October in Berlin

October 17, 2016October 17, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

How I love Berlin. Walking the streets of Mitte. Indulging myself in Vetements and Dries Van Noten. Eating in new spots (stay in tune – posts about Berlin’s restaurants are on their way – some will be here, and some on ustamagazyn.pl!) and experiencing street art. If you’re planning to visit the German capital this October, no second thought is needed – the city looks even more beautiful under the foliage of autumn leaves. So, what are you waiting for?

Off to A.P.C. of course!

Vivienne Westwood boutique.

MITTE DISTRICT – In fact, you don’t need a specific destination, when in Mitte. Start walking from the surrounded by parks Weinbergsweg street, and end your trip on Alte Schönhauser to immerse yourself at local boutiques and patisseries. I’m quite sure you won’t stop taking pictures of everything you see throughout your Mitte stroll.

Comme Des Garçons AW16 exhibition.

Balenciaga by Demna Gvasalia.

Vetements.

The Row.

THE STORE – An ever-changing space created to inspire, create, work and enjoy – and most of all, to shake-up the stereotype of how a fashion retail place should look like. Located in the über-cool Soho Haus Berlin hotel, The Store makes you feel like at home, with its beautifully curated furniture (from chic Pierre Jeanneret seats to Mathieu Matégot heart shaped-patio set) and a connoisseur-level book selection, coming straight from London’s cult Idea Books. Moreover, The Store is Berlin‘s hottest fashion destination right now, with heaving hangers of Vetements, The Row and Loewe. The shelf with classic vinyls and a lovely corner with freshly-cut flowers is at the entrance, while the bar, which serves organic salads and other seasonal goods, will keep you here for a longer time… so just sit on one of the velvet armchairs, take a sip of your coffee and try on these Vetements boots with a cigarette-lighter heel!

Torstraße 1

Size matters. Sofa by Kvadrat X Raf Simons.

Céline!

Oh, Byredo. Favourite scents.

ANDREAS MURKUDIS – When looking for Andreas Murkudis’ boutique in Potsdammer Straße, one might wonder if this is the right address. Especially after 6 PM, when the local casinos become crowded, the lines for currywurst become longer and certain ladies in boots start taking action. But the GPS tells me where to turn and suddenly in the middle of a gloomy courtyard emerges the kingdom of Berlin fashion. Andreas – the owner of the place – has a many-years’ experience in the fashion industry and he is well aware what he likes. In his boutique we will find his favourite brands and the brands he is friends with. He doesn’t follow the trends. He selects exceptional clothes and accessories from Dries Van Noten, Céline or Maison Margiela, which are almost impossible to get in other shops. Apart from the fashion, the versatile offer of his boutique includes porcelain works of art from the Nymphenburg manufacture, Mykita glasses and unique furniture by German designers. But this is just a fraction of the Murkudis’ secrets. If you are still unsure about visiting the place – few months ago a cosmic boutique of Acne Studios opened nearby. This company then speaks for itself. (Initially posted by me here)

Potsdammer Straße 81E

Dries Van Noten in KaDeWe (left) / Curvy architecture of Berlin.

My view from the hotel room. Thank you Marcell Von Berlin for hosting!

All photos by Edward Kanarecki

Backstage at Vetements SS17

October 15, 2016October 14, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Vetements launched its new website a few weeks ago, and a whole bunch of Christmas gifts came earlier than usual. Now, you can look back at the label’s past and current collections through the backstage lenses of Pierre-Ange Carlotti and Matthieu Lemaire-Courapied, and induldge yourself in the anti-fashion mood. I’m OBSESSED with photographs from fashion collective’s spring-summer 2017, which was presented in July during haute-couture week.

Design & Culture by Ed / July 11, 2016 / “Vetements is known for eerie venues, but Galerie Lafayette might be named as one of the most surreal choices up to date. The runway was located along the aisles of cosmetics, perfumes and discounts, letting other brands’ logos interact with the fashion collectives’ ready-to-wear. But the meaning of “collaboration” reached further than that – it was a collection made entirely with other brands, including Juicy Couture, Brioni, Schott, Levi’s, Comme des Garçons Shirt, Reebok, Canada Goose, Dr. Martens, Alpha Industries, Eastpak, Lucchesse, Mackintosh and even Manolo Blahnik. An extraordinary company equals an explosive effect. Moreover, brands listed above benefitted from this occasion – Juicy Couture’s velour track suits suddenly became ironically “cool” again, while Manolo was willing to go all the way with exaggerating his duchess satin stilettos. “We’ve done thigh-high, so we asked, could you go waist-high this time for us?” Demna said backstage with excitement. Brioni, Italian tailoring brand for men, let Vetements elongate and recut their classical blazers; Eastpak, every travellers’ favourite producer of backpacks, contributed to creation of the first, Vetements clutch.

“We thought we’d go straight to the brands who make all these things best, and ask to do something in our way with each one,” Gvasalia said. “The people who work at Vetements don’t really wear designer fashion—a lot of these are the labels they wear all the time.” The collection, in overall, is pure Vetements, even though the denim is by Levi’s and boots are from Texas’ cult Lucchesse. Styling is raw, while all beauty cannons are thrown away to the trash, looking at the unconventional models. If you’re desperate to seek the most couture-ish part of the collection, then it’s Juicy Couture’s velvet eveningwear – sleek, hooded dresses with zircon embellishments are sexy and somewhat… huh, elegant. However, a “home-made” product at Vetements for SS17 is the granny-style floral dress (worn by Lotta Volkova, brand’s friend). ‘Antwerpen’ t-shirts and sweatshirts are back, too.”

#InstaLOVE – September 2016

September 1, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

@pierrot

I am an Instagram maniac and I openly confess that I spend too much time on filtering my feed. But it’s irresistible, when you have so many great accounts to follow! If you are ready for a dose of beautifully curated walls, inspiring photos and delightful shots – see my September recommendations!

@anthonyvaccarello / Anthony Vaccarello’s debut collection for Saint Laurent is highly anticipated, and here’s the first hint of what it might be like. A pink feather pinned with a SL tag. Are we about to see tons of chic, feather boas? Paris Fashion Week will tell.

@cryingdoves691 / A lot of Galliano for Dior, rare McQueen and cult Prada. And all kept in a moody, pastel-pink filter.

@florence / I love Florence Welch’ music as much as her style. Seeing her flea market finds and the way she wears them with Gucci clogs – pure pleasure. Also, just look at those denim flares above.

@bethhoeckel / Beth is a collage artist. Her work is intriguing, experimental, surreal – no wonder why Miu Miu chose to collaborate with her this season. Hoeckel’s reality subverting artworks perfectly fit the brands’ identity.

@pierrot / Yep, it’s September. I KNOW we should stop thinking of summer and start focusing on sweaters and puffas, but… Jean Pierrot’s photos of sun-kissed women in Cuba, Los Angeles or Croatia will bring so much sun to your feed!

AND, if you want to follow one more account on Instagram… why don’t you follow, ta-da, @designandculturebyed?

Fran and Acne

July 16, 2016July 25, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Acne Paper + Fran Lebowitz. Legendary issue feauturing Manhattan portraits by Brigitte Lacombe. Great read equals a great Saturday!

Lukullus on Chmielna

July 16, 2016July 16, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

While Paris was all about haute couture, I spent my last week in Warsaw, discovering the city’s most outstanding spots together with my friends. As you might already know (and if you’ve read this one), I’m obsessed with Lukullus, a patisserie which was founded in 1946. The family business survived hard, socialist and early capitalist eras which severely affected Poland and after many years of renovations and rebranding, the brand expanded and opened a number of spots – and the one on Chmielna is Lukullus’ freshest addition. I can honestly say it’s my favourite one. Designed by Jan Strumiłło, acknowledged Polish architect, it fluently fuses the historic past with Warsaw’s modernity. Inspired with the neighbouring cinema Atlantic, Jan aimed to reference the old-school glamour with curvy neon on the entrance. Eclectic tiles match the bold, printed cushions, and a variety of flea-market finds from the 60s work perfectly with elegant, marble coffee-tables. But that’s not it – the ‘eating’ space makes you gasp with its beautifully preserved wooden mural, depicting a rural scene. Of course, describing a Lukullus patisserie can’t be done without mentioning the sweet part. Just like in all other locations, Chmielna offers the house’s classics – donuts filled with home-made jam, vanilla croissants, limoncello meringue or exotic mango cake. And many, many more delights… I need to stop, because I’m already drooling over the memory of those tastes!

Chmielna 32 / Warsaw