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Kitsuné’s Paris-Meets-Tokyo Cafe, Gallery, and Cocktail Bar in Brooklyn
A distinctly “Paris meets Tokyo” vibe has always defined Kitsuné, a multifaceted brand that encompasses a fashion house, music label, and series of cafes founded by Gildas Loaëc and Masaya Kuroki. The label, which has 38 locations worldwide, recently opened its latest outpost: a former bistro on a tree-lined block in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, that features a cafe, gallery, cocktail bar, and boutique. Kuroki drew inspiration from the neighborhood’s convivial mood when envisioning the interiors, which feature a white oak–paneled counter, preserved brick walls, and large street-facing windows that drench the gallery and cafe with natural light.
Visitors can sip full-bodied Café Kitsuné coffee while browsing the label’s assortment of ready-to-wear (the latest: an exclusive capsule by Michal Loba), tableware, and accessories displayed on white oak shelving. Also available is Objets, a small épicerie that offers classic coffee beans and homemade granola thanks to a partnership with local bakery Burrow. Wander over to Galerie Kitsuné, a 300-square-foot space dedicated to showcasing emerging artists such asMario Navarro, who recently presented 13 humorous drawings that reimagine random objects jutting through Thonet chairs. The brand’s heritage truly shines at the Art Deco–inspired bar, which comes alive at sundown thanks to a high-fidelity audio system by Japanese manufacturer Rotel and Sonus Faber speakers that deliver top-notch listening experiences from both the brand’s label, Kitsuné Musique, and weekly DJ performances. —Ryan Waddoups
The facade of 1012 N. Main Street. Image courtesy Transform 1012 N. Main Street…
A former KKK building in Texas is undergoing a transformation into an arts center.
“Fort Worth is again reckoning with its racist past as the former Texas headquarters of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is being transformed into the Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing. The initiative is spearheaded by the Texas arts nonprofit Transform 1012 N. Main Street, which purchased the building in 2021. The center is expected to open in 2025.” [H/T Hyperallergic]
LVMH will start accepting cryptocurrency payments for Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer.
Tag Heuer has started accepting cryptocurrency online in the United States, becoming the first brand in luxury conglomerate LVMH’s portfolio to do so. The Swiss watchmaker, which is led by LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault’s son Frédéric, called the move a “significant step on its digital transformation journey.” Tag Heuer’s e-commerce site partnered with digital payments provider BitPay in order to accept 12 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and 5 USD-pegged stablecoins. “With an increasing number of customers using or earning digital currencies regularly, TAG Heuer intends to be a key player in the imminent transformation of the e-commerce and retail spaces,” the brand said, adding that it had other projects in the pipeline linked to blockchain technology, like NFTs. [H/T Business of Fashion]
A statue of pioneering playwright Lorraine Hansberry will be unveiled in Times Square.
“Los Angeles-based artist Alison Saar was commissioned a little over four years ago to sculpt a statue of the playwright Lorraine Hansberry. The request had come from Lynn Nottage, the two-time Pulitzer-winning playwright, as part of an initiative she was developing with Julia Jordan, the executive director of the Lilly Awards, which recognize the work of women in theater. The Lorraine Hansberry Initiative was designed to honor Hansberry, who was the first Black woman to have a show produced on Broadway.” [H/T New York Times]
BWDC Tower by Foster + Partners in Manila. Image courtesy Foster + Partners…
Foster + Partners reveals a residential tower with “unparalleled”connections to Manila.
“Foster + Partners has revealed the design of the BWDC Residential Tower, a luxury apartment building in Manila, the Philippines. The new tower combines the city’s vernacular architecture and traditional veranda lifestyle with modern high-rise living. The project is the firm’s latest in the tropics which responds to the regions’ intense weather systems, mitigating high temperatures and humidity through passive design strategies.” [H/T Archdaily]
The Andy Warhol Museum is recreating the Factory as a “Pop District” in Pittsburgh.
“A ‘Pop District’ is being planned in Pittsburgh, the Pop artist Andy Warhol’s hometown. Officials with the Andy Warhol Museum said the creation of the district, covering six blocks, is part of an expansion that will include a reimagining of the Factory, the center of Warhol’s creative universe. The first of the district’s elements have already been installed: a mural created in an alleyway adjoining the museum, by a Miami-based artist known as Typoe, and a sculpture by Michael Loveland, also of Miami, placed on a grassy space across the street from the museum. “Andy continues to be emblematic of the American entrepreneurial spirit — a true agent of influence and change,” Patrick Moore, the director of the Warhol Museum, said in a statement. “We now have the plan and resources to follow suit as an agent of change for Pittsburgh.” [H/T New York Times]
Maya Lin’s expansion of New York’s Museum of Chinese in America comes under fire.
“The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in Manhattan’s Chinatown recently unveiled plans for a new $118m building designed by the artist and architect Maya Lin. Due to open in 2025, the new facility will see the museum buy its currently leased location at 215 Centre Street and expand from 12,000 sq. ft to more than 68,000 sq. ft, spanning nine stories with a two-story lecture hall, a centre for research and genealogy, galleries, a theatre and two outdoor gardens. However, several grassroots organisations in Chinatown have declared that MOCA, under its current leadership, does not represent the community’s interests and poses a risk to the preservation of its history. For more than a year, groups of residents, artists, activists and workers-rights groups have called for a boycott of the museum, citing its role in community displacement and unwillingness to engage openly with local residents.” [H/T The Art Newspaper]
