. Diesel is one of the big brands that has a long tradition of mixing art and fashion in their advertising, but after seeing a blog post about this Viktor & Rolf store in Milan, one can hardly blame them for lack of courage either. Sure, it’s a gimmick, but you have to give them props for actually building that space with that degree of accuracy and commitment. But.. just to put my personal view of art in perspective and for the record, I thought that the Borat movie was a great piece of concept art as well.
Posted by api at 14:37 - 1 Comment »
Suunto Lumi
The Suunto Lumi helps you navigate mountain trails and city streets with ease. This sleek outdoor instrument is designed with smart, strong, passionate and active women in mind - women like you.
It’s a cloudy morning, but the barometer on your Suunto Lumi says blue skies ahead, so leave your raincoat at home. The day counter reminds you that a special event is coming up - you still have time to make plans. The weather trend indicator and day counter are a few of Suunto Lumi’s intuitive features that you can use to navigate through life.
Props for a good idea and what appears to be a technically great execution. Suunto’s reputation for high quality products especially in the diving instruments product line is impressive.
For quite some time there has been a specific type of consumer that has been a prime target for market segment researchers… the “active yet trendy outdoor person”. Nokia, Nike, Apple, Sony and many others have been trying to come up with products that appeal to people who enjoy both the urban and outdoor lifestyles. New women specific products are popping up left and right every month. Suunto has finally entered the game as well with their Lumi “instruments”.
In their advertising they refer to the menstrual cycle with the same kind of discretion (”Special event”) as the tampon advertisers with their mysterious blue liquids. I like the way Suunto does their brand building. It is very logical and persevering.
The consumers who are interested in these type of products are usually very fashion conscious. The replaceable wriststrap is actually a rather clever innovation in this industry. I doubt that many women have bought or even considered buying the previous “wrist-top computers” that have been double the size of a typical gentlemen’s wrist watch.
Posted by api at 11:17 - 1 Comment »
U.S. Subs Luxury Submarines
At U.S. Submarines we are always interested in finding new clients for our products. Unfortunately, there are very few individuals financially capable of purchasing one of our vehicles. And while there are quite a few corporations that could afford our products, not many can justify the expenditure.
There is also what we call the “Lemming Syndrome”. There are many individuals and corporations that purchase expensive luxury yachts, some of which get very little use. Yet when approached with the concept of a luxury submarine, they discard the idea without serious consideration because they do not know anyone else who has one, and they are not progressive enough to contemplate the advantages of ownership. Sadly, a place to sip cocktails while invoking as much envy as possible is the rationale for many status conscious large yacht owners. So, we’re always interested to speak to the progressive and enlightened few who might consider one of our submarines as an incredible alternative which opens the possibilities of new worlds and new experiences - all in perfect comfort and safety.
I really like the tone of the text at the U.S. Submarines web site. They are selling a novel concept to a clientele that is willing to pay 10 to 100 million dollars for a vehicle that many might view as no more than an extremely expensive status symbol. Their potential clients include arab sheiks, world leaders and hi-tech mega-millionaires. As a side note, the president of our own country recently commissioned a luxury yacht for mere 2 millions euros.
I read through most of U.S. Submarines marketing material and learned a lot about submarines… licensing, operating range, comfort factors etc. Although going underwater in a metal tube might not seem like the safest thing to do, I was surprised to find out that there haven’t ever been any serious injuries or fatalities in the history of tourist submarines. Statistically speaking, that actually makes it the safest form of transportation in the world.
Although submarines aren’t exactly the most fashionable form of transport, they have remained a source of constant inspiration for popular culture ever since Jules Verne wrote about Nautilus and Captain Nemo in Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea in 1870.
Nautilus
Much of the ship was decorated to standards of luxury that were unequalled in a seagoing vessel of the time. These included a library with boxed collections of valuable oceanic specimens that were unknown to science at the time, expensive paintings, and several collections of jewels. The Nautilus also featured a lavish dining room and even an organ that Captain Nemo used to entertain himself in the evening.
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Without further introduction, here is a list of my travel tips for Vienna (and especially for the area surrounding Karlsplatz):
- La Norma (authentic italian food and very friendly service. Another place worth visiting, Das Kleine Café is just around the corner on the Franziskanerplatz)
- First Floor (a smoky, dimly lit cocktail bar. rather classy, but also suitable for serious drinking.)
- Anton Heldwein (one of the best jewellers on Graben)
- Opera (don’t bother if you can’t get proper tickets for seats with good visibility though.. the peddlers near Stephansdom will usually try to sell you cheap ones in the back. you can get good tickets for the less popular operas online exactly one month before the show)
- Haus der Musik (a music museum)
- Sisi museum and royal apartments (consider skipping the silverware section and heading straight to the apartments.. they are much more interesting)
- Local Heurigens (take a tram and a long walk around the vineyards and then sit down for an hour or two to enjoy the wines. Try Zadowsky to see an authentic vineyard instead of a inner atrium only)
- Puma Store (on Mariahilferstrasse which is a good street for shopping in general)
- Brunch at Naschmarkt (it’s a bustling food market with many nice restaurants. gets very busy on Saturdays, also a flea market)
- Flakturms (there are three old air defense towers in the city. all of them are impressive sights to behold)
- Vintage fashion (right next to Babette’s)
- Specialty tea shops (it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a few around the city center)
- Palmhausen (it is run by the same people as Volksgarten)
- Fresh Soup and Salad (the name says it all, it’s a franchise, but the concept works well)
- Podium (an unhurried, relaxed and friendly atmosphere)
- Fratelli il Gelato (one of the many great ice cream bars in the city. fast service, the orders are transmitted wirelessly to the kitchen)
- Uhrenbörs (a store specializing in old and antique wrist watches)
- Babette’s (bookstore specializing in cooking books)
- Musik Kiosk (a must see club that can be summed up in three words: sausage, mustard, music)
- Tiberius (slightly less discreet souvenirs for that special someone)
- Volksgarten (an institution in the clubbing scene.. some say it’s one of the best in the world)
- Stadtpark (a pleasant restaurant pavillion right next to the u-bahn station. the park is rather compact, there is a grass field reserved for sun bathing and just lying around at the north part of the park)
- Aroma.at (a cozy little place suitable for chatting and drinking)
- Breakfast club (a restaurant that sells only breakfasts)
- Badeschiff (a floating restaurant around the very nice Schwedenplatz area)
- Sunday brunch at Marriott (lavish and expensive buffet, worth trying at least once in your life. we were lucky enough to get gift vouchers for it)
- Kunsthalle Wien Project Space (another great option for a brunch or a breakfast.. they are open until 2 am)
- Schloss Schönbrunn (there is a zoo and a nice palm house in the area. Plenty of walking opportunities)
- Belvedere (A Baroque residence complete with a nice park. there is also a botanical garden right next to it)
- Kohlmarkt (a shopping street with Chanel, Prada and other luxury brands)
- Museumsquartier (including museum of modern art)
- Donau Insel (rent a citybike or rollerskates, register your credit card on the internet site of citybikes before the rental)
- El Español (a members only tapas club on most night, but try making a reservation for Tuesday)
- TwinCity liner to Bratislava (it’s a nice way to see the river on a boat)
- Cafe Sperl (a great example of the highly refined cafe culture around here)
- Parndorf Outlet Park (Helly Hansen, Levi’s etc)
- Prater amusement park (the ferris wheel is worth visiting, so are some of the wilder rides, several outdoor restaurants in the area)
- Bergfuchs (mountain equipment store)
- Alte Donau area (a tv tower and a big field suitable for playing soccer, I didn’t try the huge chinese restaurant)
- Danube Trail (if you are fitness orientated, you could cycle up or down the river for a few days, we’ll be doing the trip with this company)
- Sababa (perfect for late night snacks, for a drink try the nana limo.. a type of non-alcoholic mojito)
- The public transport works like a dream. The easiest way to get around is the U-Bahn. Get a weekly ticket for 12,50 euros. Taxis are relatively cheap as well.
That’s all for now.. comments and corrections are welcome! I’ll be travelling in Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia for the next few weeks, so don’t expect too many updates to this blog in June.
P.S. If you are also going to Berlin, check out my travel tips fo Berlin
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Life Ball
Life Ball is Europe’s largest AIDS charity event. Begun in 1993, it takes place annually at the city hall in Vienna, Austria. The event is organized by Gery Keszler and it is the only AIDS charity event that takes place in a political building.
Life Ball consists of two parts: a grand opening ceremony including a fashion show performed on a giant catwalk at Rathausplatz, the square in front of the city hall, which is free for everyone, and a fancy dress party inside the city hall hosted by Vienna’s mayor, Michael Häupl, for which a limited number of tickets (c. 4,000) is available.
Check out the Style Bible for the event. The medieval robocop pictured above is from that site. It’s like Eurovision on acid.
EDIT: Sharon Stone and Bill Clinton appeared at the party to thank for the donations. Ms. Stone had troubles articulating correctly. It is my theory that it was due to recently injected botox which may cause slight facial paralyzation. We didn’t make it to the actual ball, but we did manage to get to the party at Volksgarten. See my bodyguard impression. We were not quite as well dressed up as most of the others over there. The after-party started at 6 am.
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Innsbruck as a word reminded me of East Germany for some strange reason. I had seen the railway station a few times and I wasn’t really expecting much. In reality, Innsbruck is a truly beautiful, wealthy and laid back tyrolean city. We promptly bought a tourist orientated “city card” that gives you free entrance to all the important sights and you can use the public transport as well. The ski jumping tower designed by an iraqi architect, an alpine zoo, a few castles and royal residences and last, but not least, Swarowski Crystal World were all worth visiting.
Swarowski is an interesting business. In essence they are turning lead, soda, lime and sand into cold hard cash. They are producing all kinds of crystal creations and they have mastered the art of brand management. You can see official Swarowski crystals in all imaginable objects… nail files, slalom skis and even thongs! The Crystal World is a series of chambers that features art works by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Brian Eno. At the end of the dazzling tour (with a surprising amount of mysticism) you enter a shop that is just brimming with sparkling crystal creations and eager sales assistants. You can buy a life sized crystal pineapple for about 4000 euros for example.
There is a subtle element in Austrian society and culture that is a bit hard to explain, but it has something to do with things like official titles, official endorsement and even religious ceremonies. I can see it all over the place. The roadside Jesus statues, “k.u.k.” approved producers (Imperial and Royal) and the way Sacher cakes are packed in a little wooden box with an official “seal”. Centuries ago all government acts took place in the name of “His Imperial and Royal Majesty”: most of the time abbreviated to “k.u.k.”.
These days royal titles are forbidden and all kinds of religious inequality is probably forbidden as well. However, there is a deep need for the ingenious austrians to have a sense of national identity and perhaps to even separate themselves from the immigrated elements of the society. Language and manners are obviously one way to do that. Some are concerned that the turkish have finally invaded the country after having failed twice in the history.
Anyway, my point is, that the austrians seem to enjoy various kinds of symbolic displays of power and approval. Swarowski is exploiting this subconscious need in a clever way by using their brand name much in the same way as “k.u.k.” was used during the times of the monarchy. This attitude really resonates with those citizens that have money to spare.
Well, enough of that… I also managed to get a healthy dose of outdoor life in the form of hiking, cycling and snowboarding in the surrounding mountains. I found really nice Dovo nail scissors in one of the souvenir shops. The chamber of curiosities and the old armors at Schloss Ambras and Kaiserjäger museum were also interesting.
I came back to Vienna to visit my dentist in Hungary and I’m off to Salzburg (the setting of Sound of Music!) today.
Posted by api at 09:53 - 4 Comments »
After having found the excellent Hel Looks Helsinki street fashion site, I’ve been increasingly interested in the fashion scene. Our flat in Barcelona was located near the artisan area with several designer stores and I couldn’t resist the temptation to buy a new blazer by Modern Amusement.
I don’t like ties and I practically never wear them. Cufflinks are another one of those strange, useless fashion accessory inventions that I never fully understood. Out of curiosity (and a desire to upgrade my style), I decided to google around for a pair to complement the suit.
Fortunately there seems to be a good selection of cufflinks that are geeky enough for programmers.
Posted by api at 10:55 - No Comments »
sleek magazine
Knitting – a harmless, straightforward, calming and contemplative activity. But what kinks develop when one knits not with ordinary wool, but with human hair?
Strong, shining and neatly-trimmed hair denotes strength, expresses individuality and exudes allure. This has been so at least since biblical times. In the Old Testament the supposedly invincible Samson was reduced to a weakling, when his beloved Delilah chopped off his hair as he slept. According to the cliché, a dramatic change of hairstyle reflects a similar change in one’s life; men prefer to use hair restorers which threaten the libido, rather than go bald; and in the military, heads are shorn to counter individuality. Hair, along with flawless white teeth, is one of the strongest forms of natural body adornment.
One of the first times I saw a fine art piece featuring knitting was during a small scandal involving an ad by the National Theatre of Finland. They (or their ad agency to be more precise) published an ad where a woman had knitted a pullover which had such a long neck that it enveloped her entire head. A text read: “National Theatre - something else that you would expect” or something to that effect. A Norwegian artist (I’m not sure who it was, it could have been Liv Reidun Brakstad contacted the theatre and presented a photograph that happened to be an exact copy of the idea presented in the ad. The ad agency ended up paying a royalty fee to the artist. (EDIT: The artist was Susanna Hesselberg)
Anyway, I’ve noticed that over half of the blogs on a local blog directory are about knitting or some other form of handicraft. It’s such an unbelievably popular hobby that I wouldn’t be surprised if this age was called the Knitting age (in the vein of stone age, bronze age etc) if the archealogists of the future ever dig up all the digital archives of the current Internet.
In addition to stealthily creeping into the fine art scene, knitting has also influenced people interested in graffiti and other forms of tagging.
Knitta: the art of knitting cozies for random placement out in the world. It’s graffitti with yarn.
Check out Knittaplease.com
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Disco Stu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Disco Stu is a fictional, secondary character from The Simpsons. He is a disco aficionado and is usually featured wearing a rhinestone-encrusted leisure suit. He often refers to himself in the third person (putting a big emphasis on “Stu” and then pausing before saying anything else) and is noted for being mentally stuck in the Disco Era.
He first appeared in the episode Two Bad Neighbors, during a neighborhood yard sale day. Near the beginning of the episode Homer and Marge search their attic for items that might sell. Marge suggests Homer’s old Rhinestone Night’s Fashion Gun. Homer protests, “…I need it to rhinestone up my old clothing!”. Marge then holds up Homer’s old leather jacket complete with rhinestone lettering. “Who’s Disco Stu?” Marge asks, referring to the words on the back. Homer explains, “I wanted to write ‘Disco Stud’ but I ran out of space” then mutters to himself “Not that Disco Stu didn’t get his share of the action”. Disco Stu becomes a character later in the episode as part of a callback gag. Homer solicits his jacket to patrons of the rummage sale; One of them calls out “Hey Stu! You should buy that!”. Disco Stu is revealed and says, “Disco Stu…doesn’t advertise”. He was probably intended to be a throwaway character but he turns up in many later episodes.
We had a little house party last night. After dinner, an obligatory Sing Star session and a few cocktails we were ready to hit the local hot spot, Kaivohuone. It is owned by Sedu Koskinen, a well known restaurant mogul here in Helsinki. He operates a whole bunch of restaurants under the corporate umbrella of SK-Ravintolat. Just like Disco Stu, Kaivohuone or Kaivo as it is sometimes more affectionately referred to, is mentally stuck in a forgotten era. It’s well worth visiting if you are interested in seeing a big crowd of all kinds of pumped up people preying for a one-night affair or preferably even shorter relationships.
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LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits incoherent narrow-spectrum light when electrically biased in the forward direction. This effect is a form of electroluminescence. The color of the emitted light depends on the chemical composition of the semiconducting material used, and can be near-ultraviolet, visible or infrared.
LED technology has made a big impact on both interior & architectural lighting and, more recently, on fashion and street culture. Check out the innovative Night Writer and “Throwies” from Graffiti Research Lab.
Blinking rings and scrolling belt buckles have been around for a while, but have you seen LED license plates, backpacks, shirts yet. Check out tbuckles.com.
Posted by api at 10:23 - 3 Comments »
Diesel Wall 2006
Artist: Nicolo Piacentino
Title: V’IN SANTO
I wanted to create a contrast between the crowd of young people that every night meet up in the Diesel Wall square and the crowd of believers that every Sunday listen to the Angelus in Piazza San Pietro, Rome. As the people who live in the houses overlooking the square would tell the crowd to go to hell, in the same way the Pope bless them.
I’ve never been to Italy before, but after this quick trip, I wouldn’t hesitate to call Milan one of the fashion and style capitals of the world. People spend huge amounts of money on fashion, interior design and food. One of the t-shirts I spotted said “Will work for shoes”. That sentence sort of sums up the attitude of some of the fashion slaves.
While walking down one of the trendy boutique streets I noticed this piece of wall art apparently sponsored by Diesel.
I wasn’t able to capture the highly visual atmosphere of the city all that well in my holiday snapshots, but have a look at my Milan travelogue gallery if you are intrigued by this city.
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For the last week I’ve been doing all kinds of security related maintenance duties on my computing environment (read; laptop, desktop, web server), but I also found time to read the classic steam punk novel, Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. It won a Hugo award way back in 1996. It’s hard to believe that it was a decade ago. Anyway, it features an interesting mix of futuristic technology and cultural concepts combined with a strong influence of Neo-Victorian “decorative” elements: robotic mounts, cylinder hats, ink pens and all that.
Neo-Victorian fashion has been a sleeper trend in many subcultures such as the goths and the japanese underground street styles. I decided to google around a bit and try to find some images of people going all out with this Neo Victorian thing, but it wasn’t such an easy task. All I really found was a band called Rasputina.
Some of the recent big media names more or less related to this subject are:
Posted by api at 21:24 - 2 Comments »
I have landed safely here in Munich. This silent couple was standing in the Olympic park for no apparent reason.
Off to Tiroli tomorrow to do some snowboarding or “shredding” as it is more fashionably referred to.
Posted by api at 22:43 - 1 Comment »
Yesterday while I was doing some grocery shopping I spotted a couple with matching windbreakers. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me, so the simulated mug shot will have to do. This is a unique Finnish fashion phenomen. Couples with exactly matching windbreakers are not that hard to find. What made this mid-class couple special was that both the man and the woman were wearing a similar ear ring, they both bought a package of similar sausages and top top it off, they both bought a pack of LM cigarettes. Their only shared purchase was a 10-pack of beer.
It is essentially a mini-team that consists only of a husband and a wife that share similar sneakers, windbreakers, walking sticks… anything that can be worn or used in the everyday life and isn’t gender specific. I’m not sure what makes all this happen, but I suspect it has something to do with the female partner being a bit of a control freak, general lack of stylishness and a passion for saving pennies. It reminds me a bit of parents who have kids with mullets.
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18 carat Gold watches
This limited production 72 Red L.E.D. 18 carat watch lights up brighter than any other watch available. The time is read by reading the hours on the left and the minutes on the right. When the button is pressed for the time it will spiral all the lights on and off then show the time. Press the button again and the day and date will be displayed. Now what really makes this watch stand out, is the light up feature, the watch lights up every light in a spiral and then off in a spiral every 2 minutes from 6 PM to 1 AM. Super flashy and you will be Pimpin large. Pimpin was never easy till now. Grab one and see for yourself.
Tokyo Flash has a bunch of peculiar LED watches on sale. They’ve been around for years and make great fashion accessories for the retro orientated. Reading the time is usually done by adding up the number of leds in some sort of complicated (sometimes binary!) manner. For an example of this see the Radio Active Watch.
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