Another Saturday, another working lunch in Notting Hill trying to make sense of all the things around us and what they mean for Turnleft. This one took me to posh E&O for a drink or two with Johannes, Turnleft’s creative consultant and all-time muse. After checking preserve and latkes recipes at Books for Cooks next door, we walked on Portobello and passed the flyover for a quick look at Les Couilles du Chien - the area’s favourite antiques shop – and then Rellik – the godmother of all vintage shops. It was very inspiring as usual and we agreed that the cosy world of travel publishing is in need of a new magazine that can relegate Conde Nast Traveller to history… What came to mind as sources of inspiration were Alain de Botton’s A week at the airport and Iain Sinclair’s Hackney. If I remember well, Johannes threw words like semiotics and psychogeography [Later that day I checked the travel writing section at Foyles and Waterstone's only to realise that it is indeed populated with stories of middle-aged men in the South of France and public schoolboys gonzoing their way through Africa/India/Tibet].

Apart from his imminent flight to Helsinki, Johannes also mentioned some ongoing trend forecasting work with a Hong Kong-based clothes manufacturer and it hit me that we should launch a clothes line for the World Cup, something fresh and different that would target football widows (TM thank you – I coined it) and those that feel alienated by football culture but that will still revel during the Cup. In a bout of naughties nostalgia the closest thing that came to mind was my old fcuk football tee-shirt and how daring it felt at the time.

For some reason we then talked about Mademoiselle Agnes, Paris’ eponymous fashion observer. I am not her biggest fan but Johannes – whose brains are permanently in overdrive – dared suggest that her style is the embodiment of Dada philosophy applied to the fickle world of fashion. I’m still pondering.

From there our discussion could only lead to how overrated most fashion bloggers are, and how ephemeral their influence will be in the realm of fashion, even if a few of them made it to the front row. Instead we analysed a range of new magazines, including Candy – the first transversal style magazine dedicated to transvestism, transexuality, cross-dressing and androgyny by the fabulous Luis Venegas, of Fanzine 137 and Electric Youth fame. With Bruce Weber and Terry Richardson as contributors, we gathered that magazine publishing isn’t on its last legs.

And that was it, another Turnleft brainstorm in the shadow of Trellick Tower!

E&O 14 Blenheim Crescent - Books for Cooks 4 Blenheim Crescent – Rellik 8 Golborne Road - Les Couilles du Chien 65 Golborne Road

Here comes another ephemeral concept just when I was about to blog about serious pop-up fatigue. Wish You Were Here Swap is an interesting NY-LON experience: 30 designer shops in Newburgh Quarter (Carnaby Street) and the Lower East Side swap places for a month… London designers visited New York this August and London is now welcoming 12 Lower East Side designers until 31 October – like a good old fashioned high school student exchange. Ok the yellow taxi is a bit corny but I am going this afternoon – I immediately spotted shirtmaker Robert James in the list…

More seriously, are we so over pop-up shops (to paraphrase Johannes, our creative consultant)? Yes, these guerrilla tactics have had their day and the concept has been bastardised by too many brands trying to keep up with youth culture, but there is something resolutely grassroots about the whole idea and we certainly haven’t seen the end of it in London. Part of it is down to economics I guess – finding affordable space was impossible 2 years ago but in the aftermath of a full-blown recession, London high streets feel decimated, not just in the West End but also in Shoreditch and in the posher parts of town (I mentioned how desolate Westbourne Grove feels in a previous blog but I also spotted 2 bailiff notices stuck on windows on Saint John’s Wood High Street). It is estimated that 15 UK retail chains are on the verge of immediate bankruptcy. It is very tempting to take over say Woolworths’ huge empty premises for an experimental project because I can’t see anyone else moving in…

It reminds me of Berlin’s Zwischenmieter movement (a proper translation would be “in-between tenants”): until recently there was no shortage of empty buildings in Berlin and landlords have always been prepared to let out their space for free to desirable trendoids who can boost the cachet of an area. If a small Produzentengalerie sets up shop for free say north of Torstraße, flashing shiny Macs and ic!berlin eyewear at passer-bys, within months the area gets a media company or two, a fashion store, commercial galleries, a restaurant and designer bars. And before you know it the former no man’s land calls itself NoTo (North of Torstraße), the Bavarians move in, Berliner residents feel alienated in the Toca Rouge-Reingold-Birnbaum triangle, and the landlord laughs all the way to the bank… So there is a rationale for keeping rents low for low-key creative outfits (London and Paris landlords take note). In fact many venues in Berlin still operate on such low rents that they don’t even need to sell anything, a few even feel compelled to give things away for free. So I wasn’t surprised last year when Wedding Dress, a fringe fashion and urban arts festival, occupied three entire blocks at the very unfashionable end of Brunnenstraße in Wedding. I was even less surprised to hear that it was organised by the building landlords. And at this stage I need to disclose that the whole Carnaby Street-Newburgh Quarter is not what it used to be – the entire area belongs to the same property developer…

Back to Turnleft – I’m very tempted to coincide Turnleft SS10 guide collections with maybe a pop-up or two in various cities, where guides would be available for free, with exhibitions, social events and fantastic us making the street shiny and happening. If there are landlords out there willing to offer some space, contact us. Oh, and a drink sponsor

London (West End): Wish You Were Here Swap. Newburgh Quarter (Carnaby Street area), W1. 1-31 Oct

Berlin (Mitte): Birnbaum Bergstraße 25 – Reingold Novalisstraße 11 – Toca Rouge Torstraße 195

New York (Lower East Side): Robert James 72 Orchard St, NY 10002

Name dropping again – it’s a chronic condition – but Thimo te Duits, curator at the fantastic Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, once gave me a private tour of the museum joking that its eclectic permanent collection and fast exhibition turnaround made it “the Colette of museums”… And it really is an amazing art space, with a collection that ranges from paintings to design & ceramics – the Netherlands Architecture Institute nearby is equally wonderful (Rotterdam being the European capital of architecture) and check the many galleries across the Westersingel on Witte de Withstraat… more in a separate post. The Art of Fashion opened 2 weeks ago at the Boijmans, it explores the interaction between art and fashion, and I was dead jealous of their beautiful flyer.

Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, 19 Sep-10 Jan, Museumpark 18-20

I still don’t know what to make of Coca Cola’s claim that VitaminWater is bottled at its center for responsible hydration but the guys know how to turn spring water with added vitamin and pantone colouring into a fashion accessory. VitaminWater was launched in Brussels last week and the campaign included a 10-day pop-up shop Rue Antoine Dansaert (where else? incidentally in lieu of the street’s best design shop) and various events aimed at associating the brand with famous belgians – or that’s what the model-slash-barman behind the counter told us when we returned for more free bottles. Yes a high-ranking member of Turnleft indulged in a few plastic bottles but guiltily, wondering where it all started (probably when a Hollywood celeb decided to rinse her hair with Evian) and what will come next to keep us away from tap water…

Thankfully a few days later in London I found out that designer David Harber had just installed a public fountain in Hyde Park – courtesy of Thames Water – with the aim of sinking this unsustainable fad.

I was reading the October edition of Wallpaper* magazine on the Eurostar and it crossed my mind that the magazine was slowly reviving its vintage 1990s spirit, when it was daring and sexy (even raunchy). The peelable cover was a great idea and I was suddenly excited at the idea of browsing through the pages and actually reading articles. I had a similar epiphany last July when I got hold of the Sex & Art issue. It will sound sycophantic but Karl Lagerfeld is a true genius – next to my copy of Wallpaper* was Intelligent Life (The Economist’s monthly title) with an in-depth article on the end of polymaths. What a coincidence because Mr Lagerfeld strikes me as the godfather of them all… the extent of his knowledge is staggering – not only fashion but also art, design and architecture – and I wish I could deliver his witty one-liners in at least one language (his acid tongue spans quite a few languages). I was amazed by his talent for photography and his male nudes were quite a noticeable departure for a magazine as ice-cold as Wallpaper*. Magazines have changed so much over the past few years – I remember reading an interview by the founders of Butt Magazine and how they explained that they couldn’t even find a retailer. It’s nice to see a new sense of aesthetics permeating the glossy press. More please!

This is a picture of the Turnleft office – as you can see we’re used to turning right!

Working on the Antwerp poster series has been a tremendous pleasure. One last thought for Brecht Vandenbroucke, the super-talented illustrator who designed the Street poster (below). Ben, Turnleft’s Art Director, was familiar with his work and I had seen Brecht’s cover for the Vice Summer guide (Benelux edition). By the time we saw the sketch of his proposed poster, we couldn’t wait to see it in print. To me it balances Antwerp’s ice-cold image – often conveyed by its fashion capital status – with a fun and festive representation of the city. It was also interesting to know that all Belgian grown-ups have fond memories of childhood visits to the Antwerp Zoo so here it is, our final recommendation (Koningin Astridplein 26, behind Centraal Station).

We are already working on our next edition, maybe Fall-Winter 09-10 or Spring-Summer 10 at the latest. Contact us if you want to take part! nick at turnleftguides dot com (publisher & editor-in-chief)

A few credits:
Art director Ben Freeman
Creative consultant Johannes Reponen
Posters & illustration Jarno Kettunen | Brecht Vandenbroucke
Photography Donatien Veismann
Style Ruben Debuck
Hair and make-up Géraldine Niego
Photography assistant Jeroen Vissie
Models Seppe & Steve @ New Models
Special thanks Inge Bauwens, Andrea Cammarosano, Igor Daems, Miek De Roeck, Rob Driessen, David Flamée, Hein Knapen, Harald Ligtvoet, Dawn Page, Bert Vercamer & many others

All content © 2009 www.turnleftguides.com

We’re in a recession and even if we’re loath to admit it publicly, for most of us budgets can’t stretch to this season’s luxury must-haves (sigh). Fortunately there are not many other cities with such a selection of vintage and second-hand fashion stores. And we’re not talking Beyond Retro here. Antwerp is proving a gem for vintage women’s fashion but there’s always a railing or two with menswear…

Tiny Labels Inc. is a great place to find collections from the previous seasons and they stock most of the Antwerp labels; it’s not a big space and you’ll rub shoulders (or scratch eyeballs) with the cream of the Antwerp fashion scene. Furniture + Clothing Selection (FCS) is a friendly vintage store, quiet upmarket, great for fashion and design. For second-hand fashion and casualwear, head to Episode or T2: Think Twice.

[update: RA13 opening this October - see previous posts - will also feature a vintage section]

Episode Steenhouwersvest 34a, Furniture + Clothing Selection Timmerwerfstraat 8, Labels Inc. Aalmoezenierstraat 4, RA13 Kloosterstraat 13, T2: Think Twice Lange Klarenstraat 21

The spectacular conversion of former horsestables into the Hospital concept store establishes this corner of Zuid as the new frontier for upscale fashion. Located opposite Clinic (more casual), Hospital features a classic Mercedes convertible in the middle of its space, a wine cellar by a leading sommelier and a bar terrace fronting De Burburestraat. Even by Antwerp’s high-fashion standards, there is something extravagant about this space (in a good industrial chic way) but in contrast to other stores Hospital extends its menswear and womenswear collection beyond the statutory Antwerp labels: Alexander Mc Queen, Viktor and Rolf, Marc Jacobs, etc… What’s striking is how friendly Hopsital is, in line with the urban deluxe feel of the multibrand collection. The stoicism of its chiseled team is admirable: we ran part of our photo shoot there (and it took a bit longer than planned) but they didn’t bat an eyelash when the entire Turnleft circus rearranged the furniture and almost broke a mannequin… Some of the outbuildings will be converted into a 3-room bed & breakfast at some point next year – we will keep you posted!

Hospital De Burburestraat 4

Turnleft always makes every endeavour to feature mostly small, independent venues. This is particularly true for hotels – we can’t stand Caesar Salads in identikit hotel chains. The whole team has developed a fondness for small bed & breakfasts and they don’t come better than in Benelux, probably because buildings are so small and narrow – we’ve already featured Hooy Kaye Lodge (Brussels) and Lute Suites (Amsterdam) in previous guides (it would be more difficult to establish an intimate hotel in an Haussmannian building). Dutch designer Analik’s Miauw in Antwerp and Amsterdam revolves around 3 ideas set within the same premises: a bed & breakfast (Miauw Suites), a concept store with a rotation of fashion, design and art displays (Miauw Shop) and a creative agency (Miauw Projects). The Antwerp building is not necessarily Unesco World Heritage material but its corner location allows for a view over Marnixplaats and a 270-degree exposure in each suite, each of them a staggering 70sqm. And at this stage we need to mention that Miauw is located between 2 of the city’s best restaurants: Fiskebar at 12 (fish and seafood canteen, great wine list) and Lucy Chang at 16 (everyone’s favourite pan-Asian eatery in Antwerp – see previous posts).

Fiskebar Marnixplaats 12, Miauw Marnixplaats 14, Lucy Chang Marnixplaats 16