Don't let the phrase "South American hostel" conjure nightmarish images. The WE Hostel is anything but a grubby, backpacker's last resort—though the charm of bunking with a rogues gallery of twentysomethings and dealing with a surly staff in the south of France has its own charms to be sure. No, the WE Hostel in São Paulo, Brazil is chic, friendly, and affordable, but still qualifies as a hostel in its six shared dorm rooms. It also has one private room, an en suite for women only and one room for couples available. It sleeps 48 guests in total.
The converted 1910s mansion was recently renovated with an interior by young architect Felipe Hess—it blends modern and mid-century furnishings with the building's vintage features as well as the contemporary in Ana Lucia's chandelier of fluorescent tubes.
It's neither spartan nor inconvenient, as it's close to bike rental, Parque do Ibirapuera and buzzing Joaquim da Távora Street. But like a good hostel, it's cheap. A bed in the mixed dorm starts at only $24 (R$ 48).
For the first music video from his upcoming metal album, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei recreated scenes from his 81-day imprisonment in 2011 on a set modeled after his actual jail cell. The video depicts some humiliating moments from his imprisonment, such as a forced shower in front of guards accompanied by a head shaving, as well as a bizarre drag sequence. Australian cinematographer Chrisopher Doyle shot the nightmarish clip, which has already been banned in China, as has the search term "Ai Weiwei." [via BBC]
Only a French menswear label, er "collective," could get away with the name Brooklyn We Go Hard, if it is possible to get away with at all. Now, BWGH, which calls itself a collective of "members" on its blog, has a new Paris shop at Les Docks, Cité de la Mode et du Design, a minimal and sleek pop-up inspired by Yves Klein that will be selling BWGH through September.
Visit BWGH online to see its latest collection.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the London Underground, Penguin UK has published a series of paperbacks related to various stops on the venerable Tube. While we're considering taking home a stack on our next trip to the Big Smoke, there's one in particular that caught our eye right away. Fantastic Man's Buttoned-Up delves into the question of why East London men tend to button their shirts all the way up. It features Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys and other notorious buttoners from the East End pondering the question.
Buttoned-Up is available via Penguin in the UK.
YOY, the Tokyo based design firm, unveiled its latest creation at the 2013 Milan Design Festival: canvas furniture. Not to be confused with furniture that is simply just made out of canvas, this furniture is actually a piece of canvas art that can be hung. Made from a frame of wood and aluminum with an elastic fabric stretched across it, each of the pieces appear to be two-dimensional from a distance. Come closer and you’ll discover that the chairs are actually functional, somewhat three-dimensional objects that can be sat on—although we wouldn't quite describe them as furniture.
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Foreign Policy Design's vision for The Space Program, a museum/retail space/art installation in Singapore's New Majestic Hotel, is far from expected. In fact, it's a bit of a wash.