Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen transcended their starlet status of the 90s and early 00s to become serious figures in fashion with their label, The Row. Widely-acclaimed and recognised for its exquisite fabrics, meticulous tailoring and uncompromising elegance, the brand was named in reverence of London’s Savile Row, and as such, embodies the same kind of consistent luxury as its British inspiration.
Ever present on all of our wish lists, rarely does a label tap so perfectly into what women want from their everyday wardrobes than this, which is why, when we heard that The Row would be available in Auckland, we took note. Scotties Boutique has acquired a refined selection of the brand’s womenswear, including knotted bags, silky camisoles and versatile slip-ons, as it adds this coveted label to its already outstanding line-up.
Christian Wijnants Summer ’19
Alongside The Row sit a number of beautiful new pieces from Japanese label, Sacai, as well as a selection from Christian Wijnants — the eponymous label of the designer from Antwerp who has gained worldwide acclaim for his elegant knitwear (he was the winner of the esteemed Woolmark Prize in 2013), layered prints and intriguing colours.
Sacai Resort ’19
With new season requirements on our minds and an unassailable love for these brands in our hearts, it’s fair to say you’ll find us combing carefully through Scotties’ recent arrivals in the hope of capturing some of their sartorial magic for ourselves.
Like the indulgent feasts of bygone eras, the modern dinner party is about more than simply offering everyone their fair share. With Gucci’s SS19 accessories setting the tone of relaxed merriment, this opulent dinner is framed by an air of luxury, encouraging us to remain around the table well after the plates have been cleared.
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Arli leather bag, gloves, silk shirt and vest
Arli leather bag, gloves, silk shirt and vest
GG diamond tights and shoes
GG diamond tights and shoes
Charm belt, Rahja large tote and gloves
Charm belt, Rahja large tote and gloves
Zumi strawberry print top handled bag, mid-heel pumps with half-moon GG and strawberry print tights
Zumi strawberry print top handled bag, mid-heel pumps with half-moon GG and strawberry print tights
Tights, shoes, metal necklace with crystals and triple wrap snake bracelet
Tights, shoes, metal necklace with crystals and triple wrap snake bracelet
Bracelet and large GG canvas backpack
Bracelet and large GG canvas backpack
Image credit: Styling: Margie Cooney, Art Direction: Fran King
Despite ominous morning clouds giving a number of us cause to consider sporting a hat for the day, last Saturday ended up being the perfect afternoon to don our weekend best and congregate at The Heineken Urban Polo. Spending the day watching exhilarating matches and sipping on flutes of crisp Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut and Rosé champagne, guests in the Denizen and Perrier-Jouët marquee were greeted with flowing drinks and floral installations. The talented florists at Wonder Florals were tasked with adorning the space, transforming it into a summer garden where every corner was festooned in verdant leaves and petals in hues of pink.
Taking up a spot that boasted some of the best views of the on-field action and filled with plenty of jovial conversation, the Denizen and Perrier-Jouët marquee proved the perfect place to enjoy everything the Urban Polo had to offer.
Words Margie Riddiford | PHOTOS Lance Gerber | 12 Mar 2019
In Chino Canyon in California’s Coachella Valley sits a structure that both blends seamlessly with its surrounding environment, and stands as a beacon of intriguing design against the arid backdrop of sand and shrubbery.
Not a private home, the Desert Palisades Guardhouse was designed for the security guards who watch over the surrounding residences, although the creative minds at Los Angeles based design firm Studio AR&D Architects weren’t about to let the building’s functional nature stand in the way of it being an utterly beguiling feat of modern design.
Jutting out from the rolling landscape with its rectangular construction and stoic, straight lines, the Guardhouse was constructed from steel that was left to naturally rust, lending the outside of the building a tone that makes its geometric nature seem, against reason, to fit in perfectly with its wild environs.
This synergistic connection with nature continues inside, where a generous use of glass renders the interiors light and airy — despite their darker colour scheme. Using timber to carry the rustic orange of the exterior, inside, the clever fit-out has resulted in a space that is cool and calm — a sure relief for those battling the daily desert heat.
Tom Dixon Beat pendants from ECC | Vitra Noguchi coffee table from Matisse | Classicon Bell side table from Matisse
Tying in touches of mid-century modern design (the kind we’ve grown to expect from this part of the world) with contemporary, sculptural finishes and a minimalistic colour scheme, the Desert Palisades Guardhouse despite its nature as inherently low-key, is a structure deserving of attention — and we’re happy to oblige.
Though the summer days are behind us, autumn does give us a little more to work with than the heat allows. This is the beginning of layers, blazers, turtlenecks and trousers (although we’re not advocating dusting off the heavy-duty winter woolies right away). And with the need to wear more, comes the scope for some sartorial creativity — which is why it is one of my favourite times of the year to get dressed.
‘Transeasonal’ is the undeniable buzzword of autumn— bandied about as if it connoted some big, mysterious period of time through which we need to be led, step-by-step so that we don’t (heaven forbid) wear too much or too little. Well, we’re all adults here, and I won’t insult your intelligence by imparting on you another paternalistic ‘guide to transeasonal dressing,’ as if I were revealing the cure for cancer, or the solution to some unsolvable equation. The bottom line is this: as it gets colder, add layers. If too many are added, remove. Groundbreaking.
The other gripe I have with the transeasonal trope is that it often results in looks that err on the side of blandness. Autumn marks a time when new trends and movements emerge on the runways of New York, London, Milan and Paris — in the year’s first fashion month. So rather than being a time to play it safe, it actually offers up the opportunity to experiment with different looks while the weather remains at a relatively mild level.
From the colours everyone is wearing to the reimaginings of past styles, this year’s fashion month has offered up a profusion of autumnal inspo, including a tone I honestly never thought I would wear and a number of new takes on classic pieces. Without telling you how to dress (I think you probably have a handle on that by now) I wanted to outline some of the things I’ve found myself searching for in preparation for the season at hand. The essential things. The things upon which I will build and curate my wardrobe in the lead-up to winter. And the things I counsel you to seriously consider adding to your line-up too.
A trench – this classic piece really can do no wrong, whether you opt for one in its more traditional, timeless form, or one that throws caution to the wind with delightful abandon (we’re talking patterned, patent and transparent). Maybe you take a leaf out of J.W Anderson’s book (who created one of the most major trench moments of the season) and go for volume. Or embrace a change of tone inspired by Jacquemus’ pink iteration. However it materialises, this is the undeniable coat of the season so embrace accordingly.
A.W.A.K.E Mode | Christian Dior | J.W Anderson | Simone Rocha
Something orange — a colour I never thought I would wear again after a particularly enthusiastic bout of donning it as a 12-year-old, orange is indeed, the new black. Seeing salmon-coloured skirts, apricot bags, carrot-toned trousers and tangerine tops, the wave of orange was seen as much on the runways as it was outside the shows. From Saint Laurent to Mulger to Lanvin to Loewe to Off-White to Eudon Choi to Sies Marjan — when I say it was everywhere, it was everywhere.
Intriguing hosiery — what better way to layer, after all, than with a pair of coloured, patterned or plain stockings. Although we think leaving the latter out wouldn’t be such a bad idea this season. Brands like Burberry and Gucci swathed models’ legs in colour and pattern, elevating looks out of the realm of the expected.
Clockwise from top left: Versace | Burberry | Shrimps (both) | Gucci | Versace
A statement dress — think about the attention Molly Goddard garnered for her incredibly-layered, tulle frocks or Simone Rocha’s consistent commitment to exaggerated silhouettes. A bold dress need not be relegated to special occasions or grand dress-codes. It would seem the new way to wear a dress, whether it be long, asymmetrical, frilly, voluminous, lacy or colourful, is with a pair of your favourite flats or sneakers and a devil-may-care attitude.
Saint Laurent | Prada | Molly Goddard | Christian Dior
A long skirt — with The Row’s consistent championing of modest, sleek silhouettes and Hedi Slimane’s second outing for Celine heralding the return of iconic 70s motifs and bourgeoisie style — it would seem that the long skirt is being placed as one of the pieces of the season. Making its comeback in modern, block colours, pleated textures and heritage fabrics, the long skirt will offer something different to your typical, tailored trousers.
The act of enjoying a heart-warming glass of red wine is something that is universal but the world of wine can feel like a web of senseless phrases and confusing processes that aren’t always easy for us to get our heads around. After a recent query from a friend who really had no clue what a wine decanter was, nor any idea how she should be using one, I decided to dive into why decanting was seen as integral to the serving of certain wines, as well as how to do it properly and which vessels to use.
Why should we decant? There are two main reasons why decanting wine has become common practice. The first is because it helps to filter out sediment from the wine, resulting in a clearer, sharper taste and more pure colour. For older bottles of red wine or port, this can prove imperative where the colour pigments have bonded with tannins and fallen out of the solution. Sediment can result in a wine sporting a cloudy colour, or gritty, bitter taste. Ironically, sediment in a bottle of wine can be an indicator of high-quality, which is another reason why more expensive drops are more frequently decanted before serving.
The other reason for decanting has to do with its aeration properties. Though a topic of debate (apparently) in the wider wine community, the central idea is that giving some wines exposure to oxygen will open up their flavour profiles, making them more vibrant, especially with wines that are highly tannic or full-bodied.
How to decant? 1. Choose the wine you will be serving in advance, and stand it upright for at least 24 hours — this will send the sediment to collect at the bottom of the bottle
2. Take out your decanter of choice (see below for some of our favourites)
3. Remove the cap and cork from the bottle of wipe and wipe its neck clean
4. Hold a light under the neck
5. Begin to pour the wine into the decanter slowly, without stopping at all until you reach the end. The emptier the bottle gets, the slower you should pour.
6. Stop when you see the sediment reach the neck of the bottle
7. You may serve straight away if you wish, otherwise, the rule of thumb is that older, more delicate wines should be served after sitting for around 30 minutes or so, while more full-bodied varieties can sit for closer to an hour.
Feel free to experiment with decanting (if you have a couple of bottles you don’t mind experimenting with) to familiarise yourself with the process and its results. Extreme decanting using specific aeration tools and often lasting much longer than an hour should only really be undertaken by the connoisseurs, but if you want to try your hand at it too, by all means.
Which decanters are best?
When it comes to the question of which decanter to buy, it certainly isn’t one size that fits all, but there is one brand we would always turn to without a second thought. Riedel, one of the world’s foremost makers of stemware and glassware has a wide range, even creating particular types of decanters to suit different drops (although if you’re just starting out, there’s no need to get too specific). Available locally from The Studio of Tableware, the latest Riedel decanters are set to be the perfect sculptural centrepieces for your next dinner party — and these are our favourites.
Denim jeans reflect whole lifetimes in their frayed pockets and faded patches. Those vintage 501s you picked up at some obscure second-hand store, for instance, bear wear and tear like hard-earned battle scars — each pull telling a story, every imperfection a memory — and the comfort felt from putting them on, unparalleled.
Until recently, the road to finding the perfect vintage Levi’s was unavoidably arduous and labour-intensive. For most, spending hours sifting through denim racks only to find something that would eventually have to be taken to a tailor just wasn’t worth it, leading to most of us settling for baggy fits and mass-produced options as standard practice. Noting this disconnect between what people wanted from their jeans and what was readily available, Re/Done denim created a niche for itself and changed the game in the process.
Founders of Re/Done – Sean Barron and Jamie Mazur
When Sean Barron and Jamie Mazur decided to launch their small, e-commerce site back in 2014, they couldn’t have foreseen the cult following it would eventually garner. Born from the simple idea of making it easy for people to find a pair of jeans that felt vintage but fit like new, the duo decided to source well-worn Levi’s 501s and re-work them to suit modern styles and sizing. They had three objectives: to restore individuality to the luxury fashion space; to keep important heritage brands relevant; and to create something that perpetuated sustainability. And it wasn’t long before their unique denim brand became a favourite among the young Hollywood set, breaking the duo into the big leagues.
Gigi Hadid, Kaia Gerber and Kendall Jenner in Re/Done denim
The Re/Done process is simple in principle, but hands-on in practice. Sourcing vintage Levi’s denim from all over the world, the company brings it back to its Los Angeles workshop to be unpicked and restitched into the modern classics they are known for today. Using older machines (some dating back to the 40s) so as to maintain the denim’s vintage integrity and old-school feel, the repurposed jeans — each individually handmade — are turned into high rise, ankle crop, straight skinny and flare cuts, and rendered in today’s sizes. And despite Re/Done’s serendipitous ascent, driven by early backing from models on the rise (Gigi Hadid etc) and sustained by being in the right place at the right time, this label has continued to expand its vision, now offering leatherwear, swimwear, clothing and a variety of denim styles including skirts, shorts and jackets. An important fact for anyone wanting to buy into the hype is that for every pair of Re/Done jeans bought, the company offers its customers free repairs for life. So, if that rip happens to fall slightly too close to a crotch seam, you can send your pair back to the Re/Done headquarters for a thorough stitch up.
Recognising the need for Re/Done’s offering in New Zealand, Workshop has (much to our delight) introduced a selection of the brand’s denim, clothing and accessories into its stores. Available styles include the High Rise Ankle Crop and the Stove Pipe jeans, alongside various iterations of the Classic Tee and Dad Cap, which ensure all our bases are covered for the upcoming seasons.
So next time you’re struggling to find the perfect fit, look no further than this revolutionary label reworking our favourite styles into pieces that will last a lifetime.
Dark colours are known to absorb vast amounts of light and heat. And while the intake of light gives these hues their depth, the heat factor means that tones on the shadier end of the spectrum have the potential to become unbearably hot after exposure to sunlight. This, of course, relates to a house as much as it does to a dark sweater in January or the steering wheel of a car that’s been parked in the sun all afternoon. If a homeowner has decided to finish their property in a sleek exterior of say, dark brown or grey or black, they can be sure that if rendered in regular paint, that house will have some serious temperature issues come summertime.
Luckily, we don’t deal with regular paint, and Resene (the pioneering powerhouse behind paint that borders on technological genius) has come up with a simple solution. Its CoolColour range is innovatively designed to allow darker colours to be used on roofing or the outer walls of houses without any concern for how that might effect the temperature inside. The paint in question is still able to absorb light, but when it comes to the sun’s infrared rays, is far more reflective than its run-of-the-mill counterparts. As a result, the heat build-up is much slower (in fact, it never actually reaches the ‘you could fry an egg on it’ stage) which in turn, stops the usual transfer of heat from the property’s exterior to its interior.
So do your air-conditioning unit (and power bill) a favour and manage the temperature of your home from every angle. Beyond just saving you money, it will make the place you go to relax, that much more inviting.
Wallpaper, particularly the patterned variety, has made its way back from the annals of history to stake its claim in the contemporary home. Perhaps it’s a reflection of the popularity of nostalgic motifs. Or maybe it plays into the distinctly à la mode pattern clashing aesthetic. Whatever the zeitgeist trend it feeds into, it’s back in a major way, and this is why:
1. It makes a statement
Cast aside wallpaper that doesn’t say anything (you’d do better to give your walls a lick of paint) and embrace the often outrageous nature of the patterned wallpapers from brands like House of Hackney. It’s the simplest way to lend your home a unique edge.
2. It’s easy and time efficient
Generally speaking, wallpaper is simple to put up and offers an easy way of shaking things up.
3. A little goes a long way
There’s no need, necessarily, to adorn every wall in your home with crazy wallpaper. Oftentimes, it’s far more effective to use it as a single feature wall or restrict it to one room (like the study) to achieve the desired effect. Plastering florals on every wall, for instance, would feel a little too much after the novelty wears off.
4. It’s durable and replaceable
Rambunctious misadventures that might usually leave a white wall covered in bumps and bruises will be far better received by a bold, patterned wallpaper. It’s more forgiving. And even if something happens that leaves a wall unsalvageable, the paper can be stripped and replaced with minimal effort.
5. The options are virtually endless
When it comes time to choose your wallpaper, the colour and pattern options are vast and varied. Whether you consider yourself a traditionalist, a minimalist, a quirky character or someone more cautious, there is sure to be a wallpaper to suit any proclivity. That said, we have outlined some of our favourite House of Hackney options below (based on the kind of person you are.) Happy wallpapering!
House of Hackney wallpapers available from Artisan
When kombucha is made the traditional way, and is kept raw and unpasteurised like Remedy, it means it is full of live cultures, organic acids and antioxidants, which all have proven health benefits.
For anyone who thinks that kombucha is nothing more than a drink for hipsters, this effervescent tonic was around well before that word made its way into common parlance. From its conception 2,000 years ago in China to its prevalence on the supermarket shelves of today, the presentation and packaging of kombucha might have changed since its ancient beginnings, but its nature has remained largely the same. Thought to aid digestion and gut health via the billions of good bacteria cultivated in the fermentation process, this bubbly beverage has been credited as a kind of miracle drink in health circles. Not as widely discussed, however, is how the various processes and ingredients that go into creating a bottle can vastly affect how beneficial it really is for us. With more and more companies jumping on the bandwagon and the market becoming saturated with brands more focused on profit and less on health, we spoke with the founders of a recent arrival on the scene, Remedy Kombucha (one of the only labels on the market to boast no sugar naturally), to understand just how much one kombucha can vary from another.
Kombucha is fermented tea, so naturally, the process of creating it must start with a brew. At Remedy, they use organic, single origin tea leaves to ensure the health benefits of the final product start with the first step. During this time, polyphenols — a type of antioxidant — are produced in high quantities. Different makers use different methods, but as far as ensuring the kombucha retains the probiotic qualities that make it so important to our digestive systems, it pays to look out for brands that keep their ‘booch’ raw and unpasteurised. Pasteurisation, often used to save time and money when bottling and storing, kills the live cultures and bacteria, draining the drink of its essential goodness. Remedy’s Co-founder Emmet Condon explains that their raw kombucha is “the healthiest because it is brewed in small batches according to old-school traditions.” It’s a process that allows them to brew out all the sugar and end up with a drink that is packed with live cultures and organic acids which, according to the experts, ‘are proven to improve gut health and overall wellbeing’.
Once the tea is brewed, a mother culture or SCOBY (symbiotic community of bacteria and yeast) is added, which kicks off the fermentation. The quality of the SCOBY will have a bearing on the kombucha’s final pH, residual sugar and alcohol content. “We are still using the very same mother we started with which has been brewing kombucha in Australian homes for the past 40 years” explains Condon, clarifying that the longevity is “a sign of a very healthy culture.” It then takes 30 days for the drink to fully ferment, before natural flavour (from organic fruits, roots and spices) is added and the bottles are sent on their way.
Other ingredients are also important to consider before determining which kombucha to pluck from the fridge. Some brands take a less holistic approach to their product than others, and it can be easy to find yourself sucked into the idea of it all without actually checking if something is as good as it claims to be. So it pays to be a bit discerning and check the ingredients before jumping on the bandwagon. “Consumers love the health benefits” explains Condon, “but we also consistently hear that they love the taste”. For Remedy, the aim of the game is to “offer consumers real and healthy alternatives to sugary drinks and fake-healthy drinks with no nutritional value” by using all-natural and organic ingredients, which not only make for a much cleaner brewing process, but also result in a kombucha that is truly committed to health — rather than just the trendy nature of it.
This idea is furthered when it comes to the contentious issue of kombucha’s sugar content. With some basing their claims that the drink isn’t all it’s hyped up to be on the sugar content of each bottle, this doesn’t apply in every case. Yes, some brands do end up with a fair amount of residual sugar in their product, which not only wreaks havoc for the obvious reason that too much sugar is bad for us, but can also mean that the kombucha continues to ferment on the shelf. The amount of sugar left in a batch of kombucha really comes down to how long it has been fermented for. Because Remedy allows its kombucha to ferment for 30 days, all the sugar added at the start (necessary for the SCOBY to feed on) is entirely consumed, resulting in a final product that naturally contains no sugar (Remedy’s product even has the ‘I Quit Sugar’ tick of approval). If a kombucha is fermented for, say, five days, there will naturally be more of the sweet stuff left over.
There are a number of factors that go into creating the bottles of kombucha we happily sip on. What Remedy Kombucha has illuminated for us, is that not all kombucha is created equal. As Condon puts it, “kombucha isn’t a ‘cure’ but it can help return your body to balance by improving gut health and overall wellbeing. When kombucha is made the traditional way, and is kept raw and unpasteurised like Remedy, it means it is full of live cultures, organic acids and antioxidants, which all have proven health benefits”. So be wary of the booch you buy into. While brands like Remedy have made health their mission, others may not be as beneficial. Our advice? Trust your gut.
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