naama tzur of israel's amalia boutique

February 07, 2015 by Sara Radin in small talk

while at the israel museum in jerusalem a few months back, i discovered a small section of the gift shop that featured israeli-designed goods. my eyes were immediately drawn to a minimal black backpack by amalia boutique. it was medium sized with soft yet durable leather, simple brass hardware, interior lining and even pockets. it had a simple embossed logo on the back that would be hidden while wearing. it was perfect. and it was under three hundred dollars. i thought, i could never find a minimal, well-made backpack like this, for this price in america. so i took the bag home and tracked down the designer's info through her website. we set up a time to skype and it was one of the most enlightening convos i've ever had.

amalia btq is run by israel native naama tzur, a former journalist for haartez, the "world's leading english-language website for real-time news and analysis of israel and the middle east." several years ago, she wanted to start an ecommerce website featuring goods handmade in israel. naama had trouble selling the idea to designers there since they typically don't partake in the global fashion race. so naama started her own fashion line, sold in israel and online. she believes in having an, "authentic vision that's related to the place you come from" and that, "design isn't about making things beautiful, it's about taking a stand." as a citizen of such a spiritually conflicted place, her aesthetics are actually her beliefs manifested in modest designed accessories with beautiful leather that represents her love for the israeli desert.

cultureisland: tell us more about amalia boutique? how did it come about?

naama: amalia started as a web-store that offers indie israeli fashion. i was very interested in the idea of local fashion as an answer to the globalization of the fashion industry. as a person who is interested in fashion and design in their cultural aspect, i wanted to engage myself in fashion in a way that is relevant, up to date (global digitized environment) while representing the place i'm living in (in cultural and geographical local terms). i have collaborated with many excellent israeli designers and at one point started producing amalia's bags. first as a collaboration with an israeli designer and later on as the main activity of amalia. israel has a rich tradition of small leather workshops. i not only know the people making my product but i have a close relationship with them.

cultureisland: what is your design process?

naama: my working process is very long! it always starts with a visual vision. many times i draw inspiration from the dialectical tension between components in the place i'm living in. then i'm drowning a little bit, searching for materials (which is very difficult in a shrinking fashion industry like the israeli one) and starting to work on a mock-up model with my team at our workshop. at that point begins a long process of re-evaluation and examination of our work. i am consulting my team of designers and non-designer friends (my own personal focus team) - and together we are questioning every little detail. the next stage will be producing a small amount of items and releasing it to a store - to get the feedback from the salespersons and most important the customers. with this feedback starts another round of reevaluation. it takes several rounds for me to feel that the design process is complete.

cultureisland: how has living in israel affected your process, aesthetic and creative identity?

naama: i grew up in jerusalem. jerusalem is a city of conflict in the most beautiful and magical sense there is, but also in a ruthless way. one side of the city is in the desert and the other side is in the woods. it is one of the most pluralistic cities in the world and one of the most religious ones. where ever you look in jerusalem you see conflict - between the old and new, the desert and the city, male and female, delicate and harsh - and the list goes on endlessly. as a child growing up i remember that conflict as something beautiful, fascinating in its complexity and i believe this is the foundation of my aesthetic perception.

i remember as a child we use to take most of our vacation in the desert of sinai - which is maybe one of the most beautiful examples for that tension i am talking about. the red mountain of the sinai desert clashes into the red sea. the scenery is so magnificently dramatic and yet so serene. above ground, the red pastel pink sandy mountains ascend and under water - inside the sea - there is the richest, most neon colorful life there is (it is one of the richest coral reefs in the world). the bedouins that live there, although extremely different from us, became our intimate friends. many times when i envision an aesthetic image, i go back to that beautiful surreal desert. now my studio is located on the tel aviv - jaffa border, a place where diverse cultures directly intersect.

cultureisland: what plans do you have to grow the amalia brand?

naama: my goals are to do what ever i do well, to react to the changes in my surroundings, to be as relevant as i can be and to reach people.

cultureisland: where are your favorite places to see art, shop and eat around tel aviv?

naama: i love jaffa. the renewing port is a great junction of the old city of jaffa, the mediterranean and an urban art scene. the flea market is a great place to do some shopping for contemporary israeli designers and also one of the best spots to check out the night life in tel aviv. my studio is next to a popular coffee shop, cafe felix. i've started collaborating with the owners on project, felix and i, in which we take the burlap sacks of the coffee beans and make notebooks, purses and baskets out of it. cafe felix is like a collaborative community and we often bring our designs into the shop to get feedback from the customers.

cultureisland: what other israeli designers should we check out?

naama: i love lara rosnovsky (clothing) and maya bash (clothing), oded arama (shoes), michal oren (jewelry), sharon brunsher (fashion and life style accessories) and many others. i am also a great fan of photography - oded balilty is a pulitzer awarded israeli photographer. i love his work and the way he is drawing a fine line between photojournalism and art.

campaign // mcq by alexander mcqueen spring summer 2015

February 03, 2015 by Sara Radin in campaign

mcq by alexander mcqueen collaborated with installation artist/art director ophelia finke for the spring summer 2015 campaign and it's glorious. it was shot by laurence ellis and styled by karen langley. the models appear, amidst an installation filled with painted found objects, donning cool things like silver metallic biker jackets, knits and electric graphics. rad.

small talk // benjos by ben hertz

January 08, 2015 by Sara Radin in small talk

* ben hertz is the older brother of my friend, annie, from college. we recently connected and have since become instant friends // an entrepreneur, life style curator and overall funny + candid guy from minneapolis, minnesota, ben runs benjo's, a shoelace company *

rosso scudiera dress shoe laces // "the originator. rosso scudiera was first seen at the base of the spanish steps in rome. the beautiful red hasn't changed a bit since arriving on american soil. rosso benjos make a statement in just about any crowd… — rosso scudiera dress shoe laces // "the originator. rosso scudiera was first seen at the base of the spanish steps in rome. the beautiful red hasn't changed a bit since arriving on american soil. rosso benjos make a statement in just about any crowd."

cultureisland: tell us more about you.

ben: i am an entrepeneur. i used to beat around the bush on this one. i'd tell people i work in real estate development and then they'd pry for information on other projects i was working on. i guess i have trouble admitting that i'm just an entrepreneur -- it's a weird thing to be. i grew up in minneapolis and always was motivated by money; a natural sales person, but again didn't want to admit that. i wanted to do big things, but never really had a road map. i just tried things that felt right. in high school, i started a car detailing company, advant detail. i promoted the business to customers at the drive-thru starbucks where i also worked. in college, i studied city planning and business at the university of arizona.

cultureisland: tell us more about benjo's.

ben: benjo's wants to make accessories for inimitable people. benjo's lends an accessible premium means of expressing distinct style. i was in rome, wearing a friend's grandfather's shoes when my shoelace broke. i was jet lagged and irritated and walked into one of the nearby shoe repair shops. they had black, brown and red laces. i bought the red ones. everywhere i went, people asked where i got my shoes or shoelaces. when it came time to replace that pair, i found it impossible to find red or colorful laces anywhere so i called a friend of mine who works in textiles. he gave me some people to call for waxed cotton laces. i called around and when i couldn't get a sample pair of red 30" laces. i was forced to buy 10,000 pairs. i called people who had told me they'd carry them in their stores and the rest was history. i also designed the logo in a word document.

cultureisland: who is the benjo's customer?

ben: i think they're sophisticated and confident, individual and want to do their own thing.

cultureisland: what plans do you have to grow the benjo's brand?

ben: i need to fundraise. that's the next step and then we will really grow.

cultureisland: what are your favorite places to shop, eat and hang out around minneapolis?

ben: for restaurants, try tilia - steven brown's 40-seat flagship. incredible and well rounded. no reservations so go for lunch or get there early. also, great brunch. not fancy. just really good. lucias is a staple. three restaurants, the bakery for a coffee or quick breakfast. great soups and salads at lunch. for fancier lunch or brunch go to the restaurant. for dinner go to the wine bar for both the dinner and bar menus. a reservation is only necessary for the restaurant. france 44 cheese shop - authentic and cute european deli. retail cheese and meats as well as soups and provisions. order one of their sandwiches to stay or go. and ngon bistro - le coloniel style vietnamese fare, but better! mostly local and provisions, wonderful bar program. order well! i like to shop at askov finlayson for all of my odds and ends and black blu for denim, sweaters and outerwear. for women, go to mille mercantile for jewelry and this and that. room number 3 for cozy sexy clothes and idun for the best women's lines right now.

cultureisland: what are some of your favorite websites or magazines for style inspiration?

ben: this is a great question because i should probably work on this list. i'm becoming a stranger to the internet. we used to be so close and now, i feel like we grew apart. i have a long list of tumblrs that i look at in archive view, so i guess i don't really "follow" them. now that i'm looking through them, i'm realizing that while there are great images and cool stuff, there is a ton of nudity out there; i need more stuff, like stuff i can buy or find inspiring. william yan, enthusiam documented, one documented obsession, nickel cobalt, and gearheads (i love cars, such beautiful machinery), simplypi, a bit of color, je te veux, and spooky home but i wish i had better home ones because we are doing a lot of work on the house right now. magazines - this has gotten out of hand! kinfolk and cereal. i got a subscription to one called apartamento a couple of months ago. i like all of the food magazines but don't have a favorite. the off duty section of the wsj is a personal favorite. i'd love for them to feature benjos sometime. oh, ny magazine is one of the best deliveries of the week. i like knowing what's going on and it makes me want to open a ton of restaurants.

cultureisland: tell us more about the images in the winter lookbook (above).

ben: i work with an amazing photographer, dylan james nelson. he's more of a fine arts photographer, but i have been trying to get him to open up to commercial work. he is brilliant along the lines of alec soth or john spinks and will go very far. we have a few of his pieces in our home in minneapolis too. i asked him to do a series of images that represent our core colors, so you'll see red images, purple, green etc. i thought it was cool. maybe we will get rid of the fish soon. i went to zambia this summer and maybe will use some of those images this winter.

* check out benjos.com + an interview ben previously did with gq *

required reading // clothing narratives

November 14, 2014 by Sara Radin in required reading

what poignant moments do our clothes instill in our minds? how do we collect clothing items like memories? how does fashion become part of our collective history? why do we wear what we wear? how is the process of getting dressed emotional? i just purchased two recently published books that explore personal memory through our sartorial choices:

1 // worn stories by emily spivak is a collection of stories about clothing and memory featuring accounts from sixty cultural figures including andy spade, simon doonan and cynthia rowley. (new york times article here // npr interview here)

excerpt // from david carr's memoir (p. 27-28):

"and then i saw one -- extra large, thank god -- in which the classic new york script had been misprinted upside down. i knew what to do. i turned to the guy running the shop and said, "this one is a misprint. i'll give you three bucks." he said nothing, but nodded. i paid in two crumpled bills and quarters, ducked behind a rack, and put it on. as soon as i stepped out on the street, people stared. i got on the c train to 23rd, and a kid next to me stared at the logo over my burgeoning middle-aged middle section and said, "i like your shirt." "thanks, man. three bucks."

whenever i wear the shirt in new york, waitresses, bartenders, cab drivers, they all say nice things about the shirt and ignore the fact that the rack it's hanging on could use some work. when i travel, which is fairly often, and wear the shirt, which is less often, nobody ever says anything. i like that about my shirt: it is something that is intuitively understood in the city, as we insufferable locals call it, and is baffling to others, akin to many other aspects of living in new york.

i day dreamed for a while about getting some pals of wife in the clothing business to crank out a few hundred. i even had a slogan for the back: "turning new york upside down one shirt at a time" but then someone in the business explained to me you couldn't trademark the idea of turning lettering someone else created upside down. so i just wear mine instead.

it won't last. it's white, for one thing, and a series of small food and beverage disasters have already begun to dapple its surface. one day, it will acculumate enough stains and history soo that it will mysteriously disappear from my drawer. i will miss it."

2 // women in clothes by sheila heti, heidi julavits + leanne shapton features original interviews, conversations, surveys, projects, diagrams and drawings by over six hundred and thirty women, including lena dunham, molly ringwald and cindy sherman. (new york times article here // npr interview here).

excerpt // from the color survey (p. 141-143):

gillian king: "when i was in art school, and i realized that painting was my medium of choice, i began dressing in a palette similar to my paintings. i was obsessed with dyeing my hair different colors, and for about a year or two my head was the rotating colors of the rainbow."

nicole lavelle: "one winter my friend elizabeth said 'i am going to wear only gray this year.' she did it, and it worked, and she didn't have to think about clothes. i tried it too, but it made me feel upset."

nostalgia // a (wearable) piece of history

November 13, 2014 by Sara Radin in nostalgia

hypebeast's gavin brown says a jacket tagged by jean-michel basquiat and stephen sprouse was recently auctioned off // "new york’s underground art scene of the 1980′s was an environment charged with artistic potential, at the center of which was the popular after-hours club danceteria. the club was often frequented by the likes of andy warhol, keith haring, run dmc, the beastie boys and the young madonna. a relic of that time and place is this jacket, the result of an elevator attendant of the club who invited celebrity guests and artists to leave their mark on this jacket that she wore. of these, the most notable is the prolific graffiti artist jean michel-basquiat, and fashion designer and artist stephen sprouse. estimated at $7-10,000, the jacket finally went for $9,100 for what is a last remaining mark of two creative powerhouses of the 20th century."

time to save up for the next fashion relic!

* images via hypebeast *

runway // etro menswear spring 2015

November 11, 2014 by Sara Radin in runway

where fashion + food are typically an odd couple, etro's spring 2015 menswear collection was clever, humorous and visually stimulating. bright colored sportswear was combined with swirling paisley prints and plates of seafood, pasta and fish among other cooking concoctions. style.com says "etro being something of a philosopher, there was the obvious subtext that you are what you eat. so if you wear what you eat, you're punching the point home even harder." just some food for thought.

* images via style.com *

editorial // art school by elle sweden

November 06, 2014 by Sara Radin in editorial

if only i looked this good in art school...

* images from elle sweden april 2013 via oracle fox // shot by andreas sjodin // styled by robert rydberg *

inspiration // winter wardrobe

November 05, 2014 by Sara Radin in inspiration

* preparing for a long, cold winter with oversized peacoats, chunky black leather boots, champagne colored silks, cozy + oversized neutral-toned knits, delicate lingerie, geode + rose gold jewelry, sleek + simple hair with extra pale skin and brick red lips/lids. time for a chilly trip to the beach *

runway // doodled dior homme // spring 2015

November 04, 2014 by Sara Radin in runway

dior's homme spring 2015 collection emphasized traditional tailored menswear updated with brightly colored doodles. the artful scribbles look like new, abstract stripes in which creative director kris van assche expressed the feeling of "letting it go." next spring, i'll be sporting the doodled sneakers and denim pieces from the men's department (despite cost + size!).

* images via style.com *

(halloween) inspiration // tennis anyone?

October 30, 2014 by Sara Radin in inspiration

* retro tennis vibes for halloween // featuring umit benan menswear spring/summer 2015, alexander wang rtw spring/summer 2015, jeremy scott rtw fall/winter 2015 + a whole lotta nike, pleated skirts and sporty stripes *

runway // james long menswear spring summer 2015

October 29, 2014 by Sara Radin in runway

inspired by sportswear + youth culture, james long designed striped and color blocked athleisure + denim for his spring/summer 2015 menswear collection. the very cool getup has a definite street/punk vibe. and with primary colored patchwork, each piece looks like a work of contemporary art. as james long put it: "for me, it's more than just sportswear, it's fashion. it's what i wear."

* images via vogue uk // check out james long's website here *

mood // raw denim

October 28, 2014 by Sara Radin in mood

really into raw/dry denim lately -- loving solid/unwashed jumpsuits + oversized denim jackets in deep navy hues // styling idea: swapping out skinny jeans for classic levi's 501s from the men's section and pairing them with everything navy.

small talk // jonah leslie // shop owner of ibiki montreal

October 24, 2014 by Sara Radin in small talk

* on a recent trip to montreal, i discovered a neat avant-garde concept shop called ibiki *

owned by artistic director jonah leslie, ibiki is located on boulevard saint-laurent in the heart of montreal and features internationally designed, hand-curated apparel, accessories, books and magazines //

about jonah leslie: while jonah has lived in montreal his entire life, he's been traveling globally since a young age. the son of two contemporary dancers, he often went on tour with his dad to the united states and europe. after college he dabbled in dj'ing and promoting/hosting parties. he saved up some money and took trips to brasil and asia. in asia, he visited bangkok, tokyo and hong kong. there, he found the market culture very inspiring and collected cool product he bought on the streets and through out his travels. he sold his collected treasures out of a friend's shop in montreal and in 2006, jonah opened his own store, old gold boutique. old gold was a space where imagination and creativity ruled supreme. to trigger people's curiosity, the shop was devoid of any outside signage and the window displays showed elaborate, wacky surrealist art created by jonah himself. they were totally unrelated to the product in the shop. many objects in the store weren't actually for sale and the merch was constantly re-arranged in whimsical ways. the store had an online presence and served as a place for creativity, showing videos, dj mixes and photoshoots by jonah and his friends. old gold was part counter-culture retail and part art project. when his lease was up, he found a larger space which is now the home of present day ibiki...

cultureisland: tell us more about ibiki. what is the concept?

jonah leslie: ibiki is basically a modern day imports shop with a focus on apparel, accessories, publications and apothecary. the flavour gravitates towards scandinavian and north asian design. reasons being the climate of those areas are similar to ours and therefore the products apply in a practical sense to the lifestyle of montrealers. and also i like the pared down design sensibility which both these regions share.

cultureisland: what kind of products and brands do you feature in the store?

jonah leslie: some brands include our legacy, won hundred, hope, filippa k, cheap monday, saturdays, minimarket, ymc, porter, sisii japan, black crane, new balance and more. another important feature of the shop is the inauguration of a small homewares section with companies such as: maison martin margiela objects, areaware, l'atelier d'exercise, seletti, and normann copenhagen, as well as both a book and magazine section. the publications consist of art and design subjects which correspond to the aesthetics and philosophies of the shop: architecture, photography, painting, fine arts, industrial design, graphic design, dance and many other subcategories by publishers like moma, lars muller, and schrimer/mosel to name a few. magazines include: apartamento, acne paper, alpine review, bad day, Bauhaus, elephant, pin-up, encens, domus, tunica, day job, Saturdays, monoculture, printed pages and many more.

cultureisland: what does ibiki stand for?

jonah leslie: it is a name which transcends language, and deliberately has no inceptive meaning, no psychological association, leaving room for the brand's visual image, recognizable graphic to be the main connection to the word. an entity that speaks of perpetual creativity and of the overall philosophy of the creative rule, which has always been the underlying drive for this business.

cultureisland: where do you find inspiration?

jonah leslie: in fine arts, astronomy, nature, people, architecture, dance.

cultureisland: where are your favorite places to see art in montreal?

jonah leslie: the mac, dhc, gallery antoine ertaskiran amongst other places.

cultureisland: what kind of music are you listening to right now?

jonah leslie: loving this mix by din daa daa on redlight radio lately.

* check out ibiki's website here + be sure to visit next time you're in montreal // 4357 boulevard saint-laurent, montreal, qc, canada *

color palette // autumn auburn

October 23, 2014 by Sara Radin in color palette

currently crushing on the these rich, warm auburn hues for fall including golden rod, tangerine, sienna brown, chestnut and mahogany // styling idea: white and red worn under auburn outer pieces.

* items are shoppable now @ topshop *

// images via www.field-of-gray.com

runway // misspelling by deola x clan // rtw spring summer 2015

October 22, 2014 by Sara Radin in runway

this past spring/summer 2015 NYFW, nigerian haute couture designer deola sagoe teamed up with her daughters teni, tiwa and aba sagoe, who run contemporary fashion label, clan. their cool collaboration emphasized the mix of minimal sporty silhouettes made in elevated fabrics, showing a true amalgam of clan and deola's diverse ideologies. their designs also utilized clever wordplay with misspelled versions of casual, carefree, laidback and relax. a fresh, fun/ny take on luxury sportswear.

more about their collaboration here //

editorials // raf simons x sterling ruby fall winter 2014

October 21, 2014 by Sara Radin in editorial

raf simons x ruby sterling editorial // shot by julia noni // styled by tobias frericks // gq germany fall 2014 — raf simons x ruby sterling editorial // shot by julia noni // styled by tobias frericks // gq germany fall 2014

raf simons collaborated with contemporary artist sterling ruby on his fall winter 2014 menswear collection and it's quite cool // according to ssense: "it was inspired by their shared teenage obsessions and passion for counterculture. ruby's visual signatures of bleach splatter's, text art and collaged textiles complement simons' precisely rendered utilitarian staples: parkas, bomber jackets, grunge knits and essential sneakers."

fashion by raf simons // shop it now @ ssense // see more of sterling ruby's work here

raf simons x ruby sterling editorial // shot by ben toms // styled by robbie spencer // dazed & confused magazine spring/summer 2014 issue — raf simons x ruby sterling editorial // shot by ben toms // styled by robbie spencer // dazed & confused magazine spring/summer 2014 issue

compare + contrast // blue + white wears

October 16, 2014 by Sara Radin in comparecontrast

blue + white wears // cultureisland 2014

compare + contrast: taking inspiration from ancient chinese blue + white porcelain as well as dutch delft pottery from the middle ages, valentino's fall 2013 collection (middle + bottom images) + undercover's fall 2014 collection (top left) have made what once was fragile and antiquated, modern and wearable.

* art details // portrait painting by kris knight (middle left), 2013 + fragile flow blue photograph by kim joon (upper right corner), 2010*

color palette // red + purple hues

October 14, 2014 by Sara Radin in color palette

loving the range of reds + purples out this fall season including rust, raspberry, eggplant and wine. they feel super saturated and rich // styling idea: monochromatic looks that mix one shade of the same color or multiple shades of the same color.

* items are shoppable now @ topshop *

campaign // carven menswear fall winter 2014

October 10, 2014 by Sara Radin in campaign

the fall/winter 2014 carven campaign resembles the work of surrealist/dada artist, man ray. it was shot by fashion photographer viviane sassen, whose photographs are similarly surreal and ambiguous.

more about sassen from dazed digital: "for seventeen years, viviane sassen has been challenging the intersection between fashion and art. her hyper-vibrant, ambiguous photographs question what constitutes a fashion image and vice versa what constitutes one classed as artful. subjects often materialise as mysterious shapes and figures formed by the human silhouette, hybrid shadows and clothing brought to life by flurries of dislocating movement."

color palette // falling for neutrals

October 09, 2014 by Sara Radin in color palette

all about the fall feelings and neutrals these days. milky whites mixed with shades of camel, light rust and blush // styling idea: head-to-toe neutrals with a mix of sheer and shiny garments paired with heavier/bulkier knits and wools.

* items are shoppable now @ topshop *