Welcome to the T List, a newsletter from the editors of T Magazine. Each week, we’re sharing things we’re eating, wearing, listening to or coveting now. Sign up here to find us in your inbox every Wednesday. You can always reach us at tlist@nytimes.com. |
A Cabinet of Curiosities Opens in Paris |
 | | Left: inside Marin Montagut’s boutique, a 1950s antique globe sits atop the center table alongside porcelain bowls; below it are hand-painted marble fruits, antique 1960s decorative flowers and giant papier-mâché peas. Right: the shop’s shelves contain, clockwise from top left, 1950s “Polyhedron” sculptures, antique French apothecary flasks, Aude & Marin candles, Sicilian candlesticks and boxes of “secret books” hand-painted by Montagut. Romain Ricard |
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By Lindsey Tramuta T Contributor |
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The Toulouse-born illustrator Marin Montagut — known for his best-selling book, “Maison: Parisian Chic at Home,” written with the French fashion icon Ines de la Fressange, as well as his own watercolors, prints and collectibles — has been fantasizing about opening a shop in Paris since he was a child. “Ever since I saw the Olesons’ general store in ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ I’ve been imagining my own,” says Montagut. His new Left Bank namesake boutique is similar to his 19th-century Normandy cottage workshop; the apothecary-style space bears his signature retro-whimsical aesthetic, with wood countertops and antique Siegel display stands sourced from a hundred-year-old market in the South of France. It offers a mix of new and vintage trinkets (decorative candles, handmade brooms and lavender soaps) found on his travels across Europe. Combined with his own objects, from glassware and painted porcelain to cushions and paper goods, it’s a comforting step back into vieille France or, as Montagut puts it, “a Paris of yesteryear.” 48 rue Madame, 75006 Paris; marinmontagut.com. |
Inque, an Ambitious New Magazine |
 | | Clockwise from left: a mock-up of an Inque cover featuring a photograph by Jack Davison, and spreads featuring work by Christopher Anderson and Amber Vittoria.Courtesy of INQUE |
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By Flo Wales Bonner T Contributor |
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Is the traditional magazine dead? With print advertising revenues in free fall the world over, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s on its last legs. And yet, longtime creative collaborators Dan Crowe and Matt Willey saw an opportunity to birth something new — a literary publication that eschews advertising altogether (Crowe and Willey are raising funds for the launch issue via Kickstarter). The rationale? To create a magazine that doesn’t compromise. “We didn’t want anyone telling us what we could or couldn’t print,” explains Crowe, the editor and publisher, whose career includes launching cultish glossy magazines including Zembla and Port. Inque’s editorial remit is as ambitious as its commercial aims: essays, fiction and opinion pieces from a smorgasbord of cultural luminaries (contributors include Hanif Kureishi, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Tilda Swinton and Tom Waits). Design will be overseen by Willey, a partner at the design group Pentagram and erstwhile art director of The New York Times Magazine. As a pleasing counterbalance to its modern business model, the project will exist only in print and be limited to just 10 issues from 2021 to 2030, a decade that, according to Crowe, is sure to be make-or-break politically, socially and environmentally. “It will be fascinating to watch how writers and artists respond to the next few years,” he says. The Kickstarter campaign to support the launch of Inque ends Aug. 20. inquemag.com. |
Four Outstanding All-in-One Beauty Products |
In the age of 12-step skin-care routines and new products being launched every week, reverting to simplicity is often the best solution. Conveniently, there are several new and already well-loved multiuse cleansers that promise to declutter your shower without stripping your skin of moisture. The Los Angeles-based brand Noto debuted The Wash this past March, a half soap, half oil cleanser that can be used on hair, face and body. It has pleasantly woodsy-smelling notes of cedar and coriander that also provide antibacterial properties. For those conscious of plastic waste, a do-it-all bar soap is a fantastic option: 100 Senses’ Ultimate Body Bar can replace shampoo, body wash and shave cream, and unlike most bars, it’s quad-milled so that it manages to keep its shape over time. Using a versatile cleanser doesn’t mean hair has to suffer — Odacité’s 552M Soap Free Shampoo Bar leaves hair soft and voluminous but can be used all over — the coconut-oil and cupuaçu-butter-rich formula also translates well for drier skin types. Lastly, there’s always Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap, which can famously be used in 18 different ways — from laundry detergent to all-around body wash. Available in a variety of scents, the peppermint is refreshing after long summer days. |
Art Postcards to Send to Friends |
 | | Postcards featuring (clockwise from far left) Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Nan Goldin, Bonnot, Michael Halsband, Barbara Kruger, Danny Lyon, an unknown photographer (taken during the 1918 pandemic), Alexander Calder, a sample of a handwritten Fotofolio card and Jill Krementz. Courtesy of Fotofolio |
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Fotofolio — the independent fine-art and photographic postcard publisher — was first launched in SoHo in 1975 by Martin Bondell and Juliette Gallant. Passionate about photography, the couple worked directly with artists such as Richard Avedon and Philippe Halsman, who were impressed by Fotofolio’s dedication to high-quality printing. Today, the business — which has grown to include over 15,000 different postcards featuring the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Wolfgang Tillmans, Nan Goldin, Robert Mapplethorpe, Art Spiegelman and more — is run by the couple’s daughter, Anya Bondell, who, in response to social distancing, is offering a new service on Fotofolio’s website. Available to buy now is a subscription of 10 postcards a month, with or without stamps, on which one can write notes to everyone you’ve been unable to see during the pandemic. For those whose handwriting has suffered in the digital age, Fotofolio is also providing an option whereby Bondell, or someone from her team, will write — with elegant, bohemian penmanship — a message of 65 words or less and send the postcard directly to the person of your choice. “There’s been some very beautiful notes, very romantic,” said Bondell. “One couple was separated for the quarantine and they were expressing their love for each other over postcards.” From $6, fotofolioshop.com. |
Bottega Veneta’s Unisex Puddle Rain Boot |
 | | Left: a look from Bottega Veneta’s fall 2020 show. Right: the Puddle rain boot, which will be available for men and women starting Aug. 18, is made from biodegradable polymer.Courtesy of Bottega Veneta |
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By Sydney Rende T Contributor |
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Though it may be the beginning of August, autumn is fast approaching, and with it, the wet and rainy weather that marks the changing of the seasons. This, despite so much uncertainty in the world right now, we can count on. Launching next week is Bottega Veneta’s stylish yet practical unisex Puddle rain boot. The clog-like shoe has a cushioned Nappa footbed and is made from 100 percent biodegradable materials, so buying a pair in lieu of boots made with, say, vinyl — the toxic plastic used in most rain gear — is one more step you can take to help keep the planet healthy. But there is nothing earthy about this boot’s aesthetic; it’s a statement piece both because of its round, bulky toe but also because it comes in a variety of bright neon colors (it is also available in more neutral tones). Bottega Veneta will first launch the Puddle boot online on August 18 in limited quantities. If you can’t snag a pair in time, you’ll have to wait until September 4, when the style will be available in stores. In the meantime, you’ll just have to hope that, in the event of a thunderstorm, a kindly stranger will sacrifice his trench coat to keep your feet dry. bottegaveneta.com. |
 | | A still from Akeem Smith’s video “Social Cohesiveness” (2020).Akeem Smith, “Social Cohesiveness,” 2020, video excerpt, three-channel installation, courtesy of the artist and Red Bull Arts |
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In each installment of our column The Artists, T highlights a recent or little-shown work by a Black creative, along with a few words from that artist putting the work into context. Last week, we looked at “Social Cohesiveness” (2020), a video by Akeem Smith (@akeemouch), which will be part of his show “No Gyal Can Test” at Red Bull Arts in New York in late September. Smith’s art often takes inspiration from his experience working with his family’s fashion house, the Ouch Collective, and from the Jamaican dancehall community. “This excerpt, which features archival documentation, highlights, at a lumbering and hypnotic clip, the character’s singular, mesmeric power as she revels in a ritualistic haze that transforms dance onlookers into devotees,” says Smith of this video. “I’m isolating and playing with the idea of the gaze. Western culture talks a lot about the male gaze, but what about the colonial gaze or the female gaze? The optics of this piece are meant to illustrate the power of a female gaze, the power of commanding and demanding attention.” See an excerpt from the video on T’s Instagram — and follow us. |
And if you read one thing on tmagazine.com this week, make it: |
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Correction: Last week’s newsletter misstated the starting price for the House of Waris Botanicals tea blends — it’s $28 for 12 sachets, not three. |
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