All posts filed under: Trends

POP by Stella McCartney

POP by Stella McCartney. Image of the day #21

Published by Kate Stockman

A new concept for a new upcoming target group: POP by Stella McCartney is the scent for the new generation of Stella girls; independent but strengthened by their togetherness. It is an adventure, a spirit. It is about capturing the moment when you find yourself and come into your own. The story continues in the campaign film shot by Melina Matsoukas. Indie pop musician Grimes, Lola Leon (the daughter of Madonna), black rights activist and Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg and animal rights focused model Kenya Kinski-Jones trail blaze on a journey of discovery in the California dessert. POP by Stella McCartney is for a new group of girl power with a ‘let’s do this’ attitude, rooted in authenticity, friendship and individuality. Promoting self-acceptance and positive mutual support, the campaign offers a refreshing alternative to the occasionally divisive atmosphere of body shaming and the unfiltered opinion-sharing that currently exists on social media. According to McCartney, each one arrived on set with her own distinctive beauty signature, from Grimes’s Rainbow Brite dye job and Stenberg’s cloud of curls to Leon’s extended-tip French manicure …

Objects of desire.

Published by Kate Stockman

When I visited the Dutch Design Week last year you could not deny it, there was an undeniable presence of sex objects, concepts and design thoughts about sexuality (or the lack of it ) in the air. The most noticed was the work by Eindhoven Design Academy graduate Baas Buijs. He got international attention with his remarkable men sex toy Satyr ( think a bright pink torso kind of ‘blob’ that can be mounted like a vaulting horse, found in a gym). Buijs also created a beautiful hand-blown glass vibrator, that can be winded up like a clock. (the object is so well made that it could be left on your coffee table, without disturbing any visitor.) Baas wanted to bring sex toys out of the dark and create a new feeling around it. He claims lust is a natural feeling like hunger or thirst and objects people use to indulge should not be hidden away. As always with the students of the Design Academy, the project is presented as a commercial brand, with striking …

Real woman bleed….

Published by Kate Stockman

I don’t know what happened lately, but the trend of being more honest, real and transparent is also liberating an ‘old’ but very dominating taboo, the one of menstruation. Sure we all know it’s blue (if we believe the advertising agencies) but times are changing. First of all in advertising land itself. Is it thanks to a bold, brave client (and a staff part female leaders perhaps) who insisted to cut the crap and sow things as they are? Well this is certainly the case with this campaign. HelloFlo, a US based tampon subscription service became famous for defying the ad norms around feminine hygiene (no mysterious blue liquid pouring from a glass beaker into a maxi-pad here). It started with this long-form spot called ‘The Camp Gyno’ that is full of great lines and comic visuals, as it tells the amusing story of a pre-teen girl who’s the first to get her period at summer camp, and who uses that milestone to become popular—despotic, even—as she dispenses products and advice almost like she’s dealing drugs. …

Tried & enjoyed: Crab Club Brussels (B)

Published by Kate Stockman

Hip is Crab Club without a doubt. But that’s not the reason we visited. I adore fresh crab. Reason enough? I think so. Owner Philippe Emanuelli has Breton-French roots and chose to focus on fresh, surprising and rare seafood. You enter on the side of the restaurant, and pass by the open kitchen where a bunch of cool young people under the lead of chef Yoth Ondara (chef from the South of France with Thai-Chinese roots) is preparing the food. Don’t expect a fancy expensive designed location. Crab Club looks more like a tiny school refter or a small wine cellar of a monastery. The entire deco is rough, concrete floors and stairs, wooden vintage tables with benches and subdued light. We visited Crab Club with friends and we all liked the no-fuzz vibe, the ‘je ne sais quoi’ service and the ‘I did not care’ deco which looks rather poetic and 100% right. The main idea is to share the food that comes randomly on the table presented on large ‘grandma-like’ plates. We started with a gin …