It doesn’t matter whether you’re on the road or on the divan, because nothing is as cozy as a bit of leisure to sit back and dive into some reading material in the midst of the dreary winter days. In my case, I’ll be savoring the teeny weeny bit of free time in the air reading. Yup, I’m leaving for Berlin this weekend and would love some insider tips by the way. But first, check out the fifth issue of the independent Scandinavian fashion/art magazine SMUG for some reading pleasure. SMUG #5 is finally hitting the magazine stands next week and is hands down one of the best, if not the best, Scandinavian publications out there, at least in my estimation.
The magazine is jam-packed with enthralling articles and editorials, featuring, but not limited to, Patrick Wolf, Yuja Wang, Andrea Mary Marshall, Larry Heard, works by Michael Donovan, and Hedi Slimane. I think my favorite interview is the one with Peter Gatien, which is both a heartbreaking and interesting read about the mogul behind four major clubs in NYC a few decades ago. And as a longtime fan of Hedi Slimane, it’s no wonder that I’m literally exhilarated by the fact that he’s one of the magazine’s contributors. He never ceases to amaze me and it’s a true honor to feature his works in SMUG.
For those of you fashion savvy ladies, you’ll most likely get a thrill out of the conversations with the fascinating and talented Bruno Pieters, Siki Im, Jacquemus, and Katie Gallagher. The Bruno Pieters interview might inspire readers to consume more mindfully, not to mention raise awareness about the subtle political aspects of fashion. And one of the French up-and-coming youngsters featured in this issue, Simon Porte Jacquemus, who has a serious penchant for uniforms and who also wears his favorite clothes over and over again, talks about how he accidentally became a minimalist, his partiality for creating a sense of boredom, and distaste for details.
Anyway, the fifth issue of SMUG is the last one in Norwegian as the magazine will be internationally distributed as of summer 2012. 276 pages of timeless content and impeccable design, paper, as well as beautiful typography. What’s more to add? Well, it’s a magazine people will hold on to for many years to come. And if you happen to be in Oslo on Saturday, don’t forget to hop by the magazine launch party for SMUG #5.
PS: The only place you can get hold of this magazine in the US for now, albeit it’s in Norwegian, is at The Armory Show in New York City!
Is it possible to get SMUG outside of Norway ye? I live in Denmark, but you’ve made me more than curious to read it.
Yes, i think you can get it in Denmark. At least in Sweden! I think some online stores will be selling this magazine, like http://www.freudiankicks.com. But if not, maybe I can arrange something for curious readers.. :)
Uuh this sound promising! Congratulations to you fleurette, the magazine looks absolutely lovely :-)
My favorite touristy/cultural things to do in Berlin:
- Museum at Check Point Charlie
- Holocaust Memorial
- Jewish Museum
- Reichstag
I’m not so much into the Berlin fashion scene (too alternative, artsy etc for my taste), so I can’t recommend any stores. You’ll be able to find lots of designer stores that might not be available in Oslo, though…
I assume you already booked a hotel/hostel/B&B. If not or something goes wrong… go to the Circus Hotel!! It’s cheap but very very nice!
In my opinion Berlin is not the prettiest city in Germany, but it you’re interest in (young) history it’s great!
And you must eat a Currywurst at one of the street stands!!! :)
Thanks! I’m not going to do a lot of shopping apart from visiting the APC and Comme des Garçons store. And maybe COS.
You should check out Sophienstrasse 21 – theres a lot of concept stores,young berliner fashion designers stores, BPitch Control shop etc.
The Barn in Mitte for coffee and cake. The Corner near Gendarmenmarkt for shopping. (There’s a Galeries Lafayette just a couple of blocks away, too.) Sasaya in P’Berg for great sushi.
Høres ut som det perfekte magasin for deg :)) synd jeg bor et stykke fra Oslo, skulle gjerne hatt en kopi selv! Så avhengig av magasiner som jeg er, haha.
God tur!
Du finner det sikkert på Narvesen der du bor! :)
Some food tips: go to Pappa & Ciccia (P’berg: Schwedter Str. 18) for a great Italian meal (lunch or evening) and to Bonanza Coffee Heroes (P’berg: Oderbergerstr. 35) for the best coffee in town. Eat a baked potatoe at Bixel in Mulackstr. 38 (next to APC!). And for Vietnamese food go to Monsieur Vuong (Alte Schonhauserstr. 46).
Martin Gropius Bau has a nice exhibition of Ai Wei Wei’s photographs from his time in NY in the late eighties. Hamburger Bahnhof museum for contemporary art and the Pergamon museum for their Pergamon altar (Greek/Roman)! Enjoy!
Some recommendations for Berlin:
c/o Berlin is THE place for great photography exhibits. Located in a very interesting old building. I go there every time I’m visiting Berlin: http://www.co-berlin.info/news.html?Itemid=390
just around the corner is another good modern art exhibit space called Kunst-Werke http://www.kw-berlin.de/
Hamburger Bahnhof is also a great art museum!
If the weather is nice go for a walk in Tiergarten or the nice park of Charlottenburg Palace.
For food: Si An is great. Similar to the before mentioned Monsieur Vuong, but nicer location, not so hectic: http://www.sian-berlin.de/
Around the corner is Sowohlalsauch, a Vienna style cafe: http://www.tortenundkuchen.de/
Barcomi’s Deli is a nice oasis in hectic Mitte as well: http://www.barcomis.de/filialen/deli/ great salads, bagels, muffins and cake.
The food markets at Winterfeldplatz in Schöneberg and at Kollwitzplatz in Prenzlauer Berg on Saturday mornings are great.
Cosy place to eat in Tiergarten park is the Schleusenkrug: http://www.schleusenkrug.de/
Drinks in the evening at Würgeengel in Kreuzberg: http://www.wuergeengel.de/en/index.html
Highly recommendable shop selling Designer Vintage like Marant, Vanessa Bruno, APC, various Berlin Designers is Soeur: http://soeur.tumblr.com/
If youre going to the regular APC store in Mulackstr. take your time for some windowshopping along that street as there are various great clothes shops from German Designers like Lala Berlin, etc. to lovely boutiques like Schwarzhogerzeil: http://schwarzhogerzeil.de/
Enjoy!
Thanks! Soeur sounds cool. I like going designer consigment stores.
Ha, I also wanted to recommend seur, I went last week and they have realy nice things.
One of my favoite tourist places is the museums island in Mitte, outstanding.
close by is a fancy Tadschikisch tearoom:
Am Festungsgraben 1, 10117 Berlin
If you go on saturday, I like the weekly market at Kollwitzplatz, there are also nice Coffee places around.
Enjoy your time!
I couldn’t agree with you more, will have to check out this magazine! Lovely photos…
xx
Be Frassy
Dear Fleurette, I just want to leave a quick note, letting you know that since reading your blog I have quite a different outlook to my cloths and fashion in general.
Although your concept is too minimalistic for me, I intend to throw out most of my cloths and build up a wardrobe with only well loved pieces. I will allow myself more cloths than you do :-) but everything I will buy from now on will only be high quality, good basics and things I will love for years.
I am a scarf lady, so I will look not minimalistic but more dramatic which is fine :-)
But you totally changed my view, thanks for that!
Mila
Hi Mila. Why thank you! You’re far too kind and I’m happy my blog have made an impact on your outlook as to clothes. :)
Hey Fleurette, thanks for this! Andrea Mary Marshall is a brilliant artist—her strong hand is even more impeccable than her fashion sense. I’m glad to see that she’s getting the recognition she deserves. And Peter Gatien is also an interesting guy. He represents a defining “moment” in the cultural history of New York alongside people like Harmony Korine, Chloe Sevigny and Marc Ronson (before he was a jet-setting, bespoke-wearing super producer, he was a teenage hip hop DJ). As a wee one, I remember being fascinated by him and his club the Tunnel, which hosted the luminaries of the mid-nineties hip hop scene. Its dramas and ultimate fall played out in the pages of New York magazine and were immortalized in some of their lyrics. This is an amazing find!
Hi Anna! Thanks for the comment. I absolutely agree with you. I wasn’t familiar with Andrea Mary Marshall until I read about her in the magazine – I like her attitude and that she’s using art as a vehicle to create the opposite of the ideal woman. Her paintings are great as well!
I love the fact that you don’t mention once that you work there…
Forsøker å holde lav profil, hehe.
Bloggen din er fantastisk. Oppdaget den for en liten stund siden og har lest alle postene dine igjen og igjen. Utrolig inspirerende! Takk :)
By international version do you mean it’s going to be in English? Can’t wait to check it out then. It looks fabulous!
Yep, it will be in English! So the next (international) issue will most likely hit the stands this fall!
Smug looks fantastic – I take it you are one of the contributors. My question is, will the magazine be characterized by the same forced language as the blog?
Every time I read your texts I am distracted by the pretentious language and artificial expressions – is it meant to be funny? It feels like the blog is being written by someone to whom English is a second language but wants to write at a very high-level of fluency, but failing at it. I do not mean to offend you, but I really think that rethinking your writing could improve your blog.
I never understand why people come on to others’ websites and leave mean comments like this. If you don’t like Fleur’s writing, you don’t have to read her blog.
As much as I love the concept of your blog in general Fleurette, I have to say that I agree with this comment even though I do think it could have been written in a more polite way.
Looks good! I hope you’re enjoying the trip so far!
As for your writing…..I really don’t understand the criticism. Your posts are always a pleasure to read both in terms of content, structure and language. You express yourself in quite a refreshing manner, so here’s hoping you don’t change!
x
I don’t agree with the comments at all. And I resent the fact that, nowdays, any attempt to create beautiful writing is immediately dismissed as pretentiousness. Fleurette’s wrting is evocative and delicate, and I think it goes very well with the whole imagery of the blog.
This is one of the very few fashion blogs that have some kind of literary merit, and I love it for that. It’s a breath of fresh air from the overly trendy/informal/teenager “writing style” of most fashion blogs.
Is there a similar English version to Smug? Lately, I’ve been bored and disappointed with the editorials from your standard run of the mill – Vogue, Elle, etc etc.
Hmmm. I would say maybe Canadian Corduroy? But I’m not sure if they’re doing editorials!
jeg får gåsehud av hvor bra du noen ganger skriver.
How exciting!
The magazine looks fabulous, such intriguing editorials <3
http://cupcakesandtreacle.blogspot.com/
Congrats on a job well done.
Of course I love a good editorial that references dance. This one is so pretty. I’ve been following Andrea Mary Marshall’s work for some time and always enjoy reading her thoughts.
Thank you so much and for the support all the way! It’s available in NYC at the Armory Show, so if you’re going there you should check it out. The editorial with the ballett dancer (Amanda Nørgaard) is one of my favorites.
Thank you. Yes, I go to The Armory Show every year, but the crowds are miserable. I’m an art snob when it comes to that. I will look for it:)
This looks and feels like something I would love to read – looking forward to the english version!
Great pics:) I really like your blog..so much nice inspiration. I wish you a lovely weekend.
LOVE Maria at inredningsvis.se
(Sweden)
Hey Fleurette,
Thank you for your review of SMUG magazine #5. I recently wrote a blog post about Jacquemus’ L’usine, in which your tidbit on Jacquemus helped me pull together several of my thoughts I wanted to write about. Having been a long time reader of Dead Fleurette and an avid admirer of your thoughts on minimalism, I would love if you could read through my post and let me know your thoughts and criticisms of my blog:
http://stylezeitgeist.blogspot.com/
I am contactable at wenxin.liu.09[at]ucl.ac.uk
Love,
Wenxin