Is the current riot of patterns and prints getting to you? Think white for respite!

In an attempt to counterbalance the morosity of our times and the chaos of our financial and economic systems, the fashion world has chosen colour and pattern for the spring/summer to come; inundating retail with gaudy accessories, loud dresses and flaming shoes. The first image one gets from the international fashion scene is an zealous overload that doesn't correspond to our current mentality, a pattern panic that doesn't translate our current concerns and a colour choice that wants to mirror the 5O's in today’s current period of distress and regression.

The influence these selections will have on the next spring/summer is dangerous; a second loud summer might do us all in. The fabrics shown at last Milano Unica indicate the danger of doing it again, and even more so. The same brights, the same florals and the same colour-blocking will not be able to seduce the audiences twice.

Therefore we think the best way out is to hide in white!

In all fabrications and with all other colours, white is able to be a band-aid for our hurt feelings and a neat refuge for our need for serenity. A colour able to talk sense, sensibility and sex; a versatile way to express the different moods of the day. as an immaculate white shirt, it will be able to calm down printed skirts; as a white jacket, it will bring together citrus brights like lemon and orange; as a white jean, it will streamline casual attire for the city; as a white sheet of a dress, it will further allow us a sense of minimalism.

The colour white will absolutely become essential for spring/summer 2013. So do make the right fabric choices and do not get blinded by yet another rainbow of brights; peace of mind is in the making, creating a sense of bliss.

Lidewij Edelkoort

“Adventures In Your Backyard” is the latest album to be released by Patrick Watson, a Montreal-based singer whose band by the same name in fact includes guitarist Simon Angell, percussionist Robbie Kuster and bassist Mishka Stein. The artist has been able to maintain his individuality while being part of this increasingly-popular Indie-pop group, the sum of its parts more potent that one man alone.

Blending folk and cabaret influences in their work, Patrick Watson’s soothing acoustic sound is the latest in a long line of musical poets stretching back to Sigur Rós, Sufjan Stevens and Rufus Wainwright. The new album follows “Close to Paradise” which won the 2007 Polaris Prize, reflecting the group’s experimental beginnings which saw them use unconventional objects to make their music: Kuster used spoons to create a tremolo picking effect on an acoustic guitar in “Man Like You”; Watson played a bicycle to record “Beijing” and has been known to sing some tracks on stage through a megaphone.

“Adventures In Your Backyard” is a shift towards a murkier wonderland inspired by the events of everyday life. By embracing classical instruments into its eclectic mix, Patrick Watson is on a quest for quiet and understated sounds, a sullen look at love and a mysterious sense of romanticism. The group are currently touring the United States and Canada.

Philip Fimmano

Osmoz is a website dedicated to perfume and fragrance, created by Firmenich, one of the world leaders in designing and producing perfume, fragrance and scent. It guides us into the World of Perfume to discover the secrets, the alchemy and the creation of a scent.

One can easily understand the composition of a perfume with notes of head, heart and substance. This site explains in details the History of Perfume and the different olfactory identities and families, a mine of information for exploring this exciting field.

Online you can buy the Osmoz’s boxes.These boxes are incredible: in the same way as you taste wine to better understand the intricacies and the art of creating, you just do the same with perfumes . It is an educational approach with a sensory delight.

Osmoz will make an intervention at «Mode City» on July 7,8,9 in Paris / Porte de Versailles. An opportunity for professional marketer from lingerie to swimwear to discover the Art of Smell - the next needed tool to better sale or develop packaging.

Vanessa Batut

Lately some signals seem to point at religion as a new platform to do good.

Emmanuelle Linard

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Stroll around the pretty, petite village of Portofino and soon enough your nose will pick up the irresistible scent of Focaccia. And not just any old Focaccia : this particular flatbread, topped with olive oil and herbs, has had a far reaching fan base since 1911.

Panificio Canale located Via Roma was opened in 1911 by Maurizio Canale, it is now presided by their kids ; people refer to this bakery as « the Queen of Focaccia »

Focaccia, a typical ligurian bread was eaten in Middle Ages, when it was made by shaping dough into flat round shape and cooking it on hot stone. It was consumed only in the morning, dipped in cappucino.

Today it’s an any-time treat and wonderful to eat layered with prosciutto for a picnic lunch or in the evening as an aperitif.

The question is what makes Mariangela’s focaccia so special ?

The love of Focaccia ….

Charlotte Bjorklund

Cindy Sherman - American, born 1954 - is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential artists in contemporary art. Bringing together more than 170 photographs, the retrospective in MOMA survey traces the artist’s career from the mid 1970s to the present. 

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