• 6.12.14

    I was looking for Park Hyatt Tokyo

    Written by Jörgen Axelvall

    I wasn’t really looking for Park Hyatt Tokyo. I never even stayed there. I was on a budget and I was sleeping on my friend’s sofa in Shinjuku, not far from the hotel of my dreams. I was a tourist and my mode of transportation was a bicycle. Biking in a new city can very quickly take you far and beyond your familiar route. That happened, and I was happily lost most of the time. As long as I could see the at least the tip of Park Hyatt Tokyo, I could find my way home. I was looking at Park Hyatt Tokyo.

    As a newcomer and foreigner, Tokyo can be quite overwhelming. It is after all the world’s largest metropolitan area. When I started photographing Park Hyatt Tokyo my real home was NYCJust like when I first moved to NYC, the old World Trade Center served me in the same way, as a charismatic and recognizable landmark.

    I would imagine it’s not easy to design an attractive 52-story building, a skyscraper that is a harmonious part of the skyline, yet truly unique and effortlessly becomes the center of attention. But the architect Kenzo Tange got it right. Without being lit up in all the colors of the rainbow or even being the tallest*, the Shinjuku Park Tower, its official name, stands out. The three-element structure has a different profile depending on from where you look at it, yet it is always recognizable.

    When Sofia Coppola’s movie “Lost in Translation” came out in 2003, it also brought attention, in a very sublime way, to Park Hyatt Tokyo. I love that movie. When you watch “Lost in Translation” you get a sense that Park Hyatt Tokyo is the place to stay in Tokyo. Although the actual Park Hyatt Tokyo name is mentioned only two times throughout the movie, it plays the important role as safe house from the bustling and chaotic Tokyo. You can feel the tranquility and beauty of the John Morford designed interiors. I was in awe and wanted to be part of it.

    That is why, when I arrived for a month long stay in 2008, it was the only familiar place in Tokyo and as soon as I saw the building I had to photograph it. I took the very first photograph of Park Hyatt Tokyo from the bus coming into Tokyo from Narita airport. Being a photographer I soon took picture number two and three from different angels just to make sure I got it. When I pointed my camera at the building for the fourth time, the tower was already my guiding star and I thought to myself: “Hey, this would make a great book”.

    The following years I spent at least a month every year in Tokyo and in 2011 I finally made it my new home. Throughout the years I kept photographing Park Hyatt Tokyo. Randomly, whenever the building popped into view. I highly doubt I will stop, even after this book is published.

    Thank you Mr. Tange and Mr. Morford, creators of the body and a soul of Park Hyatt Tokyo, and thank you Mrs. Coppola for giving it a life of its own.

    *currently the Shinjuku Park Tower ranks as Tokyo’s 7th tallest building.

    1.18.09
    7.29.09
    5.6.09
    4.12.08
    6.14.09
  • top BY MALENE BIRGER
    trousers RODEBJER
    stockings WOLFORD
    jewelry MAHALA VINTAGE
    photography by SIMON LARSSON
    stylist FILIPPA BERG
    hair & make up MAJA SÖDERLUND / Mikas Looks
    talent JOSEFIN ÖHRN

    An interview with Josefin Öhrn

    Written by Michaela Widergren

    JOSEFIN ÖHRN + THE LIBERATION
    A couple of years ago I went to Art School. What I didn’t know then is that one of the people in my class had a rare and deep voice and a great stage charisma. Yeats later I stumbled upon the music of my former classmate Josefin Öhrn.

    It’s early autumn and I meet Josefin at the famous coffee shop Saturnus. The café has the largest and from what I’ve heard best cinnamon buns in Stockholm. But we skip the buns and just order regular coffee. The air’s still warm and we take a seat outside, it is nice to do an interview with someone that I already know (at least a little bit) for a change.

    MM: Let’s start from the beginning; why did you go to art school?

    : I’ve always enjoyed making things and felt a need to do something creative. When I began art school I was more into visual art and expressions. But then I got a guitar and I kept coming up with songs. I started writing lyrics. At that time I was working extra in a vinyl shop and a friend of mine had just helped me to record a demo. The guy who owned the shop used to be a drummer in a band called Mouth, they were quite big in some underground scenes in NY during the 90’s. I played him the demo and he thought I should collaborate with his friend Fredrik Joelson. We started writing music together and that’s how it all started.

    MM: Did you always know that you had such a powerful voice?

    : A lot of people say that they can always tell it’s my voice, that it’s unique in some way, but I never thought about it until now.

    MM: But you must have known you were a great singer, right?

    Josefin laughs for a bit and tells me that she never knew, she just always though it was really fun to sing and write songs. She’s just happy people want to listen to her. The band is called Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation and started in 2011 and as we speak is starting to get really serious. Their summer’s been full of concerts and festivals. Their sound is quite psychedelic and 70’s inspired. I ask Josefin if that’s her opinion too.

    : I don’t think about specific genres that much, but the bands that we might have been inspired by are from the psych wave, we listen to a lot of 60’s and 70’s music. There’re many new interesting bands at the moment that are doing similar things to ours but I think we’re a bit 90’s inspired too.

    Josefin doesn’t just have a heavenly voice she also looks like a rock star from Woodstock. She’s been working with the stylist Filippa Berg, who runs a very successful blog at rodeo.com and also just started her own online vintage shop called Mahala Vintage. How did you meet Filippa?

    : We been working together for a while now. She is really awesome. I think we met through common friends, maybe out somewhere or at a dinner party, I’m not sure. Stockholm’s so small you know. We were both eager to collaborate and felt it would be a great match from the beginning.

    MM: So how is it to have a stylist? Does she give you options or does she just tell you to “wear this”?

    : Haha, well she knows what I like and gives me a lot of options to choose from. It’s really a luxury; she often brings me things I might never have found myself.

    MM: Do you always agree?

    : Yes, I think so.

    MM: Do you have any role models when it comes to style, anyone whom you think about when you pick your outfits?

    : I really like the style of Bianca Jagger, Jane Birkin and Nico. I like the feeling of their styles, they all withheld a lot of power.

    sweater BY MALENE BIRGER
    sunglasses MAHALA VINTAGE
    stockings WOLFORD
    ring RODEBJER 
    blouse, trousers & ring RODEBJER
    other jewelry MAHALA VINTAGE
    tuxedo BLK DNM
    shoes & ring RODEBJER
    bracelet MAHALA VINTAGE
    top DIANA ORVING
    trousers LYKKE LI FOR &OTHER STORIES
    boots BY MALENE BIRGER
    ring RODEBJER
    bracelet MAHALA VINTAGE
    camisole & skirt RODEBJER
    hat JOSEFIN'S OWN
    stockings WOLFORD
    jewelry MAHALA VINTAGE
    trench coat BLK DNM
    top LYKKE LI FOR &OTHER STORIES
    shorts LEVIS
    belt RALPH LAUREN DENIM & SUPPLY
    boots BY MALENE BIRGER
    jewelry & bag MAHALA VINTAGE
    top NHU DUONG
    trousers & ring RODEBJER
    belt RALPH LAUREN DENIM & SUPPLY
    jewelry MAHALA VINTAGE
  • An interview with Godfrey Davis

    Written by Michaela Widergren

    Mulberry - 30 years in Sweden

    Last week Mulberry celebrated 30 years in Stockholm and for the very special occasion the label released a limited edition of The Lily, which got me an opportunity to talk some bag history with both the Executive Director Godfrey Davis and Brand Director Anne-Marie Verdin.

    I meet with the Mulberry folks at Nobis Hotel in Stockholm. There is an ecstatic feeling in the air, I can tell they're happy to be here and when I start talking to Godfrey I also understand that they're dedicated to the brand and their brand philosophy.

    MM: Can you tell me about the anniversary bag, what's special about it?

    GD: Well, there's only 30 of them, since we're celebrating 30 years so it's a limited edition. The Lily bag's very popular in Sweden so we thought it was a good choice. The bag has actually got a label inside that says “Mulberry loves Sweden” which is quite unique. I must say it's a great bag.

    MM: So you have a lot of customers in Sweden?

    GD: Yes we do, we have a lot of costumers from Sweden that come to our stores around the world. We're well know to the Swedes and now we've been here for 30 years. I think there's a good compatibility between the English and the Swedish lifestyles and that's probably why we've been here for so long. For us, that's a good relationship.

    MM: What about the aesthetics of Mulberry?

    GD: Right from the beginning Mulberry was kind of the cool of London, the brand was the It-fashion thing happening at the moment, combined with the English heritage and countryside style. We still manufacture in the UK, which is very rare and we aim to find a balance between the English heritage and more contemporary fashion. Most of our designers come directly from Central Saint Martins and are in their early twenties. So there's always a young creativity pushing us forward and I must say London's a fantastic city to be inspired by.

    MM: You told me a bit of how Mulberry was in the beginning, but what was the essence of the brand when it started, was it the leather goods?

    GD: Yes, really in the beginning it was leather goods, but quite early Roger Saul, who is the founder of the brand, also started making clothes. Actually it all started on the kitchen table at Roger's parents house. He was on Carnaby Street. People were wearing chokers, belts and things, you know it was the “hippy road” and Roger thought that was something he could get into. He was an entrepreneurial guy and that's what he did.

    For the 2014 spring /summer campaign Mulberry started working with the well-known British model Cara Delevingne; quite bold move. She's young, outspoken and some would say unpredictable which is maybe not the first synonyms for Mulberry, but the brand loves her. She's often in and out of the office and has a clear mind about what she likes when it comes to bags. Godfrey says it's not just a working relationship it's also a friendship, “she's just right for us”. The Cara bag sold out in just three days.

    MM: If I would buy a bag, how long do you think I could use it?

    GD: How long as you'd like! I mean everything will wear out in the end, but the quality of our bags is brilliant and they will just look better and better the more you use them.

    The brand Director Anne-Marie Verdin tells me a story about someone who lost their Mulberry bag, found it 10 years later hanging in a tree looking quite as good as when it got lost. Conveniently there's a policy of making leather for all weather…

Pages

RECENT OPIATES

There’s nothing to see here.

Pages