A Streetwear Legend Lends his Genius to Moncler

SHOP
A Streetwear Legend Lends his Genius to Moncler

For the outerwear label’s latest Genius collaboration—that is, its cross-disciplinary collections produced with some of the biggest names in streetwear, high fashion, and avant-garde garmentry—it’s tapped Hiroshi Fujiwara of legendary Japanese streetwear label FRGMT. In addition to its lineup of cobranded logo tees and varsity jackets, the drop features sleek outerwear, packable layering pieces, and gabardine trousers with just the right drape.—Jenna Adrian-Diaz

SAVOR
With a New Sushi Concept in Paris, Saint Laurent Follows Fashion’s Culinary Preoccupations

Anthony Vaccarello continues to expand Saint Laurent beyond fashion, this time with an unexpected foray into haute cuisine with a sushi restaurant inside the brand’s Rive Droite store. While other luxury houses have embraced the hospitality world—Chanel with a Tokyo bar, Louis Vuitton with in-store restaurants—Saint Laurent’s pivot to Japanese cuisine took the brand’s followers by surprise, given its founder’s deep-rooted ties to Morocco. This latest venture joins Vaccarello’s growing portfolio of side projects, including Saint Laurent Productions, a film company collaborating with auteurs like David Cronenberg and Pedro Almodóvar, and SL Babylone, a bookstore and art gallery in Paris. He has also launched Saint Laurent Editions, a publishing house dedicated to photography books that reflect the brand’s aesthetic. Though the sushi concept is unexpected, it aligns with Vaccarello’s broader ambition to position Saint Laurent as an evolving cultural brand that extends its influence into film, literature, and fine dining.—J.A.D.

VISIT
Inside: An Elegant and Cool Intimate Goods Shop in Kyiv

Interior architects Sofiia Hupalovska and Nataliya Stukonog have redefined the sex shop with Inside: a striking, minimalist retail space in Kyiv. Stripping back old-school, neon-lit clichés, they’ve created an intimate, immersive environment where sensuality meets sophistication. Tucked within a basement, the showroom’s diffused lighting mimics daylight, casting a warm glow over glossy metallic surfaces, soft fabric drapes, and smooth, rounded furniture. All the while, playful touches—including a plush, phallic-shaped pouf and a sculptural sofa embellished with figurative line art—balance elegance with whimsy. A sleek, reflective reception desk set against a shimmering metallic backdrop enhances the polished space, while velvety seating and subtly textured walls add warmth. Neutral tones of cream, gray, and silver provide a sophisticated canvas for the shop’s thoughtful displays of intimate goods.—J.A.D.

READ
Natalie Bell Speaks on Steina’s Enduring Impact

The curator of “Playback,” multi-disciplinary artist and The Kitchen co-founder Steina’s exhibition at the MIT List Visual Arts Center, shares an exclusive excerpt from the exhibition catalog. In it, she articulates that ““Steina: Playback,” the retrospective accompanying this publication, emerged from the observation that Steina’s work did not fit into many of the prominent narratives around video art’s history. This was, in part, because many of these histories center on early video art’s response to politics, social injustice, or television culture. The Icelandic-born artist, an outsider to US politics and culture, instead took up human-centered perception as a site of confrontation.” The text goes on to detail how. 

Social Copy: In ‘Steina,’ the catalog that accompanies the multidisciplinary artist and The Kitchen cofounder’s current exhibition at the MIT List Visual Arts Center, curator Natalie Bell sheds light on Steina’s singularity in the medium of video art.—J.A.D. 

STAY
In Paris, Maison Barrière Vendôme Brings The Stories of 27 Famous Women to Life

Doors opened this January to Maison Barrière Vendôme, a boutique hotel within a storied Paris mansion set between the Tuileries Gardens and Place Vendôme. Once the headquarters of Lacoste and a library frequented by former French president François Mitterrand, the fully redesigned property encompasses 10 guest rooms, 16 suites and apartments, and a signature restaurant. Maison Barrière Vendôme represents an intimate new concept with the prestigious Hotel Barrière portfolio, which includes Le Majestic in Cannes, Le Normandy in Deauville, Fouquet’s New York, Le Carl Gustaf in Saint Barths, Les Neiges in Courchevel, and many others.—David Graver

SEE
Narratives Converge in Salah Elmur’s Oeuvre

On view through May 3 at Mariane Ibrahim’s Mexico City gallery, Salah Elmur’s exhibition, “The Land of the Sun,” transports viewers to the rhythms of daily life and deeper historical consciousness of Sudan. The artist’s richly-hued paintings depict peasants, fishermen, and laborers, forming a collective portrait that transcends borders, shaped by his personal journey through Sudan, Kenya, and Egypt. Works like Elmur’s The Road to the Fish Market blur the line between the real and the metaphysical, as human figures and fish merge in compositions that recall post-Cubist experimentation and animist traditions. Elmur even monumentalizes his subjects, balancing socialist realism with a dreamlike quality that speaks to both resilience and rupture in scenes of work, ritual, and play. Not to be overlooked, his paintings wrestle with Sudan’s cycles of turmoil, revealing a land where light and shadow remain inextricably linked.—J.A.D

OBSESS
A Back Bar Essential Captures the Aroma of a Southeast Asian Shrub

Set for March 2025 distribution across the U.S., Kota Pandan Liqueur captures the unique shortbread-vanilla inflection of the leafy Southeast Asian plant. Developed by Nico de Soto, the international mixologist and owner of the highly awarded New York City cocktail bar Mace, in collaboration with the family-owned French spirits producer Maison Gabriel Boudier, Kota is about guaranteeing the aromas, flavors, and consistency of a tropical herb that varies wildly (with more than 750 pandan special globally).

“I was traveling through Indonesia in 2008, when I discovered the flavor and fell in love with pandan,” de Soto tells Surface. “I learned that it was an herb, so I started using it in cocktails and making my own syrups. But I discovered that there was no guarantee of quality, price, or flavor, so I thought that the next step was to make a bottled pandan liqueur.” Produced in small batches, Kota was envisioned by de Soto as a component in craft cocktails, and introduces something new and desirable to the back bar.—D.G.