At a bit of a loss at the weekend (for a number of reasons, see other news below), so splashed out on a coffee and the latest of Tyler B's Monocle.
Still looks good, esp. the cover, with a good feature on home workouts, G-Wagons and the return of Andrew Mueller, surely Oz's best export since Clive James (or maybe Kylie). But the rest of it seemed to be a rewarming of old TB 'fast track' themes, e.g. Heathrow is evil, trains should be run by Wallpaper*, and so on. Esp. indulgent was the feature on the fabulistic Nordic News Network - as if Zoolander had taken over CNN. And lacking in humour or real interest, intrigue or revelation in the country 'briefings'. Most look like they could be culled from the internet, or are part of the CIA world factbook. Maybe I'm being harsh, but it needs to up the game. If it's going to be the Economist meets Arena, it needs to up the game.
Showing posts with label Monocle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monocle. Show all posts
Monday, 19 March 2007
Friday, 16 February 2007
Wallpaper* 2.0
Tyler Brûlé's international brand (actually just a magazine at the moment), the dandyish-sounding Monocle (grandly subtitled 'briefing on global affairs, business, culture & design') launched yesterday. I picked up a copy at the decidedly unglamorous WHSmith in Victoria Station and flicked through a copy during the 1 o'clock news, expecting more briefings on homme's underwear than geopolitics.
Nice and thick (which is what you expect for a fiver) and, unless it flops (as a segment on R4's Today show predicted), a neat decimalized 10 issues a year, it exudes design thought (nay, obsession). The cover shot of a Japanese military pilot brings back the old Face magazine's 1980s fascination with Japan, but also happily blends style (TB seems obsessed with Japanese design) and a contemporary topic that's a bit off the radar, but will soon be bleeping loudly. (Think North Korea). And it's not as obvious as China.
But back to the design: an almost square small folio size, matte paper, a good contents page, 'serious' serif font. And full of interesting stuff. The ability to make the reader feel smug (as though they're really a global jetsetter, with several Bauhaus pads dotted around the globe) is undeniable. Get spotted reading one, and you'll look a complete poseur, mind.
I loved the review of Barter Books ('The British Library of secondhand bookshops' - The New Statesman - I'm tempted to comment but won't) in the, ahem, 'Well Stacked' section. More book reviews needed though - and where is the 'virtual' world in all of this.
And the photo-essay on Les Chaux-de-Fonds reminded me of my time in Besançon. The fun section on Porter bags owed a bit to Flickr's 'what's in my bag' group and - yes - revealed the expected Zimmerli briefs.
Finally, Monocle is cycle-friendly, easily stashed in an S-Bag, and with lots of plugs for Skeppshult bikes.
Only complaint - needs some sort of built in ribbon as a bookmark.
Nice and thick (which is what you expect for a fiver) and, unless it flops (as a segment on R4's Today show predicted), a neat decimalized 10 issues a year, it exudes design thought (nay, obsession). The cover shot of a Japanese military pilot brings back the old Face magazine's 1980s fascination with Japan, but also happily blends style (TB seems obsessed with Japanese design) and a contemporary topic that's a bit off the radar, but will soon be bleeping loudly. (Think North Korea). And it's not as obvious as China.
But back to the design: an almost square small folio size, matte paper, a good contents page, 'serious' serif font. And full of interesting stuff. The ability to make the reader feel smug (as though they're really a global jetsetter, with several Bauhaus pads dotted around the globe) is undeniable. Get spotted reading one, and you'll look a complete poseur, mind.
I loved the review of Barter Books ('The British Library of secondhand bookshops' - The New Statesman - I'm tempted to comment but won't) in the, ahem, 'Well Stacked' section. More book reviews needed though - and where is the 'virtual' world in all of this.
And the photo-essay on Les Chaux-de-Fonds reminded me of my time in Besançon. The fun section on Porter bags owed a bit to Flickr's 'what's in my bag' group and - yes - revealed the expected Zimmerli briefs.
Finally, Monocle is cycle-friendly, easily stashed in an S-Bag, and with lots of plugs for Skeppshult bikes.
Only complaint - needs some sort of built in ribbon as a bookmark.
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