Travis Kelce Is Producing a Basquiat Documentary, and Other News

The Design Dispatch offers expertly written and essential news from the design world crafted by our dedicated team. Think of it as your cheat sheet for the day in design delivered to your inbox before you’ve had your coffee. Subscribe now. 

Have a news story our readers need to see? Submit it her

Travis Kelce Is Producing a Basquiat Documentary

A Kansas City Chief, Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, former nonsensical tweeter… and film producer? Travis Kelce is reportedly using President Joe Biden’s renewable energy tax credits to help finance the film My Dead Friend Zoe, an indie flick that marks the famous tight end’s inaugural foray into film as executive producer. The low-budget dark comedy, which recently premiered at SXSW, follows an Afghanistan veteran who encounters her Vietnam veteran grandfather at her family’s ancestral lake house. Kelce, along with producer Ray Maiello and entrepreneur Mike Field of Radiant Media Studios, are also producing a second film: King Pleasure, a documentary about Jean-Michel Basquiat helmed by Lizzo’s former creative director Quinn Wilson in cooperation with the late artist’s estate.

Landscape architect Sara Zewde will reimagine the area surrounding Dia Beacon.

Dia Art Foundation has announced a significant landscape project for Dia Beacon, New York, led by landscape architect Sara Zewde of Studio Zewde. Transforming the museum’s 32-acre campus, the project will offer an expanded outdoor park featuring native meadows, sculptural landforms, and winding pathways, accessible to both visitors and locals. Scheduled for completion in 2025, the project responds to Dia Beacon’s industrial past and its collection of Land art, incorporating Indigenous perspectives and considerations for climate resilience. Studio Zewde’s approach emphasizes careful site interpretation and collaboration with Indigenous organizations and artists like Robert Irwin, ensuring a landscape that harmonizes with its surroundings while offering an engaging experience for the public.

Sabato De Sarno announces a major Gucci design project during Milan Design Week. 

Sabato De Sarno, Gucci’s creative director, is launching Design Ancora during this year’s Milan Design Week, showcasing five special-edition objects symbolizing Italian and Milanese heritage at Gucci’s Via Montenapoleone flagship. The project aims to represent contemporaneity through iconic Italian design from past eras. Guillermo Santomà will design the exhibition space; products will be available for purchase online. 

Celine is launching a proper makeup line after reintroducing fragrance five years ago.

In 2019, Hedi Slimane reintroduced fragrance to Celine after more than 50 years, and now he’s expanding the brand’s beauty portfolio with Celine Beauté, a color cosmetics line. The Winter 2024 collection, La Collection de l’Arc de Triomphe, unveiled via a film directed by Slimane, gives a sneak peek of the makeup line, including La Peau Nue Rose Naturel Lipstick, one of 15 shades in the Le Rouge Celine lip category, available in January 2025. Additionally, a satin Rouge Triomphe lipstick will launch in fall, described as a classic Parisian satin finish adorned with the maison’s couture monogram. 

Five artists are shortlisted to create London’s first-ever permanent HIV/AIDS memorial.

Anya Gallaccio and Ryan Gander are among the five artists shortlisted to create a permanent HIV/AIDS memorial in London, marking over 40 years since the UK’s first reported AIDS case in 1981. The memorial will be located near the former Middlesex Hospital in Fitzrovia, where the UK’s first dedicated AIDS unit was opened in 1987 by Princess Diana. Aids Memory UK, the charity behind the initiative, is aiming to acknowledge this overlooked period in British history through public art. Other shortlisted artists include Harold Offeh, Shahpour Pouyan, and Diana Puntar. The winning proposal, to be announced this summer, will receive funding from London Mayor Sadiq Khan and will be formally unveiled in 2026.

Uber is debuting a new feature that allows users to view their ride’s carbon emissions.

Uber is introducing a new app feature that allows riders to view the carbon emissions they save by choosing electric or hybrid vehicles. The feature estimates emissions saved compared to standard UberX or Uber Comfort trips, promoting environmentally conscious transportation choices. Despite concerns about ridesharing’s environmental impact, Uber aims to transition drivers to electric vehicles, setting ambitious goals for zero-emission travel by 2040. While some criticize ridesharing for contributing to traffic congestion and emissions, it also offers alternatives to car ownership and complements public transit systems. The initiative reflects a broader trend among companies to measure and address their environmental impact transparently, despite challenges remaining in accurately assessing carbon footprints.

Today’s attractive distractions:

A disgruntled Oscars attendee likens his glamour-free night to “a human lasagne.”

Kate Middleton’s uncanny family photo has spawned even weirder memes online.

James Shaw installs a giant foot in a Camper store on London’s Regent Street.

Dwell’s first editor-in-chief has been working on her Catskills home for 20 years.