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SOM unveils visuals for a double-tower complex at Manhattan’s South Street Seaport.
The South Street Seaport in Manhattan may soon receive a mixed-use tower complex at 250 Water Street designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. And unlike other nearby towers that have been criticized for being wildly out of context with their surroundings, SOM’s proposal errs on the modest side. It features two towers situated on a single base, with the taller one clocking in at 470 feet tall. Notably, the project would also require the transfer of air rights from the beleaguered South Street Seaport Museum—a deal that would give the institution $50 million, which would go toward the design of a new permanent location. While the deal still requires several rounds of approvals, construction may begin as soon as 2022 if all goes according to plan.
An artist-activist group criticizes Pantone’s new menstrually inspired “Period Red.”
When Pantone introduced “Period Red” in September, it hailed the new shade as “breaking down the stigma surrounding menstruation.” Unfortunately, not everyone is a fan. The Argentine artist-activist group Cromoactivismo, which uses color in the service of social change, roasted Pantone on Instagram for commodifying a cultural capital that belongs to everyone when many women still lack ready access to menstrual hygiene essentials. “It’s unacceptable that in 2020, there are people who do not have access to menstrual hygiene products, that hospitals and schools do not have enough supplies,” the group wrote. “The care of our bodies is a right.”
The cosmetics pioneer Bobbi Brown launches a new beauty brand called Jones Road.
Four years after deparing her namesake cosmetics line, Bobbi Brown has returned for round two. The cosmetics pioneer has launched Jones Road, a line of makeup staples designed for all ages, skin types, and tones, and make use of clean ingredients. It coincides with the end of her non-compete agreement with Estée Lauder, which helped her brand balloon to more than $1 billion in sales. In the four-year interim, Brown received her nutritionist certification, launched a wellness brand and a content site, and designed a hotel in New Jersey. “I never thought I’d come back to the cosmetics industry, but I’ve realized how much I love being a makeup artist,” Brown tells WWD. “And I have this idea that I really need to teach people. I honestly think people look better with less makeup.”
After posting a plea for help, the Strand bookstore receives 25,000 online orders.
Local bookstores have seen better days. According to recent data from the American Booksellers Association, more than one independent bookstore has closed every week since the pandemic began. And after Nancy Bass Wyden, the owner of the Strand Bookstore in Manhattan, crunched her September sales numbers and realized sales were down a staggering 70 percent compared to 2019, she feared the New York institution may suffer a similar fate. Wyden posted a call for help on Instagram this past Friday, and loyal readers turned out: The store received a record 25,000 online orders within 48 hours.
Art X Lagos gets postponed in solidarity with protests against police brutality in Nigeria.
Protests against police brutality have been rocking Nigeria since early October in response to violence perpetrated by SARS, the country’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad. Now, a major international art fair, Art X Lagos, has decided to postpone its November edition in solidarity with protestors. “We’re vehemently against police brutality and fully support those who are against a system that denies essential civil liberties, freedom, and opportunity to its people,” says Tokini Peterside, founder of the fair’s parent company. Originally scheduled for Nov. 6–15, the fair will be postponed to a yet-to-be-announced date later this year.
Today’s attractive distractions:
TripAdvisor users share horror stories about the platform’s spookiest places.
Behold, the most precise photographs of the Sistine Chapel in existence.
Enter The Whale, a museum dedicated to the giant mammals in Norway.
We hope Burger King thought through the UX for its reusable packaging.
