CITY - Issue 61 - (Page 26)

ACTION: Lifestyle Reﬁned Design CAR: AUDI R8 Audi has been in the design game a long time. From the rally racer favorite Audi Qua ro in 1980 to the simple and streamlined TT in more recent years, the company has sought to marry automotive innovations with sophisticated looks that impress without crying out for a ention. But like all good design, it’s never just about styling. “It all comes down to the function, and how to optimize that function,” says Jae Min, Audi’s chief designer at Design Center California. The R8 represents a new kind of car for Audi. For starters, it’s the company’s ﬁrst midengine sports car, which provides be er weight distribution than a frontmounted engine. With 420 horsepower, the R8 accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, but does so with surprising grace, thanks to Audi’s magnetic ride, which uses computer-controlled electromagnets to control suspension damping on the ﬂ y. Also, the R8 shares the same platform as the Lamborghini Gallardo, an in-your-face Italian road rocket (Audi’s parent, VW, also owns Lamborghini). The R8 trades some of the Gallardo’s testosterone edge for a sense of reﬁnement. When building a car like the R8, “you have to consider what the deﬁnition of luxury is,” says Min. “If you ask someone who’s used to traditional decadence and luxury, they’ll look for velour, leather, and wood. But if you ask a more progressive customer, the term luxury comes down to what materials aﬀord you the best functionality.” — TIM MCKEOUGH Hip Hop Connoisseur BOOK: A BATHING APE Nigo, founder of A Bathing Ape, is a branding savant. How else to explain his eccentric yet astoundingly successful notion of cross-branding two entire cultures, selling America’s hip hop street style to Japanese consumers before reversing course and selling Japanese consumer culture to the American market. BAPE (as it is commonly known) began as the bastard child of mid-‘90s Japanamania, a period when J-Pop novelties ﬁrst hit our shores and every college campus was busy screening anime ﬁlms such as Akira.. At the same time, hip hop performers were looking at the phenomenal success of clothing lines such as Tommy Hilﬁ ger and wondering why the heck the artists themselves weren’t ge ing in on the action. It wasn’t long before downtown creatives such as alife, aNYthing, and Supreme were ge ing in on the act, se ing up niche boutiques of limited edition wares in metropolitan centers all over the world. Nigo blew them out of the water by crossing back over to the hip hop community and somehow taking the concept of limited edition to the mass market. Today, the company boasts fans ranging from Kanye West (no stranger to cross branding and culture mixing himself) and Pharrell Williams (who partnered with Nigo on the Billionaire Boys Club/Ice Cream line) to Japanese pop stars Puﬀ y AmiYumi, while successfully partnering with brands ranging from Pepsi to Chanel. The new book, titled A Bathing Ape,, published by Rizzoli, collects over a decade’s worth of designs, ad campaigns, custom projects, and random snapshots of Nigo’s friends and collaborators over the years. If you weren’t jealous already, you will be once you see how fun it seems to be to build a global brand from the ground up. Sometimes the street really is paved with gold. — KEN MILLER /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Crystal Clear COLLABORATION: EVIAN X JEAN PAUL GAULTIER A er making its splashy debut at Paris Fashion Week this past October at an event hosted by Jean Paul Gaultier himself, the latest in Evian’s annual designer collaboration series arrives stateside this holiday season. Known for his show-stopping designs, Gaultier was called upon by Evian to design both “couture” and “prêt-à-porter” bo les, which feature a de ly-cra ed interlocking snowﬂ ake pa ern and bold blue type. While only seven of the couture bo les will be produced to travel the world in exhibitions and charity auctions, ge ing your hands on the ready-to-wear bo les will thankfully be a bit easier — expect to see them adorning dining tables at the country’s ﬁ nest restaurants, hotels, and clubs. Or else buy your own case via ShopEvian.com and you’ll be sure to impress even your most discerning holiday party guest. — ALEXANDER WOLF http://www.ShopEvian.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CITY - Issue 61

CITY - Issue 61 Contents Our Friends Action Wanted City Moment Luscious Life Fast Food Inrogue Temporary Contemporary Diary Savania Davies-Keller & Roberto Crivello Pamela Love Sung-Joo Kim Jerome Berard Destination Dealerships Overly Opulent Inside Out Like a Clock in the Heart Qatar’s Crown Jewel BLING Urge to Splurge Just a Splash Luxe Life Solitaire Equus Where to Buy It Cityscape

CITY - Issue 61

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