Rick Owens Gives an Intimate Interview with ‘The New York Times'

The New York Times managed to grab an intimate interview with avant-garde designer Rick Owens at his minimalist Parisian studio. Nestled across two floors of a beautiful townhouse in the Seventh Arrondissement, the studio unsurprisingly reflects Owens’ stark minimalism, and the designer gives some rare insight into the thought processes behind his work. A rare insight into one of fashion’s most iconic figures, check out the video above

KANYE WEST TALKS WEDDING PHOTO, APPLE/BEATS DEAL, & BEAUTIFYING THE INTERNET

Kanye West made an appearance at the Translation seminar at the Cannes Lions festival on Tuesday. During his conversation with Translation CEO Steve Stoute and venture capitalist Ben Horowitz, the hip-hop impresario revealed that famed photographer Annie Leibovitz pulled out of his wedding at the last minute (“Maybe she was scared about the idea of celebrity”).

The wedding photo that Kim Kardashian posted on Instagram took “like four days” to edit because the colors on the flower wall didn’t look right. But he says it was worth it because it became the most liked image on Instagram.

Plus, he once again shared his admiration for Apple founder Steve Jobs and weighed in on Apple’s $3 billion dollar purchase of Beats by Dre.

So what’s next for the creative genius? Yeezus wants to bring his design aesthetic to the Internet, starting with a redesign of Instagram.



Read more Kanye quotables below.

On his inspiration: “The only thing I think can be an inspiration to me is the fact that I get bashed so much but create so much. Just know that if you really want to be a boxer, you’re gonna get your face beat up constantly, but then you may end up being Mayweather or Ali.”

On the power of endorsement: “I couldn’t have rapped if Jay Z hadn’t endorsed me. Eminem wouldn’t have been as successful if Dr. Dre hadn’t endorsed him.”

On color correcting his wedding photo: “Now, can you imagine telling someone who just wants to Instagram a photo, the No. 1 person on Instagram, that we need to work on the color of the flowered wall? But the fact that the No. 1 most liked photo has this certain aesthetic on it was a win for what the mission is—of raising the palette.”

On the importance of good design: “I believe that bad taste is vulgar. It’s like cursing. I think the world can be saved through design. Because what is the most distasteful thing someone can do? Kill someone. So, good taste is the opposite of that.”

On Steve Jobs: “Steve Jobs, as everyone knows, was my biggest influence. Just seeing the way he fought to make things easier for people. After he passed, I made it my life’s mission to do what he did inside of that company. I dream to help raise the palette and raise the taste level of a generation and also be involved with the production and distribution and advertising of that thing everyone’s begging for.”

On the Apple/Beats by Dre deal: “There would have been no Beats deal without [Jay Z's] Samsung deal. It showed the No. 1 company the importance of connecting with culture. The reason I said I didn’t like Samsung particularly is because throughout my entire life, because of how my parents raised me, I have to work with the No. 1. I can’t work with anyone but Jay Z, because he’s No. 1. I can’t be with any girl but Kim, because that’s the girl whose pictures I look at the most and get turned on by. I’m not going to represent any company but Louis Vuitton, because that’s No. 1. … Samsung is not quite Apple, but it showed that Jimmy [Iovine] and Dre would be able to connect with the No. 1 influencers.”

On beautifying the Internet: “The world as a whole is fucking ugly. The Internet as a whole is fucking ugly, too. But I’m not in the construction business. I said to [Instagram founder] Kevin [Systrom], why don’t you let us redo Instagram? Now, you know, Instagram is nice. It’s nice looking. I’m not knocking it. But just in general, everyone spends all of their time looking at their screens or their phones. And just as a simple task, we could clean that up.”

Watch the FULL conversation below!

HOYO Smartphone Shower Case Lets You Wash And Read

You need to hop in the shower but you can’t put your phone down. Well, HOYO has a solution for you, a smartphone shower case. HOYO has been specifically designed to allow smart phone owners to take their device into the shower with them knowing that it is completely protected from water damage. Check it out here

B&O Home Styling: Nick Wooster

On Another Level brought together two forward-moving entities, Nick Wooster and B&O PLAY, for a closer look at what it means to be a master in the field of design. With one focused on fashion and the other on audio, both take classic design elements and infuse them with simplicity, aesthetics, heritage and quality. To discover the similarities between the two, High Snobiety visited Wooster at his Christopher Street apartment in New York. Just like how B&O PLAY draws upon decades of design excellence, craftsmanship and product innovation from Bang & Olufsen, the New Yorker surrounds himself with contemporary pieces of furniture steeped in years of history and tradition. Take his Stephen Kenn couch, for instance. Like many other things in his living room, the couch is a true testament to heritage and style: handmade out of repurposed and untreated WWII military fabric, proudly revealing all of its glorious veteran history.



Everything else in his apartment, even the way his bed is positioned, has a tangible reason, too. Brought upon by his belief in Feng Shui, the Chinese philosophical system on how to harmonize one’s self with the universe, Wooster makes sure not to let the back of his bed face the door. “That’s bad Feng Shui,” he casually declares; simple to understand yet extremely difficult to master. However, it is precisely this mastery which sets experts like Nick Wooster and B&O PLAY apart.

The combination of Wooster’s impeccable taste with the philosophical system he subscribes to clearly demonstrates his enjoyment of mixing the old with the new. A sleek, flat-screen TV nestles between two metal shelves entirely stocked of worn work boots. Black-and-white vintage portraits collected from antique shops rest against the wall on a cleanly uncarpeted floor. And now, a pair of B&O PLAY headphones have been added to his artifact mix, blending in perfectly thanks to their own combination of uncompromising quality and contemporary aesthetics. Like Bang & Olufsen’s application of innovation in classic design, Wooster wholly embraces the simple leather over-ears into his confident, oft-photographed style.

Gazing out at the thriving West Village below, he says, “I could have lived in a bigger, newer apartment out in Chelsea, or somewhere else, but it’s just not the same.” Lest you think it’s all because of the trendy, New Yorker neighborhood, that’s not the only reason: “Every subway line you want is right here.”

A true New Yorker, indeed. Effortlessly in line with what’s on without sacrificing function or necessity.

Enjoy a rare look into Nick Wooster’s Christopher Street apartment above and furnish your apartment with the best audio gear on the market over at B&O PLAY’s online shop.



About Nick Wooster

Origin: Salina, Kansas
Current Residence: New York, New York

After working as a menswear buyer and fashion director for various industry heavyweights like Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys New York, Thom Browne and Gilt Groupe, Wooster is now part-owner of Atrium Wooster, a select multi-brand boutique.

The World’s Most Expensive Penthouse

A multi-storey penthouse in Monaco could become the world’s most expensive property per square meter when it comes onto the market next year.

Pharrell Williams talks to Alex Gorlin & Daniel Arsham

Pharrell Williams sits down with Alex Gorlin, a renowned architect known for bringing warmth to modern design, and Daniel Arsham, an artist who blurs the line between art & architecture, challenging convention by placing shapes in unexpected places. Gorlin and Arsham share their influences inlcuding Marcel Duchamp and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Never Miss a Text

The bowl is created by design firm MisoSoupDesign. The bowl itself is very sculptural, but the highlight is the smartphone holder that keeps your favorite tech buddy at the ready, so you’ll never eat alone again.

Giant Bird’s Nest

The “Giant Birdsnest for creating new ideas” was conceived and created by O*GE as a prototype for new and inspiring socializing space, which can be seen as a morph of furniture and playground. Its powerful, yet simple concept and intriguing character needs no explanation or user manual

Winged House by K2LD Architects

The Winged House is a remarkably triangular private residence located on the tropical island of Singapore. Its architectural frame features two adjacent trapeziums on a triangulated plot of land. These embracing forms open towards lush greenery at the back of the site, at the same time carving out a cozy private garden in the middle. Inspired by traditional Malay housing, the folding trapeziums let in fresh air for relief from tropical heat while the extended eaves provide shelter and shade from seasonal downpours. An airy living room is flanked by granite feature walls, providing heavy contrast against the lighter timber used throughout the rest of the house. This house is the proud design work of local firm K2LD Architects.

H2 by 314 Architecture Studio

Despite the economic woes of Greece, H2 by 314 Architecture Studio creates a comfortable and creative abode situated outside of Athens. The three-story building boasts three individual apartments comprised by three bedrooms, inclusive of one master bedroom. Ample lighting through the atrium also includes further bioclimate-based designs ensuring energy savings with a water-induced cooling system. The overall harmonious feel of the space comes courtesy of carefully-chosen colors which is capped off with both a beautiful swimming pool and a view of the Argosaronic Sea.

House Colunata by Mario Martins

As is often the case in the process of designing contemporary homes, the challenges arise in finding a balance between innovative architecture that still fits within its natural environment. Situated in Luz-Lagos, Portgual, architect Mario Martins created the “House Colunata” by making use of local building techniques and locally sourced materials. House Colunata was also strategically built to maximize the impressive panoramic views as well as provide the home with the best solar orientation and protection against the elements. Looking in from the water, the stark white of the home’s exterior contrasts boldly with the dusty rock landscape of the shore, while a reverse view sees the clean walls and hard lines blending seamlessly into the expansive, rich blue sky and water.

Source: ArchDaily

House R by Sharon Neuman Architects

Israeli firm Sharon Neuman Architects have completed House R located in Kfar Yedidia, Israel. The use of geometric volumes and voids are used to define the areas within the dwelling as well as add visual interest from an exterior perspective. This feature results in living spaces of varying heights and is used to separate one room to the next in an otherwise uninterrupted flowing of spaces. Surrounded by agricultural fields, the juxtaposed volumes maintain a strong connection with the landscape creating a distinctly one-of-a-kind abode.

Source: designboom

PH New York by Innocad

Austrian architecture firm Innocad have just completed a radical renovation of a New York apartment. With a rooftop overlooking Highland Park near the Meatpacking District, Innocad was tasked with creating a fresh, livable space of both European and Western architectural inspiration. Each room was thematically designed as a tribute of sorts based around a central view or feeling evoked by the city of New York. The result of the project was nothing short of impressive with a redesign that is more than equal to the incredible view of the beautiful New York space.

Photography: Thomas Schauer
Source: CONTEMPORIST

Samsung Smart Window

Samsung unveils a glimpse of the very near future at CES 2012. The Smart Window is self-explanatory and mind-blowing, and these babies will be out on the streets before the year is out–literal over-sized transparent one-way mirrored touchscreen technology is making its way into our homes. The Smart window provides views of both the physical and virtual world, a view which can be manipulated using its blinds app. More than cool factor, these digital blinds control the amount of actual light that comes in through your Smart Window, eliminating the need for backlight units during the day. This means it consumes only about 10% of the electricity that a standard LCD display its size would. Albeit wanting on the portability scale, this latest surprise from Samsung looks fixed to win… it is after all a simple premise: why buy a hulky desktop when you can surf on your window?

Architecture + Influence : A Short Film on the Work of Philip Johnson

Highlighting the work of iconic American architect Philip Johnson, The National Trust for Historic Preservation unveils its latest short film, “Architecture + Influence: A Short Film on the Work of Philip Johnson.” The film boasts an impressive and concise oral history of Johnson’s extensive body of work throughout the years. One of the few whose legacy is as vast as it is impactful, Johnson is respected for his Glass House masterpiece and his wide range of work that drastically changed the architecture landscape indefinitely.

Victor Enrich :: surreal fabrication

Mirror installation by Arnaud Lapierre, Paris

Very impressive artwork by Arnaud Lapierre. The installation consists of a cylindrical mirror, made ​​of 4-foot cubes with a spatial view bizarre result. It has built on the Place Vendome and was commissioned by Audi, to design a new version of the urban space and its reflections display.