In a way, we are talking cycles. Just like visual culture is moving away from the polished look of Instagram, towards the rawer TikTok aesthetics, Interior is - very slowly! - abandoning the manicured Instagram look, moving into a more no-nonsense territory.
When done well (usually it happens with places that have known no other look since their beginning) it's refreshing (but give it a few years and we'll go back to craving the other opposite). When, instead, there is an element of "trying-too-hard" and general fakery, as in the Frog Club or Burberry examples, it just reads pathetic.
Granted, true originals do more than just swing from one black-and-white style to its opposite.
very true! the pendulum will swing back and forth, like with everything in culture. What I find fascinating (but also quite dystopian) is the extent to which the built environment (retail, cafes etc) and physical consumer products today are dictated by changes in the algorithm and the emergence of new social apps with new stylistic values, the level of homogenisation this creates is something quite new and unique.
It's in some way nice to see the hospitality and retail industries try to break free from that homogenisation, but like you said, if a place hasn't had that 'je ne sais quoi' attitude from the get go, it's a hard energy to pull off. I think the issue is that brands are too pre-occupied with the surface-level aesthetics of things to really understand the social dynamics and history that informs why a place looks or feels a certain way. For example, if Burberry really understood the role caffs play in UK society, they would have known better than to appropriate their 'everyman' vibes for a luxury pop-up event.
couldn't agree more. A few years ago there was this word doing the rounds: "AirSpaces", meant to describe those reclaimed-wood, industrial-finishings, avocado-toasted places for people working on a MacBook :-) These easy aesthetic tropes are quick to catch (like the bug!) and the algorithm is part of that. (although algorithms are changing too).
Funny you should mention Foxtrot since they went out of business about a month ago. A hunger charity worked with the building's owner in the DC location to get in there to grab the food in the store so they could feed the homeless with what the business left behind. Maybe the shoppy shops are on their way out? https://www.cspdailynews.com/company-news/assets-shuttered-convenience-store-foxtrot-sold-22-million
You mention how spaces like E Pellicci (great spot, btw) don’t cave or pander to external aesthetic pressure. At the same time, I can’t help but feel that the influx of crowds seeking such spaces alters their essence in some fundamental way. Like, a whole bunch of people not caring creates an energy of caring a lot. Just wondering how you feel about that aspect. I know it’s kind of vague and multifaceted....maybe something to explore in a future Idle Gaze?
yeah that's interesting, you're right, there's some sort of paradox at play: places that don't care eventually attract big crowds, but when there's that big influx of people it fundamentally changes the essence of the place, and it's hard to sustain that original vibe that made it special. would definitely be interested in exploring this further in a future newsletter!
yeah neukölln and some parts of kreuzberg have plenty of them still! nathanja and heinrich, the greens cafe and Tier are some prime examples off the top of my head when it comes to bars and cafes
Good, timely essay, thank you so much. Greetings from ‘nearby’ SE Asia with scruffy being the keyword for hangout places here (less so in Bangkok). Subscribing 🩵🐉
Thanks agnes! good to hear not everywhere caved in to the algorithms, haven't been SE Asia loads but seems like it's all about the cozy hangout spots there
It's basically the story of what London eats (canteens, cultural centers, caffs), which is unsurprisingly quite unrelated to either Michelin-starred restaurants, buzzy spots or small-plates restaurants in Hackney.
In a way, we are talking cycles. Just like visual culture is moving away from the polished look of Instagram, towards the rawer TikTok aesthetics, Interior is - very slowly! - abandoning the manicured Instagram look, moving into a more no-nonsense territory.
When done well (usually it happens with places that have known no other look since their beginning) it's refreshing (but give it a few years and we'll go back to craving the other opposite). When, instead, there is an element of "trying-too-hard" and general fakery, as in the Frog Club or Burberry examples, it just reads pathetic.
Granted, true originals do more than just swing from one black-and-white style to its opposite.
very true! the pendulum will swing back and forth, like with everything in culture. What I find fascinating (but also quite dystopian) is the extent to which the built environment (retail, cafes etc) and physical consumer products today are dictated by changes in the algorithm and the emergence of new social apps with new stylistic values, the level of homogenisation this creates is something quite new and unique.
It's in some way nice to see the hospitality and retail industries try to break free from that homogenisation, but like you said, if a place hasn't had that 'je ne sais quoi' attitude from the get go, it's a hard energy to pull off. I think the issue is that brands are too pre-occupied with the surface-level aesthetics of things to really understand the social dynamics and history that informs why a place looks or feels a certain way. For example, if Burberry really understood the role caffs play in UK society, they would have known better than to appropriate their 'everyman' vibes for a luxury pop-up event.
couldn't agree more. A few years ago there was this word doing the rounds: "AirSpaces", meant to describe those reclaimed-wood, industrial-finishings, avocado-toasted places for people working on a MacBook :-) These easy aesthetic tropes are quick to catch (like the bug!) and the algorithm is part of that. (although algorithms are changing too).
Funny you should mention Foxtrot since they went out of business about a month ago. A hunger charity worked with the building's owner in the DC location to get in there to grab the food in the store so they could feed the homeless with what the business left behind. Maybe the shoppy shops are on their way out? https://www.cspdailynews.com/company-news/assets-shuttered-convenience-store-foxtrot-sold-22-million
I totally missed that foxtrot had gone out of business :o This does feel like a sign of the times, shoppy shops might very well be on their way out!
I do love a scruffy caff, and always enjoyed Anthony Bourdain’s travel shows as he had a pendant for finding the real deals wherever he went
yeah bourdain was always about the scruffy authentic spots!
You mention how spaces like E Pellicci (great spot, btw) don’t cave or pander to external aesthetic pressure. At the same time, I can’t help but feel that the influx of crowds seeking such spaces alters their essence in some fundamental way. Like, a whole bunch of people not caring creates an energy of caring a lot. Just wondering how you feel about that aspect. I know it’s kind of vague and multifaceted....maybe something to explore in a future Idle Gaze?
yeah that's interesting, you're right, there's some sort of paradox at play: places that don't care eventually attract big crowds, but when there's that big influx of people it fundamentally changes the essence of the place, and it's hard to sustain that original vibe that made it special. would definitely be interested in exploring this further in a future newsletter!
If you are based in Berlin, what are your favorite ungrammable spaces there ?
Are they mostly on the East side ?
yeah neukölln and some parts of kreuzberg have plenty of them still! nathanja and heinrich, the greens cafe and Tier are some prime examples off the top of my head when it comes to bars and cafes
Preach!!!
Good, timely essay, thank you so much. Greetings from ‘nearby’ SE Asia with scruffy being the keyword for hangout places here (less so in Bangkok). Subscribing 🩵🐉
Thanks agnes! good to hear not everywhere caved in to the algorithms, haven't been SE Asia loads but seems like it's all about the cozy hangout spots there
Yeah, after years here, I am still amazed that globalisation has not reached everywhere after all. Cheers to that!
as a sidenote, I think there is one book that doesn an excellent job in terms of explaining what (London) food really is about, beyond aestheticized IG accounts and "foodies" trends: https://shop.open-city.org.uk/products/london-feeds-itself-2nd-edition
It's basically the story of what London eats (canteens, cultural centers, caffs), which is unsurprisingly quite unrelated to either Michelin-starred restaurants, buzzy spots or small-plates restaurants in Hackney.
love this, thanks for sharing, will always be obsessed with london food culture, will definitely check that book out!
ah right it's by jonathan nunn! some of the best UK food writing comes from his online newsletter Vittles