SUMMER TRENDS
Leisure : Camping
Glamping (glamour camping) is on everybody’s lips, in all the new barbecue cook books and influencing all the picnic accessories. Camping, once non-chic, now has a cool factor. But instead of running out to buy an Opera mobile holiday home by Ysin, you can try an urban version of the experience at Hütten Palast (www.huettenpalast.de ), the brand new Berlin hotel that’s recreated the camping spirit minus the great outdoors and annoying campsite neighbors! And to stay in tune with this nomadic culture, be inspired by gypsies, but more the type from “The New Gypsies,” Iain McKell’s photography book, rather than from “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding,” the new cult TV series.
Camping’s renewed popularity is part of a more general trend of a nostalgic look at the codes of popular culture, due to its increasing rarity. But though this desire to reconnect with authenticity and a land-based culture is admirable, the sophistication of the approach involves a fundamental reinterpretation of the codes by a certain elite that adapt according to their own standards.
Food : Ice cream!
This summer we’ll be eating…ice cream! At first that may not seem like news, until you learn that ice cream has become a subject for creative expression, and like pastry before it, is diversifying. You can taste a salty version, now that Picard has introduced beet-balsamic vinegar and pesto flavors. Of course we always leave room for dessert, but given the choice, we might prefer Mère de Famille’s retro interpretation (pistachio-almond candy) or the very chic “Miss Glagla” by Pierre Hermé.
Puff pastries, salambos or profiteroles, the most traditional pastries are now getting all the attention, just like the more sophisticated macaroons or cupcakes before them. And ice cream, one of the dessert classics, doesn’t escape the trend, taking on new identities with salty/sweet combinations. And when will we taste salty cream puffs?
Sport : Surfing!
It wasn’t going to be long before surfing returned to the top of the summer sports list. While skateboarding invaded advertising campaigns and events (see “Skate Moodboard” in the NellyRodiLab.com private section), its beach equivalent has been winning new adepts, especially with the trendiest women. This summer Nike will establish its second Roundhouse (a surfers’ squat) in Anglet during the Basque coast music festivals. To get on board with surf fashion, go to the Saturday’s Surf concept store in New York City (www.saturdaysnyc.com), which is a far cry from baggy shorts and flip flops.
The messages of freedom, a connection to nature and of performance and rebellion transmitted by the image of board sports find a particular resonance with a creative class that’s sometimes tired of intense city life.
City : Istanbul
While the Gaité Lyrique organizes an Istanbul week in September, the city that’s halfway between the Orient and Occident is taking its place as the indisputable capital of an extended Europe. For those who are (re)discovering the city this summer, our favorite address without doubt is V2K Designers (www.v2kdesigners.com.tr), the concept store in the hip Nisantasi neighborhood, that carries the best of international design, from Acne to Opening Ceremony.
While the Middle East transforms, Istanbul’s strategic position halfway between two cultures makes it an especially fertile area for new initiatives. The city takes the best from each side, associating the west’s entrepreneurial freedom and creative impetus with the nearby rapidly evolving Arab culture.
Fashion : Splash!
Discover the second edition of the Splash trend book, NellyRodi’s swimsuit publication! It covers Summer 2013 and there’s no better way to be two years ahead of time! For the current season, check out www.lanouvellevague.com the internet site that each summer successfully presents a choice of cutting edge brands in a sometimes sluggish beachwear sector. Another good bet is the small French brand Balitz with its fluorescent range of pareos and Balinese craftsmanship (www.balitz.fr).
In September the Who’s Next trade show will include a beachwear universe. Beachwear has sometimes been lingerie’s second class citizen and suffered from poor distribution and an incoherent offer. But now beachwear is becoming brands’ lever for expansion, and this phenomenon, coupled with year-round travel (primarily thanks to low-cost flights), should reinstate it as one of lingerie’s key sectors – and not just for summer!
