Far away from shady algorithms and social media, we're longing for a return to the real.Reading books (or pretending to?), collecting VHS tapes and the ‘European elegance’ of brasserie style dining in a Belle Époque gem by Henri van Dievoet is all part of new luxury.

A GENTLE RUNDOWN ON GLOBAL STORIES ILLUSTRATING ZEITGEIST

Saint Laurent and Anthony Vaccarello invited the likes of Chloë Sevigny, Addison Rae and Cooper Koch to feature in a series of short films inspired by Proust’s In Search of Lost Time.

Play


MORE takes a deepdive into fashion’s new fascination with books, and discovers why WeWantMore's interior design for chef Christophe Hardiquest’s Le Petit bon bon restaurant in Brussel illustrates his quest for balancing culinary tradition with a modern, approachable flair.

In an age inundated with constant imagery, fashion is leaning on the written word to regain — or,at least, embrace — a sense of intellectualism.

Marc Jacobs posts weekly selfies with high-brow novels, Miu Miu launched ‘Summer Reads’ pop- up newsstands to distribute feminist novels and free popsicles.

@themarcjacobs

La Belle Époque, a 1983 documentary by The Met, featuring Diana Vreeland and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Play


Sourcing YouTube for vintage live performances and obscure tapes is a dive into a rabbit hole divorced from the forced contexts of lifestyle playlists, algorithmic listening and viewing, and the downright corniness of big box tech.This 1983 documentary 'La Belle Époque' featuring the wildly eccentric Diana Vreeland and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (wondering what they would order at Le Petit Bon Bon) sketches the unique 00's era of the last century.


Brussels streetstyle 1905.

Play



"We designed AUM as a full-fledged international experience that aims to bring visitors into an engaging, oriental-infused world of its own."

"Both the interior design and branding are conceived around the central idea of AUM as a place to enjoy the here and now, in every single moment of the journey, throughout dinner and nightly dance moves."Ruud Belmans _ Creative Director at WeWantMore.

"Cymatics – the study of sound made visible – also form an important part of AUM’s identity. As the frequency of the evening goes up, the patterns become darker, more complex and intense."

More brand stories on WeWantMore

‘With this flattening of intellectualism on tiktok – and across most social media, to be honest – comes an apparent antidote: the ‘literary it girl’.The ‘thought daughter’.The Joan-Didion-reading-black-coffee-drinking-tote- bag-wearing-Eve-Babitz-quoting-literary-it-girl who spends her time curating her feeds with aesthetic photos of artful ink-pen scrawled notes or her messy bedside table, creating tiny videos to the tiktok sound of Sylvia Plath’s ‘Fig Tree’ analogy. She’s chic; she’s beautiful; she drinks Merlot at dinner parties; and – as Helena Aeberli points out in her brilliant essay ‘in search of cool’ – she’s not real.’

Read the essays 'Who is the literary it girl and why should we care?' on Substack.

With major distributors dropping physical media from their offerings and streamers offering ever-shrinking catalogs (just try finding a good film over 20 years old on Netflix or Disney+), a carefully curated collection of physical DVDs or VHS videos, far from evil algorithms, is the status symbol du moment.

Maison Martin Margiela - Collection Défilé VHS - SS 2002

Extremely rare VHS tape of the Printemps Été 2002 Spring Summer capsule clip, in the typical Maison Martin Margiela cloth, with title sticker on side. Artifacts of an era when not every song and every catwalk could be found online.

Spotted at Saint-martin bookshop
MORE GIFTS FOR THE FASHIONABLY NOSTALGIC

'24 percent of Millennials say that where they choose to dine reflects who they are as a person. Displaying our lifestyle through social media isn’t new, but it used to be mostly limited to showing off a newly purchased luxury handbag or perfume. Over the past few years many want to share aspects of their lives that focus less on the superficial and more on the in-the-know, and food has become the vehicle of choice.'

Sofie Thompson, Charlotte Forsyth and Emilie Holm on HURS