Design & Culture by Ed

I’ve recently scored the Transmission book by Jean Touitou on a discount at Voo Store, and I’m so, so surprised by some of the projects the founder of A.P.C. gave creative birth to. For example, back in 2008, the French label invited the art direction gurus from M/M Paris and the quite unlikely match – Bruce Weber (he’s a risky topic, I know, but let’s acknowledge that the body of photography he created throughout his career is a masterpiece) – to work on the advertising campaigns. For spring/summer, we’ve got Louis Eisner and Kim Noorda enjoying themselves on beach dunes, styled by Christopher Niquet. While for autumn-winter, we’ve got Gia Coppola enjoying a breakfast with her lover. This time, however, M/M and Bruce took Joe McKenna as the stylist. What I love about the two campaigns is the warmth conveyed by Weber, and the artistic touch brought by M/M Paris’ doodle-like logos. They feel realistic, yet magical at the same time.

Well, Belgium might not be the first place you think of in terms of typically ‘summer’ holidays. But, to a surprise of many, it’s possible to lie for hours near the North Sea and get that vitamin D. And guess what – if you’re lucky with the weather, your tan will be as good as in Italy. So, where to spend a lazy, August day? Definitely in Knokke, which is often referred to as Belgium’s top resort spot. But no worries, there are no crowds of tourists and no madness going on down the beach. Just plenty of lovely beach clubs, pattiseries with Belgian chocolates and very, very chic boutiques that are worth visiting after you’ve read your book, swam in the shockingly warm sea and finally charged your batteries.

La Vie En Rose

This is a small store located just a few feet from the ‘main’ street of Knokke. A refined selection of Marni, Chloé and Dries Van Noten, combined with the rather artisanal, niche labels like Sofie D’Hoore and Tak Ori. It’s hard to call La Vie En Rose a ‘multibrand’, because of its… coziness.

Golvenstraat 13

Blue Princess

The two-floor store surprises with labels that you don’t really expect to see in resort towns like Knokke. Maryam Nazzir Zadeh? Checked. Ganni? Checked. Stand? Checked.

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Geoffroy Van Hulle

The first thought when you enter this breathing treasure chest? GORGEOUS. Antique statues; tribal masks from Africa; museum taxidermy; vintage coffee-table books. The list of (very, very pricey) paraphernalia available at Van Hulle’s boutiques is endless. You can’t leave this place without a La Mamounia scent, a perfume brand coming straight from Morocco.

Noordstraat 143