The Year of the Snake means its time to shed the old and welcome the new. As unpredictable like life, we utilise the game of Snakes and Ladders; where the highs and lows are what every child of the Zodiac goes through. For added sparkles in getting through the new year—for yourself or a significant other—we’ve curated items tailored to each characteristic from from Raffles City Singapore, with illustrated
assist by thejontan

“Yunchang - GUAN YU” by Wu Qiong, ODE TO ART

Chinese artist Wu Qiong’s interpretation of Guan Yu—a famed military general who served under the warlord Liu Bei—is what one wouldn’t necessarily associate with a fierce, deified warrior. Rounding out the facial features and immortalising an innocent expression, there’s a certain mysterious quality to the artwork that’ll sit rather beautifully in the home of the equally enigmatic Snake.

Ode to Art
#01-36E/F

Quilted tote bag, CABAN BY PATRICIA URQUIOLA via LUMINE

This quilted tote bag may look all glossy and precious, but it’s actually quite the workhorse. Crafted from a foundation of upcycled nylon with kappa leather trims, the CABaN by Patricia Urquiola piece is entirely
padded for both comfort and aesthetic. With a roomy interior, you’re able to lug just about anything, while its structure allows the bag to be relatively lightweight and sturdy at the same time.

LUMINE
#01-01

BOSS x Creation of the Gods T-shirt, BOSS

The first film in the planned Creation of the Gods trilogy was released in 2023 and is already regarded as one of the greats in Chinese cinema. BOSS references the epic film’s typography and patterns of bronzeware of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, creating a double-B monogram in a gold tone that’s affixed like a military badge of honour. In other words, perfect for future and upcoming GOATs.

BOSS
#01-37B

Rouge G Mystic Red lipstick and lipstick case, GUERLAIN

Any man who’s smart and sharp (you know, like the Monkey) would know that a red lip is one of the sexiest things a woman could wear. Guerlain’s special edition of its customisable lipstick is a fiery combination of two contrasting shades, with a marbled bullet inspired by the undulations of a snake. And to top it all off, a collector’s jewel case is decorated with a textured finish that’s both artistic and luxurious.

Guerlain
#01-40

Coffee discovery gift set, BACHA COFFEE

We can’t all be like the Rooster and rise at every crack of dawn. But with a little assistance, we can definitely be the proverbial early bird. Bacha Coffee’s gift set of six varieties of coffee ensures that your mornings will be off to a great start as your senses are awaken by the discovery of new smells and tastes of the unique harvests.

Bacha Coffee
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Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Glow Cushion, GIVENCHY BEAUTY

There’s a sense of prudence embedded in Givenchy’s Prisme Libre SkinCaring Glow Cushion. The liquid foundation isn’t just mere makeup; it also has skincare benefits. Promising 24 hours of glow, wear, and hydration, the formulation is also water-resistant and protects from daily UV exposure: a definite non-negotiable in today’s climate. And look, you could very well gift this to her, but it’s 2025, men wear makeup too.

Givenchy Beauty
#01-40B

Polo T-shirt and golf cap, DESCENTE

If golf is something you’ve recently picked up and intend on keeping diligent at, the right fit is needed. DESCENTE’s lightweight duo consisting of a golf cap and a polo T-shirt are the kind of golfing essentials you’d want to buy multiples of. The former is designed with side vents for better comfort and enhanced moisture-wicking, and the latter offers UPF100+ protection while you’re upping your game with each swing.

DESCENTE
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CNY Treasure Giftbox with assorted chocolates, VENCHI

Nibble your way into the new year with a splendid assortment of 24 Venchi chocolates—including the brand's signature Chocoviar. Because you're kind like the Rat, gifting them to spread some much needed festive cheer is made easier with the vibrant gift box that they're packed in. But if you'd rather indulge in one for every single day of Chinese New Year, no one will judge too—they're that good.

Venchi
#01-37A

HOPE eau de parfum, EDITIONS DE PARFUMS FRÉDÉRIC MALLE

Concocted by Dominique Ropion, HOPE is both a celebration of oud as an essence and the human emotion it’s named after. Smoky and leathery oud notes are balanced with the freshness of pink pepper, the warmth of vetiver, and the depth of incense. The fragrance truly unfolds over time, opening up to one who observes and is patient enough to discover its true intricacies—much like hope itself. This new year, be determined like the Ox to have hope in everything.

Editions De Parfums Frédéric Malle
#01-23

MEXICO 66 sneakers, ONITSUKA TIGER

Like its namesake, there’s no telling what Onitsuka Tiger would come up with as a new interpretation of its beloved MEXICO 66 silhouette. A special edition has been rendered in cream-coloured calf leather with two-toned red accents. Traditional Chinese knot patterns are incorporated onto the insole as well as the Onitsuka Tiger Stripes as graphic nods to the occasion. With a pair, you’re stepping into the new year both with style and some extra confident energy.

Onitsuka Tiger
#01-14

Carrera Chronograph, 39mm gold case with leather strap, TAG HEUER

The racing appeal of the TAG Heuer Carrera is universal. While it may be instantly recognisable, there’s also a quiet elegance (much like the Rabbit) to it that’s timeless. This particular iteration is a solid gold construction that adds a more luxurious edge while keeping to its sporty roots. Whether you’re intending on this year that you’re making or prioritising time, this is the timepiece for you.

TAG Heuer
#01-28

Luce di Colonia Chapeau! candle, ACQUA DI PARMA

There’s a clever, almost ingenious, quality to this special duo of candles by Acqua di Parma. Both candles light up but if not in use, invert the yellow candle and place it over the regular one and it looks like it is wearing a hat. Chapeau!

Acqua di Parma
#01-07

Find out more about Raffles City's "Spring in the City".

Photography: Jaya Khidir
Art Direction: Joan Tai
Styling: Asri Jasman
Illustrations: thejontan
Photography Assistants: Nowo Kasturi and Tawfiq Ismail

One of the artistic works peppered throughout the new CELINE boutique.
(CELINE)

CELINE has finally made its presence at ION Orchard, one of Orchard Road's unmissable landmarks. Building on the House's architectural design concept that had been put in place since 2019, the latest CELINE boutique greets eyes with a curved glass façade and Calacatta oyster marble that stretches from floor to ceiling. The interior is a constant juxtaposition between the natural and the industrial as metallic elements and furnishings (together with a lot of mirrored surfaces) are positioned with natural stones such as Basaltina and marble as well as warmer, wooden accents.

Like other CELINE boutiques the world over, the furniture (some commissioned) were curated specifically for the boutique. They're especially opulent in the boutique's private salon that can be easily closed off for added privacy with movable mirrors. It is also here that a CELINE Art Project piece is on full display, among a selection of other art pieces. Created by Royal Academy of Art alum Machteld Rullens, "Dolphin Creme" is a wall object reflective of her usual practice where used cardboard boxes are reshaped and then covered in epoxy resin—turning something that was once fragile into a sturdy piece. The artwork hangs to the right of the salon, a stark contrast from the glossy black wall that it's positioned against.

"Dolphin Creme" by Machteld Rullens.
(CELINE)

The ION Orchard boutique is dedicated to both the men's and women's universe of the House, including ready-to-wear, accessories, leathergoods, and the beloved Haute Parfumerie collection. It also marks the first time in Singapore that a CELINE boutique has a dedicated counter for the new CELINE Beauté line premiered a few months ago. While only one lip colour has been launched thus far, more are on the way.

There's no doubt that this new CELINE boutique is striking from the outside, but its interior offers a more playful and luxurious feel that needs to be experienced in person. Sure, online shopping is convenient but luxury shopping is all about the experience and living the brand, even if it's just for a moment.

The private salon area.
(CELINE)

The new CELINE boutique is located on the first level of ION Orchard.

When duralumin was first discovered by German metallurgist Alfred Wilm in the early 1900s, no one could have predicted that the aluminium alloy would change the course of aviation. And certainly none could have foreseen it becoming the hallmark of a German brand for decades to come.

Successfully claiming a colour or a unique design or even a motif is quite common for brands, but not many can claim a material like RIMOWA has.

Legend has it that in the 1930s, a fire completely engulfed a RIMOWA factory leaving nothing save for the aluminium. This incident inspired second-generation owner Richard Morszeck to turn to aluminium as a replacement for subsequent RIMOWA creations, instead of its foundational wooden designs. Morszeck had already toyed with the idea in the 1920s, having created the brand’s first aluminium trunk.

The thing about claiming something as part of one’s branding is the need for constant innovation in order for the association to stick. A brand can be known for one thing (let’s face it, RIMOWA isn’t just about aluminium) but it doesn’t mean doing the same thing over and over again.

Much like how air travel has changed since, RIMOWA’s aluminium creations too have evolved. Initial aluminium suitcases were trunk-like with no wheels (the horror!) before wheeled luggage became mainstream in 1972; RIMOWA introduced its first Roller suitcase with removable wheels in the very same year. Eventually, the brand streamlined its aluminium offerings into three series: the super sleek Original, the Classic with leather handles, and the polycarbonate-based (another RIMOWA invention) Hybrid framed by aluminium accents.

The brand’s iconic grooves became part of RIMOWA’s design language in 1950. Taking inspiration from the all-metal (duralumin, of course), made-in-Germany Junkers F 13 plane that was a significant aviation milestone, the grooves run parallel to the length of every RIMOWA piece. And while the grooved design remains as an identifying element to a large majority of the brand’s creations, it had experimented with other decorative treatments for aluminium. The limited-release Hammerschlag collection for example, was inspired by a Hand-Carry Case from 1966 that featured a “hammer hit” exterior. The textured surface reflects light in ways its flatter predecessors don’t while at the same time, minimises any obvious nicks and bumps of prolonged use.

Mahjong Attaché, RIMOWA
Watch case, RIMOWA
Personal sling clutch, RIMOWA
Original aluminium cardholder, RIMOWA

Over the years, RIMOWA’s presence in luxury has been strengthened not only by its distinctive aesthetic, but also by its steely determination to stick to it while innovating. It’s no longer just a luggage brand; it’s a luxury mobility brand with the aim of creating pieces for every and any movement. The brand’s use of aluminium evolved from protecting travel necessities to keeping just about anything that matters to an individual. Aluminium has been shaped into specific functionality such as vanity cases, an attaché solely for mahjong, and a watch case fit for three timepieces.

Aluminium’s more wearable, everyday functions have seen it being transformed into a number of bags and accessories. The crossbody Personal bags—a crossbody and a sling clutch iterations—have become known for their mini-sized similarities to RIMOWA’s trusted suitcases, but cleverly designed with unique locking mechanisms adapted for heightened ease of use. The brand has even crafted aluminium into a sleek cardholder that opens with a rather sexy swivel, and protects against RFID and NFC technologies.

And if you’re wondering, RIMOWA hasn’t stopped innovating with aluminium. In the last quarter of 2024, the brand released two new aluminium expressions. The Original bag is the brand’s first unisex, multi-carry handbag that takes on the shape of a shrunken suitcase adapted to be carried as a top-handle, a shoulder bag or a crossbody. Then, there’s the limited-edition Original Cabin Optical with a new take on the aluminium suitcase featuring a truly mesmerising interpretation of the grooved design.

Where will RIMOWA go from here? It has already built its aluminium legacy and will continue to do so. Perhaps, like its high-flying inspirations, the sky is the limit.

1. Bale hobo bag, LORO PIANA

Understated elegance is an underrated attribute, especially when it comes to bags. This Loro Piano Bale hobo bag in extra-large size has all the makings of a timeless piece, and versatile to boot. The shape is inspired by the brand’s unparalleled cashmere manufacturing, with a suppleness that reflects the quality and care behind every Loro Piana creation. This should be the only baggage you bring over to the new year.

2. L’Orange en Fêtes, HERMÈS

Moisturised lips are a universal need, so imagine finding this limited-edition Hermès creation under the Christmas tree. L’Orange en Fêtes is a lip balm housed within a folded paper ornament shaped to resemble an orange and dressed in Hermès’ signature hue. It’s a simple touch of luxury that, if anything, reminds you that life may be full of uncertainties but the condition of your lips shouldn't be one of them.

3. 24-Year-Old cognac cask finish, ROYAL SALUTE

There is reason why this particular Royal Salute expression is all kinds of huat. Firstly, there’s the hue of red that in many Asian cultures signifies prosperity and success. And then, there is the use of the finest first-fill French oak casks (a first for Royal Salute) to create a complex taste profile that appeals to Asian palates. Basically, this is what you should be toasting the new year (and Chinese New Year) with.

4. Rush bumbag, LOUIS VUITTON

The Rush bumbag could be considered an entryway bag—one that’s left near the doorway and constantly packed with everyday essentials ready to go. It’s easy to pair with just about any outfit and the nifty top handle (something you’d rarely see on a bumbag) adds more adaptability to an already versatile piece. The charm is removable if you don’t fancy it, but the bottomline is this: we’re all about seizing new opportunities in 2025 and having a bag that’s always at the ready is key.

5. Optical frame, OLIVER PEOPLES

Whether they are prescription or reading glasses, it’s always nice to put a stylish spin on an essential accessory. This Oliver Peoples optical frame comes in a flattering lens shape that’ll suit most faces. The gradient hue is a contemporary take on simplicity in design, showcasing the frame in its very essence and highlighting its curves. Here’s to seeing and looking (better) ahead.

6. ENPRIA-E backpack and NEOPOD 55/20 EXP easy access luggage, SAMSONITE

It’s 2025 soon and high time to get smart about how you are travelling. This Samsonite backpack and luggage combo is perfect for those quick trips, especially with the easily accessible compartments and expandable volume. The backpack is what one would expect of a thoughtfully designed piece that’s centred around functionality, but with the added boon of design simplicity.

7. Leather tote bag and Pop Strings bag charm, PRADA

If you do not understand the hype behind the Labubu plushie decorating bags the world over, let this Prada combination persuade you. The leather tote bag is roomy enough to be an everyday work companion (those wide handles are a nifty design choice). And when paired with the brand’s latest bag charm that consists of an abstract robot and utility cords, what you have is a carrier with the bells and whistles, but in wholly grown-up way.

8. The Onitsuka brogues, ONITSUKA TIGER

Onitsuka Tiger isn’t just about its iconic sneakers. The Onitsuka line is the formal expression of Onitsuka Tiger’s Japanese craftsmanship and comfort tech, with a twist. Take these wingtip brogues for example. They are of a classic silhouette, set on a chunky outer sole meant for durability and enhanced cushioning. They have tweed inserts that are woven in Japan’s Iwate Prefecture and combined with the glossy finish of the Japanese Kobe beef leather, making them a pair to be treasured.

9. Dog collar, DOLCE&GABBANA

Canine elegance aside, there is something particularly appealing about this Dolce&Gabbana dog collar. Made out of leather decorated with a leopard print, it comes with a dog paw charm. It's quite perfect for your non-human bestie. Or (and we won't entirely be surprised) you might actually be persuaded to adopt one.

10. Historiques American 1921, 40mm white gold case with leather strap, VACHERON CONSTANTIN

To tell, keep and make time for all that is coming in 2025, you are unlikely to find a timepiece as nostalgically handsome as the Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921. It is designed to stay true to the spirit of the 1921 original, with that iconic diagonally placed dial that allows you to make quick work at telling time.

11. Baies des Lunes scented candle, MAISON FRANCIS KURKDJIAN

Nothing puts you in the mood of the season quite like the smell of woody effervescence. Maison Francis Kurkdjian extends its olfactory expertise to a limited-edition scented candle that celebrates mistletoe with a subtle one-two of musk and creamy woods. It’s calming, but not overtly festive, so you can burn it any time of the year.

12. Desert Dawn eau de parfum, BYREDO

As its name suggests, Byredo’s Desert Dawn takes you on a journey to the vast expanse of the desert with a warmth that’s felt with every spritz. The scent opens with the sweetness of cardamom and rose before the woodiness of cedar and sandalwood sets in. A body of silk musk and vetiver, together with the lightness of papyrus rounds off Desert Dawn for the right amount of depth.

Photography: Jayden Tan
Styling: Asri Jasman
Stock Images: Unsplash

Penfolds uncorked its 2024 Holiday Collection for the season with bottles that are dressed to impress. The Australian winemaker's own creative partner and brains behind A Bathing Ape, Human Made and current artistic director of Kenzo, NIGO, redesigned a series of limited-edition gift boxes to catch the eye.

Drawing inspiration from traditional Asian checkered textiles—a symbol of prosperity and eternity—NIGO created four bold designs in vibrant red, green, blue, and black, all matched to a different wine. We begin with the collection's standout star, the Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz aka "Baby Grange"—that's wrapped in an iconic "Penfolds Red" box with a playful pillow-like texture.

The Bin 311 Chardonnay follows and is encased in a green cylindrical box that strikes a balance between festive charm and premium quality. Meanwhile, the Bin 28 Shiraz boasts a blue cylinder design with shimmering gold accents, a standout addition to any holiday table. Rounding up the lineup, the Penfolds Max's, a range of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Shiraz Cabernet wines sports a dramatic black checkered design that's sophisticated and chic.

In a nod to his cultural roots, NIGO has also designed complementary furoshiki of wrapping clothes. These cloths not only enhance the gifting experience but they also embrace a more sustainable approach to packaging.

Available now, Penfolds 2024 Holiday Collection is destined to be the toast of the season. Whether you're drinking on your own or impressing guests, this season deserves that great Penfolds taste wrapped in a renewed design.

For more information about Penfolds' 2024 Holiday Collection, click here

(Saucony)

Jae Tips wears a grin on his face for the entirety of our 20 minute(-ish) video call.

The designer/rapper is getting taxied around Taranto, Italy as he speaks with me by way of Google Meet (on his phone, which means I get a lot of low angles of his shiny pink grills).

The launch party of his latest sneaker with Saucony, the Jae Tips x Saucony Matrix “No Shoes In The House” – which, fyi, marks the first time the silhouette has been released since the year 2000 – is what brings him to Europe. The affair is being held at footwear boutique Sneakers76, which is cool with Jae as this trip marks his first time in Italia.

(Saucony)

The 34-year-old has been brainstorming with the Michigan-based sneaker-maker since 2021, but it was only last year that their collaboration made its debut. It's already very popular, to the point where sneakerheads are turning to resale marketplaces such as StockX to cop a pair.

Jae can't be mad at the game since flipping sneakers is something he used to do himself. He also worked at Footlocker. “I've learnt a lot about the sneaker industry from a lot of different angles,” he reckons.

“I started meeting people in high positions in the big brand, and it made me realise that there was more to the game that what I knew it for. So I kept pushing myself to learn.

“Fast-forward a few years later, I'm here talking to you.”

“It's a long way from the Bronx,” he says, referring to his home where he was born John Cotton.

Yet, he looks out the window to see a – to all appearances – local passerby on a scooter wearing shoes of his design.

“How does it feel to see that?” I ask.

“It feels amazing,” he says, his grin somehow growing wider. “It's amazing to design on this level. I don't want to take it for granted that I get these opportunities. Saucony keeps believing in me and keeps giving me space to design. I just want to keep making everyone proud, and make everyone feel that a project they spent a lot of hours on and time is worth it.”

Here's how the rest of our conversation – about the Matrix shoe, about his come-up, about Disney, My Hero Academia and all sorts of other things – panned out.

(Saucony)

Why did you decide to partner with Saucony?

I'm just grateful Saucony decided to partner with me. I was designing hats in my own style and the brand saw this as something it wanted for its shoes. So, you know, I'm grateful the team chose to work with me instead of looking me over like others.

Tell me about your use of colour

You're taught to wear muted colours and stick to the basics these days, I feel, but I remember growing up in times when everything was colourful and everything was inspired by something loud. Those were the best times. To me, when I see a blank piece of paper, all I see is colour... All I see is excitement. I see is the adventure you can go on. I never want to leave any room thinking, 'I could've done better.' I'm always learning how to put colours together like no one else.

Do you encourage people to style your shoes with colourful 'fits?

The advice I give people all the time when it comes to my designs is wear what you already have on – you don't need to switch it up. Let the shoes do the speaking for you. You don't have to match everything with everything; you can put them on with whatever you're comfortable with, with what you were already going to wear, anyway. It's all about what's going to make you feel good and happy.

(Saucony)

What can you tell us about your new release, “No Shoes in the House”?

We were always set to release around this time of the year, the time when everything is about family. So, it's “No Shoes in the House” – the message is to put your loved ones before work.

The design is inspired by a Ralph Lauren x Disney collaboration that they did in the nineties. I released some hats a few years ago inspired by the same thing. I may be telling my secrets but I find a lot of inspiration in Disney.

I didn't tell the story so well then because hats are different to shoes, but I used wool on this sneaker to nod to the headwear that came before this. The result is a shoe that feels authentic to me, my story and the things I'm interested in.

Do you watch a lot of animation?

I watch more animation now because of my son who is currently big into anime. He falls in love with things and watches them again and again. An anime he watches a lot of is My Hero Academia. Outside of anime, he keeps watching the Pixar movie Elemental. I watch them all with him for the aesthetics.

Where else do you discover inspiration?

Restaurants. I think a lot of the best marketing comes from restaurants, coffee shops and things like that.

(Saucony)

What Saucony model have you been wearing the most?

I wear Omnis a lot. I wear every colour that Saucony send me. I feel like it's just the most comfortable and you can just slip them on and head out.

What Saucony do you think sneakerheads should show more love towards?

The first silhouette I worked with: the Grid Azura 2000. It was a shoe that Saucony was ready to throw away, and then I came in with me re-design which was very off the wall. I think I put life back into the shoe – I put another spin on it.

Who do you consider your peers?

I think Joe Freshgoods; I think Salehe [Bembury]; I think James Whitner. These are people that have reached out to me and, you know, told me about their experiences and things I can do different, or ways that I can navigate the industry. I appreciate them. I don't see them as competition, I see them as part of my community.

Will the collab continue into 2025? If so, what's in store?

Yes, definitely. I'm excited to be working with different silhouettes and colours. I hope people are excited about what's to come. There are some different things coming up that are different to what people have come to expect.

Originally published on Esquire UK

It has been said that you don’t buy a Mr Jones Watch to get to your train punctually; you buy one to question whether you want to get on that train at all, and whether getting on that train is going to add anything to the sum of human happiness.

Ricochet; 2021. MR JONES WATCHES

Established in 2007 by former fine art, sculpture and computer-related design student Crispin Jones, Mr Jones Watches are both immediately recognisable and unlike any other watch you've ever seen.

Before he got into watches, Jones made an office desk that answered questions.

The questions were things like “Will my love be returned?” “What do my friends think of me?” “Will I find my lost item?” The questions were contained on cards, 30 in all, and to obtain the answers the user had to place them over a metal slot on the desk.

“It was an attempt to use the computer in a similar way that ancient civilisations used oracles,” Jones once told Esquire.

‘The catch was, the metal slot became hotter and hotter as the answer came up". The piece was called The Invisible Force: The Amazing Psychic Table. A barcode was concealed in the pattern on the card, so when you dropped it onto the slot you triggered an electronic reader that slowly produced an answer on a dot matrix.

The answer to “Will my love be returned?” would produce the answer “Yes … if … you … stay … true … to … your…”. By the time the answer got to “true” the card slot would be getting quite hot, but if you withdrew your hand the system would reset and you wouldn’t see the whole answer. The last – very hot – word was “ideals”.

Jones was interested in the way technology was changing our lives: what it gives, and what it takes away.

That's when he began thinking about watches.

“The watch is interesting," he figured, “because we don’t think of it as technology the way we do about phones or computers. And it’s an incredible survivor: most technologies that are 10 years old look incredibly outdated, so that if I use a phone from 10 years ago it’s almost a provocation, and it makes me look massively eccentric. But you’re wearing your wristwatch from the 1950s and it doesn’t seem extraordinary.”

Jones observed that. while many of us tend to walk around with near identical gadgets these days, watches remain one of the few outward signs of our personality.

“And with watches you can weave in a lot of interesting stories and remap the concepts of how we think about time,” he said.

So he began developing his own.

Early Mr Jones Watches designs included The Summissus, subtitled The Humility Watch. This was “an object designed to remind people that death should be prepared for at any time”.

The watch had a mirror face, and alternated between flashing the time and the message “Remember you will die”. (A simplified later version of this was later made available for sale, and was known as The Accurate.)

Then there was Avidus, also known as The Stress Watch.

This reflected the feeling we have of time speeding by when we are stressed, and time slowing down when we are relaxed. The wearer would press the two metal contacts on the face, and a pulse would activate the display.

The more stressed the user, the faster the time would run; the more relaxed the user, the slower, and a meditative state would cause the time to run backwards.

Jones soon opened up his design process to external illustrators, and today Mr Jones Watches concerns itself less with philosophical nature of time and mortality, and more with novel and entertaining ways to approach time-telling. Mr Jones Watches mostly exist to put a smile on your face.

Take Ricochet [sp], for example. This model displays three cartoon robots playing pinball. The three metallic droids, engrossed in the action on the pinball machine, are each hand-gilded in a different metallic foil, so that they twinkle as they catch the light. The scoreboard of the games machine displays the hours and the minutes. In other words, it's the bit that tells the time.

Or there's Monster Melter 3000, in which a spaceman is locked in mortal combat with a terrifying man-eating alien. The position of the spaceman’s ray gun indicates the minutes. The monster’s severed tentacle shows you the hour.

Or how about the Cyclops watch? Instead of conventional hour and minute hands, Cyclops uses a single black circle to mark the passage of time. Each hour is represented by a different coloured circle beneath. The Cyclops is not particularly accurate. That is the point. It is billed as “the perfect Sunday watch”.

The wearer is invited to glance down at their wrist and deduce: “Well, it’s roughly half past the hour”.

For everything else, there is always your iPhone.

Crispin Jones.

Mr Jones Watches has always been an outlier. But in 2024 it finds itself sympatico with an industry where (one argument has it) dial design is prioritised over such historically important factors as the provenance of a watch’s movement, the alloy of its case, or links to some tale or other involving a race car driver or an astronaut or a mountain climber from six centuries ago.

Instead, how about a watch that looks unlike any other, and is whimsical, humorous and fun, into the bargain? For that Mr Jones Watches has your back.

Crispin Jones has workshops in Forest Hill and Camberwell in south London, as well as a busy shop in Covent Garden, and an online shop that ships worldwide. His watches cost between £225 and £695, making them a good first watch, a decent gift or a unique new piece to add to your collection. The company generally puts out around 10 new watch designs each year.

I've long wondered about the process of watch design, so many of them look the same, after all, and have been curious quite how much latitude a designer is allowed before market forces and the pressures of Q4 to shift more 40mm panda-dialled chronographs kicks in, and any fun stuff is relegated to a file marked "Maybe Next Year".

Those are not concerns of Crispin Jones.

The other week, between occasional appearances from Stanley, the friendly office miniature dachshund, Crispin talked to me about how the Mr Jones design process works, why market research is for the birds, and the endless playful possibilities of time.

Here's 35 things I learned.

A Perfectly Useless Afternoon; 2019. MR JONES WATCHES

1. You need method in your madness.

I think often people see our watches and think “Oh it’s just wacky nonsense. You can’t tell the time with this! It’s impossible!” But there is always a logic to it. There’s a structure, if you’re prepared to engage with it. You might need to relearn a little bit of how to recognise the time. But we’re not asking for much complexity. We’re really not doing things that are just confusing and arbitrary.

2. Start with a story.

One of the most successful watch designs for us is “the swimming pool watch” – A Perfectly Useless Afternoon. Kristof [Devos; Belgium illustrator and author] designed that. His starting point was this quote from a Chinese philosopher that if you’ve learned to spend an afternoon doing absolutely nothing, then you’ve learned to live [the quote is from the 20th Century linguist and novelist, Lin Yutang: “If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live”]. And although you don’t need to know that narrative to appreciate the watch, that underpins it. I think it’s important for him that there’s a conceptual reason behind this guy lying in a swimming pool. That’s what it’s all about.

3. It's not just about pretty pictures.

The second thing with that watch is that there has to be a really elegant way to incorporate the time-telling function. That’s what we always aspire to. The “swimming pool watch” is a really good example, because at any time of the day, whenever you look at it, the image is coherent. It makes sense. And then, if you know how to decode the elements, you can read the time as well. As soon as someone’s explained it to you, it’s obvious. But the first time you see it, your reference is all scrambled because there’s no conventional minute hand. There’s no numerals on there. But the time-telling element is coherent with the image.

4. And sometimes it’s about even more than that.

There is a more intense subtext to that particular watch, which is explained in the booklet that comes with it. Kristof had an awful car crash where, I think, one of his very close friends died [In 2007, Kristof was holiday in Germany with his now wife, and friends who were newlyweds. The holiday was a wedding gift from Kirstof and his partner. There was an accident, and his friend Tina passed away. “We were all 26,” he has explained. “Nobody expects to lose someone, especially another friend. It was really heavy, it’s still really hard”] and that was his impetus to really cut back on work. He was doing commercial art direction for graphic design firms, which he wasn’t enjoying, and he also did children’s book illustration and authoring, which is what he really wanted to do. And when he proposed this design to us, he was trying to balance his commercial stuff with his more creative ideas. All the artists we work with get a royalty payment. And that watch is so successful that Kristof was able to give up the commercial art direction stuff and refocus on the children’s illustration. He’s now also trained as a teacher, so he teaches high school students. So that watch allowed him to reconsider what he was doing.

Berry Late; 2023. MR JONES WATCHES

5. Market research? Pah.

If we did any sort of the analysis like that, we would probably learn some stuff. I just worry that that would sort of steal a bit the charm of the whole process. I feel like, then we’d go “Robots and cityscapes sell more than landscapes, so we need to do more of them in Q4”. But it’s never like that.

6. Try to be fair.

Our guiding principle is always: “Is this the best version of this artist’s work that we can make in a watch form?” Our business model used to be that we’d do a 100-piece numbered edition. And, if it was super-popular and it sold really fast, then we’d reissue it down the line into the permanent collection. But then the limited editions started selling out really fast, so it became difficult to judge what was popular and what was not so popular. So, then we scaled up to 200-piece editions, and then those started selling out really fast, too. They were going in 25, 30 minutes. What we do now is a 12-hour [order] window [and fulfil all the orders placed within that timeframe]. We’ve always had a lot of customers from the USA, for example. Before, if we did a 200-watch release at midday London time, which is what we used to do, that’s not really sympathetic to someone on the west coast of America, where it’s 5am. We had a situation with people going “I love the design, but I'm furious with you as a company, because I can’t buy it.” That wasn’t ideal.

7. Unsolicited ideas? It's tough.

We’re not systematic. There’s no set of rules for something that makes a Mr Jones watch. We do have substantial numbers of unsolicited submissions, as you can imagine. We do weird designs, so people think “They do anything! I've got an idea for watch, I’ll send it in to you?” We have a submission form. There is a layer of filtering which the customer service team do. But they're instructed to not be super-rigorous. I guess what we always look for is someone with a distinctive quality that we haven’t seen before. Also, someone who brings a story to the design – a narrative. So many of the design submissions we get fall down… There’s a sort-of witty visual pun, and you're like, ‘Yeah, it’s kind of funny, but not really’. Like, they've not really integrated the timekeeping in an elegant way that’s coherent with this narrative they're trying to tell. It is a pretty challenging thing to do. I’d say we get about 250 submissions a year.

8. Keep your overheads low.

Our threshold for recouping our costs is very low, because everything we do is all done internally. We only need to sell maybe 100-150 of each watch in order to recoup the money we’ve invested. And we always sell more than that. That means we can be really free with the design. We don’t have to focus-group it, get a bunch of the customers together, test it…“Do you think this colorway, or the black colorway?” I guess it’s arrogant, in a way. But I think it would lose a lot of that magic if we introduced another voice into the internal company assessment of a design, coupled with the external artists. What if they’re competing voices? Who wins? We’re in a sort of luxurious position where we don't really have to do that.

Tadaima with cat (left); and without; 2023. MR JONES WATCHES

9. Embrace your mistakes.

That's not saying we don't make missteps. There was a watch we did called Tadaima [designed by the London-based Japanese illustrator Yo Hosoyamada], which has a view of the Tokyo cityscape. The limited-edition version had this cat looking out the window, and the minute hand was a bird. There was this nice narrative between the domestic cat that was captive behind the window, and the bird that’s flying free. For the reissue, we sampled it, and we sampled it without the cat, because the cat sat behind this window frame, and it closed in the design quite a lot. It just looked nicer without the cat – it looked more open and less fussy. That watch sold quite well. But now we’re forever getting people saying “Where’s the cat? I like the version with the cat”. So, that was the example of: we’re so fixated on making the best version of that design, and the purity. To my mind, it was a no brainer. The cat was clutter on an asymmetric image. But for a lot of the customers, the cat was really important. So we learned something. We are toying with the idea of bringing the cat back in the new year. But I know what will happen. Then everyone who bought it in between, will be like “Could I return my watch and get the cat version instead?”

10. Have a system.

We’ve got a pool of illustrators we work with, as well as a number of designs being done in-house each year. Before the illustration is agreed, there’ll be a round of rough sketches where we work out the theme for the watch – the basic design; the core elements; what the timekeeping [function] is going to be; what the feel of it is. There’s a bit of roughing out, so we can get a version of the design that the artists can be happy with. We spend quite a bit of time getting it right and working on screen before we commit anything to engraving plates and mixing up inks, because that gets quite expensive.

11. Use a lot of colour.

Once we’re happy with the basic proportions, we’re committed. Then they'll mix the inks from Pantone references. We use standard colour references, the same graphic designers use. We can generate a recipe for each Pantone shade. They’re fairly good, but they’re not always perfect. So there has to be a bit of by-eye adjusting as we go along. Each colour is printed in turn. It’s a bit like silk screen printing. It’s a combination of screen print and lithography. We’ve got an engraved plate, and then we're printing a single colour at a time off that. Mixing the inks and then setting up the ink on the machine for printing is the labour- and time-intensive period. We need to be fairly confident before we do a sample, because it’s a substantial commitment of time and effort. If there’s multiple colours, which there generally are on our designs, we tend to use pad printing [a prainting technique that uses a silicone pad to transfer a 2D image onto a 3D object, used in the medical, electronics and car industries], but in a fine art way. Pad printing is really an industrial printing technology – originally developed in the watch industry. But mostly in the watch industry it’s used for single or two-colour printing at most. I think the most colours we’ve used is 16. So that’s 16 layers of colour being laid down.

Monster Melter 3000 in progress (1). MR JONES WATCHES

12. Tweak as you go.

We never really have it where we go “Oh, this idea is non-starter”. You do often get things where the proportions aren’t right. This monster one [Monster Melter 3000] is quite a good example. What we were testing here was we’d print the monster on the glass, but we’d leave the mouth open and have some printing on the dial to give a sense of 3D-ness. The spaceman on the side is the minute hand, and this severed tentacle is supposed to point to the hour. So, it’s saying a quarter to four in the picture. But doing that, we felt the proportions of the two were a bit wrong. The spaceman was probably too small. So, the monster became larger. We scaled up a monster's head and that made it more impactful. But then we felt that the spaceman could also come up in size, which is in the final image. The planet sitting in front of the monster’s tentacle didn’t work either – it made it kind of incoherent. It should be behind by rights.

Monster Melter 3000 in progress (2). MR JONES WATCHES

13. Subtlety, be damned.

I wanted something really visually impactful [for Monster Melter 3000]. Our stock green and pink inks were not the brightest, so we sourced some fluorescent inks. That was exciting for the workshop, because they’d never used them before. You get a sense of how much more vibrant it is. At first, we thought “Oh we’ll use them sparingly”. “We'll use them on the monster or maybe on the dial, but we won’t go crazy”. But once you see them on some bits you go “Oh, we’ll just put it on everything! What’s the point of being subtle with it?”

Monster Melter 3000 in progress (3). MR JONES WATCHES

14. Empower your collaborators.

Onorio [D’Epiro; the designer and illustrator who worked on Monster Melter 3000] was really nice to work with. A lot of the artists are working remotely, so we’re having to do it all over email or occasionally Zoom calls. But Onorio lives in Bedford. That’s not super-close to us in south London – but he became really engaged with the process. He came in for a bunch of the key review and resample meetings. We’d sit down and go – “All right, let’s try and brighten the colours”, and maybe we’d make some minor adjustments to the illustration. We can engrave new plates, mix new inks, print a sample, everything from start to finish, and we can do that in half a day. Because Onorio can be there, I can be there, the head of production can be there. We can all review it together – and talk about what's working, what isn’t, what the next step is.

15. And don’t forget the technicians.

Print technicians are really highly skilled. They tend to come from a fine art print-making background. And it's really nice for them to be recognised, and not be seen as just “the technicians”. What that definition misses is all the problem-solving and the little tweaks that they're doing to the artwork, that go into the printing process to get the best possible result. That’s why it’s nice if the artist comes in. Then they can stand side-by-side with them and watch what’s going on.

16. Our artists are a happy bunch.

I don’t think any of the artists we’ve ever worked with has ever designed a watch before. So, they’re always super-motivated, because even if they’re quite established commercial practitioners, they haven’t been asked to do a watch before. And particularly they haven’t been asked to a watch like ours.

17. Designing a watch is unlike designing anything else.

The difference of working at this scale cannot be overemphasised. Most people work on a laptop, so they’re at least working at A4-size. Once you’ve scaled that down to 32-millimeter diameter watch size, something really nice happens with the designs. That focusing of the design in the smaller space. And the pad printing is capable of such fine resolution that you can put a lot of detail in there and still it doesn't get lost. If you’re working on a screen, you get fixated on really minute details. In the reality of a watch, it’ll be so minuscule as to be inconsequential. That’s a good reality check.

Duff The Gruff; 2019. MR JONES WATCHES

18. I have described myself as a control freak...

I guess it’s not so much a control freak – it’s just more an insistence on getting things right. When we used to work with the factories in the Far East, we’d have a design, get it sent out and they’d do a pretty good job. But we wouldn’t be able to have a dialogue like, “This red, it looks a bit washed out. How can we make that more vibrant and more impactful?” Because they weren’t really engaging on those terms. They were like, “Well, you sent the Pantone reference. We’ve matched that, and we printed it. How much more can we do?” Unless you’re really right in the thick of it, up to your elbows in the ink and stuff, you can’t engage on those terms.

19. Don’t be boring.

We work principally with two pad print suppliers and they both really value us as clients. Because the work they’re used to doing is printing on pen barrels – putting a one-colour company logo on a pen barrel, to give away at a trade show or something. It’s really boring. So, we’re an unusual client for them. We’ve got odd demands, and high quality demands. And they’re not used to dealing with that.

20. Employ fresh blood.

Our second workshop is in Camberwell, just across the road from the Camberwell Art College. We go around the degree show with the workshop staff, where all the graduating students are showing their work. The last couple of years, we’ve cherrypicked a couple of graduating students and approached them after the show and said, “We’d like to work with you to design a watch”. I graduated from a sculpture BA, many moons ago. So, I know what that’s like –it’s kind of horrible to be released from the cocoon of the art college environment into the real world, without a project.

21. Originality is hard.

We get so many submissions where you have a design where you have two spots where you read the hours and minutes, but not in a particularly integrated way. They always suggest numerals. No one ever says “What I’m going to do is rework the hours as different colours. So that you need to learn to read that blue means two o’clock, and green means three o’clock", or whatever it is. I'd really engage that! We get slight variations of the guy in the swimming pool watch So, there'll be a ball and someone playing football or a ball and a dog chasing it. We do get a lot of dog watch submissions – because of Stanley [miniature dachshund/ Mr Jones office dog who also features on a line of t-shirts]. We get endless submissions on that. They think that’s the way to my heart! It’s always a dog chasing a ball, or a dog chasing a bone. People do spend a lot of time on them. It’s kind of heartbreaking. There’s some really talented people out there. They’re just not quite right for us. I wish I could support more.

22. There's more than one way to tell the time.

When you look at the “swimming pool” watch, you can read it without having to numericise it. You don’t have to say “12.35”, you can say – “Oh we’re nearly at lunchtime”, or whatever. You process time in a different way.

The Last Laugh, 2022. Designed "to remind you that life is brief and you should live it to the full". MR JONES WATCHES

23. Necessity is the mother of invention.

We started off doing the skull watch [The Last Laugh, a skull design linked to the tradition of memento mori. Instead of hands, the skull’s teeth display the time.] The hours were on the upper jaw, the minutes on lower. That was the first time I looked into using jump hour mechanism [a watch complication that displays the current hour numerically, in an aperture. When the minute hand completes a full revolution the jump hour mechanism instantly "jumps" to display the next hour]. Because originally that watch used a two-disc quartz mechanism. So, the hour disc was constantly moving. The minute disc was constantly moving. But it became really challenging to read. Because, say at 1.30 – the hour numeral “1” would be in the middle of the jaw. The “30” would be directly below it. By the time you got to “1.55” you’d begin to get the numeral “2” appearing – so then you’re like “Well, is it 2.55 or is it 1.55?” That’s when we bought into getting jump hour modules. And now we use them on several watches. Before that all the watches we did were quartz because I always had the sense that our customers didn't really… I was going to say they didn’t really understand. They probably did understand, but they didn’t really care. They were buying our watches for the design rather than the movement. I feel like now because we’ve been around in the watch world for a while and what we do is quite distinctive, a bunch of people who love [mechanical] watches have found their way to us. They might prefer mechanical watches, so we do them with a slightly higher price, and with a slightly different size case.

24. Okay, so sometimes our dials have been a bit too busy.

The Zombie Pizza watch [created by the artist Mariana Calderón] was another limited edition. It sold well but it didn’t do well enough to get reissued. It happened not to be super-commercial, but that’s alright. Not every watch gets reissued. It doesn’t mean it was an unsuccessful design. Mind you, if we’re speaking in strictly commercial terms, having a watch where a severed finger points to the top the minute and a fly points to the hour… that is quite niche.

25. Don’t be afraid to try something new.

There’s a logic with the Cyclops watch [designed by Crispin Jones]. The width of the black circle is five minutes. So, if the circle [crosses over a coloured one beneath it] on the left-hand edge, then that’s five past. But if it’s the width plus the same width as the circle below then that’s 10 past. Equidistant between the circle then it’s half-past. Just touching the preceding circle and it's a quarter-to. [Congratulations if you're still following this, by the way - Ed.] We have thought about it a bit! It’s not just because I liked those colours.

26. We were early adopters of the truism: "These days, nobody actually needs a watch".

Nobody needs that really functional timepiece anymore, because functional time is taken care of by digital technology: like your phone, your laptop, the screens at the railway station, or whatever. Functional time is all around us. So that’s freed up the watch to be a purely expressive, personality-carrying piece of male jewelry. It’s a way to have male body adornment, where fewer of those opportunities traditionally exist for men. There will always be people who want a flash accessory that embodies some of the technical precision of the world, a watch like a chronograph, for example. But dial design has definitely become more of a central focus, more recently.

27. Embrace external influences.

At the Royal College of Art, I was influenced by former student Anthony Dunne, whose book Hertzian Tales argued for a more considered critique of electronic products, not least a reexamination of everyday objects on aesthetic grounds. In 2004 I wrote a manifesto posing two questions: "How could a watch undermine its wearer?" and "What if the watch could express some of the negative aspects of the wearer’s personality?" But his most provocative question was "How can the watch represent time in a more unpredictable and provocative way". Dunne was interested in what he called critical design, which was using the language and tools of product design as a form for social critique. My background before then was in fine art and sculpture. So then coming on a design course, I was naturally drawn towards something that was a bit less utopian and a bit more strange. One of the things that he talked about a lot was called value fiction, where an author’s values and beliefs are revealed through the plot. So that language, how we think of the watch – the personality, and the communicating aspect – has become the most important thing. I think that stuff is really interesting. That was my way in to designing watches.

28. Watches say more than we might think.

I worked for Philips Design for a while. Philips Design in the late 1990s, early 2000s, invested a lot of money in wearable technology. They did collaborations with Levi’s and made these kind of funky snowboarder jackets with built-in MP3 players. It was kind of cool and interesting. But it wasn’t leveraging something that was genuinely happening. Snowboarders were not sellotaping their MP3 players to their sleeves in order to be able to access the controls on the slopes. So, it failed. But I thought the watch was a really interesting [object] because it has this really long history – at least back to First World War, if you’re talking about wristwatches. And if you’re talking pocket watches, you go back another couple of 100 years. Its enduring appeal is partly for those reasons we’re talking about. It communicates something about personality as well as being this sort of functional tool.

29. Learn to let go.

One of the fundamental shifts from when I started Mr Jones Watches, is that I thought that meant I needed to design all the watches. That's what it was! Other people can go and do Fred Blogs Watches. I’m Mr Jones Watches! But after four years, I was kind of flagging, and the quality was slightly deteriorating, and I thought it would be interesting to collaborate with different people who had an interesting relationship to time.

The Promise of Happiness by Fanny Shorter, 2017. It "helped us drive things forward". MR JONES WATCHES

30. Park your ego.

Early on, I asked an illustrator, Fanny Shorter, who I know quite well, if she would do some designs for us. And that was really nice. I knew her a bit. But I didn’t know her so well that I would feel an obligation to realise her design. She was really good, because she didn’t understand anything about what we could and couldn’t do [ie: any limitations in watch design]. She mostly did illustration for textiles and for wallpaper, and mostly worked in screen prints. She didn’t do one million colours on her designs, which was important, because we can’t do a million colours either. She really helped us to drive things forward. [Shorter’s watch design, The Promise of Happiness features a tiger playing under moonlight. The hour is displayed in the moon, while the minutes are camouflaged within its stripes]. That was really good for growing the knowledge of what Mr Jones watches could be. That’s when I stepped back more and had other people do the designs. I wouldn't have expected that, when I started the company, because my ego wouldn't have allowed it. So there’s been a growth from my side as well.

31. Know your strengths.

The skill set we have as a company is really to do with editing designs. When I say “I’m an editor”, it sounds quite lukewarm. It doesn’t sound as glamorous as being “the creator”. But, actually, having a design and recognising what’s strong with it, and what’s working, and refining it down, that’s the hard bit. And that’s what we're really good at now.

a minimalist watch with a unique dial message
’Remember, You Will Die’, AKA The Accurate, 2007. One of Jones’s earliest designs. MR JONES WATCHES

32. I've over mortality.

Putting the word “remember” on the hour hand, and “you will die” on the minute hand, that was my idea. That was really my statement piece. But I can’t keep coming up with iconoclastic sayings like that, year after year. My background is not really doing the pictorial-type designs. And that’s what our company is good at now. The pictorial image with a time-telling function integrated into it.

33. Ideas can come from all over.

The skull watch [The Last Laugh] was a collaboration with a comedian [it was created with the comic William Andrews, and features artwork by the British tattoo artist Adrian Willard]. I thought comedians had a really interesting relationship to time and timing. [Andrews] talked a bit about dying on stage and how people would say to him, “You’re so brave doing what you do”. And he’d say, “If I have a bad day at work, the consequence is = people don’t laugh”. But if you're a surgeon or something and you have a bad day at work the consequences are far more serious.

34. Consider the postie.

I just thought watches generally work as gifts. And if you’re giving a watch as a gift, there’s always that moment of opening it. Most watch brands sell the watches on a little cushion with the strap done up, so the box needs to be quite big. But if you fasten the strap then it's marked the strap before you've even opened it. Also, our boxes fit through the letterbox.

35. Ignore the haters.

People say we’re gimmicky. Gimmicky implies something is flashy or no good or has no substance. But there’s a coherence behind our work! I don’t want to slag off other people, but there was a company that were making something they called watches, but without a time-telling function. They were these little things you wore on your wrist that had a sort of duck pond on them, that were three-dimensional. That’s my definition of a gimmick. Because someone will get that and say “How do you tell the time with that?” Well, you can’t. Even when our watch is something playful like a pig escaping from a tractor beam [the Beam Me Up! watch], it still functions.

Originally published on Esquire UK

(BEYOND THE VINES)

Singapore's design scene has got a major upgrade as Beyond The Vines opens the doors to its first-ever Design House in the country. Located in the latest lifestyle hotspot New Bahru, the Design House is not only the brand's largest space to date, but also a bold celebration of creativity and its local roots.

Spanning an impressive 3,800 square feet, the Design House is more than just a retail experience. It's a visual and tactile journey, featuring geometric shapes, vibrant colours, and a mix of textures that invite exploration. From brushed stainless steel and raw concrete walls to glossy tiles and mirrored surfaces, the space blends industrial elements with playful design touches, creating an atmosphere that feels both modern and fun.

Step inside and you'll be greeted by a striking showcase of Beyond The Vines' iconic Dumpling bag series. The pieces are set against a wave-like structure in the brand's signature Engineer Blue colour as a nod to the brand's design philosophy of mixing the bold with the understated.

(BEYOND THE VINES)

For Beyond The Vines' littlest customers, a whimsical kids' section inspired by building blocks, invites them to explore pillars stacked with geometric shapes. For adults and children alike, an immersive tunnel adds an element of wonder, making the Design House feel like a space for discovery as much as shopping.

Adding on to the already stacked design intricacies, Beyond The Vines debuts its first-ever customisation area within the Design House. Personalise accessories with in-house-designed lettered key tags to add playful and bespoke touches to everything from the Dumpling bags to Crunch Carryall to the Poofy series.

Beyond The Vines opened its first Design House in CentralWorld Bangkok a couple of months ago that was then, its biggest store. Its first Singapore Design House only proves that the brand continues to grow and push for good design that's accessible to all.

The Beyond The Vines Design House, New Bahru is located at 46 Kim Yam Rd, New Bahru Big Block #01-07.

Photo by Krisztian Tabori on Unsplash

In the design world, Milan Design Week is a big one. The annual extravaganza is celebrated by design enthusiasts worldwide across the bustling streets of Milan, where creativity meets commerce. Last month I found myself in the middle of a curious blend of genuine innovation and shallow spectacle.

One of the most glaring trends was the pervasive use of fashion brand names to lend an air of legitimacy to the event. It seemed as though every corner boasted the presence of renowned product designer associated with high-profile fashion label, however, upon closer inspection, there seemed little intent to showcase a genuine dedication to the world of product design, and more about feeding the increasingly growing PR stunt machine.

This year’s victims were the design icons Le Corbusier (with Bottega Veneta) and Gio Ponti (with Saint Laurent), where the designs lacked depth and failed to resonate beyond their surface glamour. It felt like a commodification of design, where brand names overshadowed true creativity and innovation.

Furthermore, the proliferation of installations designed solely for Instagram-worthy moments was hard to ignore. Everywhere I turned, there were displays carefully curated to appeal to the lens of a smartphone camera rather than to engage with the essence of design. These installations were visually captivating, no doubt, but they lacked substance. They were hollow, devoid of any meaningful message or artistic merit beyond their superficial aesthetics. It was disheartening to witness the prioritisation of fleeting moments of social media validation over genuine artistic expression.

Such is the pull of Milan Design Week, the streets of the city were packed as ever with people eager to experience its spectacle. Yet, amid the crowds (and endless queues) I couldn’t shake the feeling of emptiness that pervaded many of the exhibitions. People queued for hours just to catch a glimpse of something that promised to be visually appealing, only to find themselves confronted with installations that offered little beyond their initial allure. It was a stark reminder of the superficial nature of our modern obsession with image and spectacle.

There were, however, pockets of genuine brilliance that shone through. Design Space AlUla, for instance, stood out as a beacon of authenticity amid the chaos. Drawing nearly 20,000 visitors, they were treated to a curated collection of design creations and prototypes, alongside immersive installations dedicated to raw materials. It was a celebration of craftsmanship and creativity, offering a refreshing departure from the glitz and glamour that often defines Milan Design Week.

Similarly, Hermès delivered a masterful showcase that placed materials at the heart of the exhibition and discourse. Its presentation was a testament to the timeless beauty of craftsmanship and the enduring power of materiality in design, reminding us of the importance of substance over style.

My tastes aside, Milan Design Week has become a microcosm of the contemporary design landscape, where superficiality often masquerades as innovation and spectacle reigns supreme. While there is no denying the visual splendour of the event, it is imperative that we look beyond the surface and seek out moments of genuine creativity and authenticity. It is in these moments that the true essence of design resides, here’s hoping we can continue to strive to prioritise substance over style and authenticity over spectacle.

Originally published on Esquire ME

HENRY SEUNGYUN YANG: I came to Singapore two years ago, after Samsonite offered an opportunity for us to move from Hong Kong.

ESQUIRE SINGAPORE: Why? Did you not like Hong Kong?

HSY: I loved it. It’s a wonderful city that’s geographically close to every other country somehow. It’s closer to Korea than Singapore, which made it easy to fly back home from. There are Samsonite factories in China and they are now also looking to Southeast Asia—Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam—so here I am. But my family is happy in Singapore, and if they are happy, I’m happy.

ESQ: Are you going back for the holidays?

HSY: I just got back from Hong Kong actually. I go to Korea only once a year because flying with a baby [sighs loudly] for six hours can drive anyone crazy. Now, I do love my kids, but they can be quite naughty and don’t like sitting still for six hours.

ESQ: They are girls, yes? Do you have any preference for the gender of your children?

HSY: I don’t have a preference. The second girl was delivered in Singapore, while the first one was born in Hong Kong.

ESQ: When did you start wanting to be a designer?

HSY: Honestly, I never thought much about design back then. I was like any other kid, who loves going outside to play. I think every designer and artist starts out the same way: by drawing something and then finding out that they’re having fun doing it. My parents didn’t really say anything to dissuade me so I kept on drawing.

ESQ: That’s cool.

HSY: Yeah. If you know Korean parents you’ll know they aren’t usually this liberal. They will be like: you’ve got to be a doctor; you have to be a lawyer; study hard. But I was lucky that my parents were open to what I could do. I did study hard, mind you, but I didn’t go out of my way to be a scholar.

ESQ: Did you attend art school instead?

HSY: A couple of my friends suggested I should go to art school or something. When I got into university and it came time to select a major, I thought I would be a painter. I spoke with my art teacher at the time and she said, why don’t you be a designer because they earn more money? It’s hard to survive as an artist. So, I took her advice and studied industrial design. I eventually got a job in Hong Kong.

ESQ: What did you work on?

HSY: Back then, I designed phones, conference systems, cameras... it was fun.

ESQ: Do you still paint?

HSY: Well, I’m a bit busy with my kids these days. I do draw for them though, and that’s actually really fun.

ESQ: Are you guided by some sort of design philosophy?

HSY: I honestly don’t know. I’m not a super designer. I’m just normal. I don’t have any deep philosophical insight into this. However, the environment at Samsonite is such that we gather a lot of feedback from the market because our main aim is to design for people who travel. And when you focus on the people who use our luggage and bags, you push yourself to deliver user-centric design. I guess that is the key to how I work.

ESQ: Is getting feedback from marketing conducive to what you do?

HSY: We have regional offices across the globe. So, here at the Asian office we design for people in this region. Similarly, the US and Europe offices design for their respective demographics. We design separately simply because people’s lifestyles and travel habits are different around the world.

ESQ: Can you give us an example?

HSY: The European luggage and bags are more colourful and sporty. Even the businessmen in Europe tend to go for more casual bags, more colourful bags. The design vibe is expressive. But in Asia, consumers prefer minimalist designs. Colourwise, they go for black or navy or something neutral. In the US, they like luggage that’s more feature-driven. It’s utility over appearance for them. I’m talking broadly about the majority of the consumer base now. We handle a wide range of Samsonite products.

ESQ: Do you also have to talk to the department behind the tech?

HSY: Of course. That’s actually very important. We have to be updated on the latest tech all the time. That’s why we have a strong product development team on site and they will brief us on the advancements. The marketing team, design team, the product development team will sit together to discuss what models will be released. Marketing can talk about upcoming trends and results of market feedback; the PD team wants to reveal a certain feature or new material. And we, the design team take all that data and come up with designs.

ESQ: Do you like that sort of restriction?

HSY: Every designer needs to work with limitations. Without limitations, that’s art. So, sometimes when someone gives me carte blanche to do whatever, I’ll be like, I don’t know what to do. It’s always good to have a guideline, a limitation. I prefer to have that. It makes it more interesting. You need the input and whole mindset of others to make the job successful.

The Samsonite Unimax Spinner, which clinched the "Best of the Best" award for Outstanding Design at Red Dot Design Awards 2022.

ESQ: You designed the Unimax Spinner and it won the Red Dot Design Award.

HSY: I’ve no idea why we won it—I didn’t get to talk to the judges so I don’t know [laughs]. But like I’ve said, this is one of our visions at Samsonite in terms of brand image and DNA. Samsonite has all kinds of designs—minimalist, explicit, fun, colourful... we have everything, but what is Samsonite’s DNA? That is the starting point.

We had a line called EVOA—same texture, no groove, very clean design. It was very successful. We believe Asian people prefer minimalist design. So we start with that, and then we say let’s improve on it. [Takes a Unimax Spinner; points to features] We put in more features like a front opening; a brake system; the Aero Trac Whirl Suspension Wheel... Normally, you’d have the logo on the front of the luggage but we’ve added the logo on the aluminium corner protector instead, where you can still see it when you look down.

At the time, in order to get a seamless design [that has curves], you’d need to mill and bend the piece, and this was an expensive process. We decided to postpone it until we managed to create that aluminium bar and corner protector. For our future product line, we’ve now managed to overcome the limitations and found a way to mill and bend multi-directionally. I think only Samsonite can do this.

ESQ: Is there a particular product you’ve done that you’re proud of?

HSY: [Points to the Unimax Spinner] This would be it. ESQ: What about something that’s not Samsonite?

HSY: Before I joined Samsonite, I worked for a company called Kohler.

ESQ: Ah, okay.

HSY: There was this toilet called Numi. I quite like this product. Very proud of it, in fact. The initial brief was: what if we can make a supercar version of a toilet? Like a Ferrari. It sounded funny but I was quite ambitious. Ok, let’s make something cool. So, the Numi was given voice control, a lot of lighting options, seat temperature, sensors that know if it’s you or someone else...

ESQ: Oh? Does it have bespoke settings for individual users?

HSY: Oh yeah! You can set it up for five or six people. When you enter the bathroom, the Numi will make a sound and light up, the seat cover rises and you sit on it. So, your pre-programmed temperature and wand position are adjusted for you.

ESQ: How does it know it’s you?

HSY: It knows you by your height and weight. There’s a sensor there. And if you want to flush, you can just say, hey, Numi, flush. When it plays music, the lighting changes... it was quite a crazy project but our team loved working on it.

Funny thing is even, though the design is done, the project remained stalled when I left. They were still working on fixing the features and that was done with a year ago. I worked on Numi for three years and left Kohler about six years ago, and it went on for another five years but they launched it. Outside of Samsonite, I feel really proud of Numi.

ESQ: Is music part of your process?

HSY: That’s a good question. Music is part of culture, am I right? So, I believe it does help. But you’ll need to experience the culture that the music is from to actually see something different.

ESQ: What is this lens that you peer through?

HSY: Even though I’m way past teenage, I still like listening to rap and hip-hop. My wife is always laughing at me, oh, you’re not a child any more, you know? Why don’t you listen to classical music or something like that?

ESQ: The luxury market is trying to infuse street culture into its products and marketing.

HSY: I feel quite weird about that because the hip-hop that I was into back then was kind of niche. Back in the day, no one really followed hip-hop. A lot of Korean parents didn’t really like it, but it appealed to me. Now, hip-hop has become super popular and every brand is doing streetwear, and promoting their wares with modern music that feature hip-hop elements.

ESQ: It’s gone mainstream.

HSY: That is why it’s hard to say that I’m into hip-hop music now, because I don’t want to be part of this mainstream. If I tell people that I’m into hip-hop, they’d think I’m just following a trend, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

ESQ: What is that one piece of design that you wish you had done?

HSY: I like Fukasawa Naoto. He’s an industrial designer who did work with Muji. I like his philosophy. One of the things he said that really impressed me was that a product doesn’t need to stand out. It needs to harmonise with your life because you see it every day. That’s why his design is very minimalist. That’s a pretty strong message as an industrial designer.

Of course, I don’t really do it that way. I still like colours but I respect what he has built during his design life. I like Virgil Abloh as well. He’s gone now, sadly, but what he’d done for the fashion industry was quite amazing. He started as an architect but he’s done awesome stuff for Nike and Louis Vuitton.

(Salehe) Bembury is another designer I like. He also started out as an industrial designer. Ah, Errolson Hugh as well. He’s crazy good. I wish I could meet him one day.

ESQ: How do you stay creative?

HSY: One of the best ways is meeting people, eating good food, having fun, travel.

ESQ: That’s basically, just living.

HSY: [Laughs] Yes. Can I show you something? [Takes out a Streamlite Neo model] You see the clean design, right? But if you looked inside... [shows a vintage pattern], I found the design from the Samsonite archives. We have a black variant of the pattern as well.

ESQ: So, this and the EvoaZ and Major Lite are the next models we can expect from Samsonite?

HSY: We are still in discussion but we need to cater to different opinions. It’s up to marketing. I’ve no idea. This takes time but this is how we work. I’m ok with it. No harm waiting, we’ll see what happens. But if the project stalls too long, then we’ll lose the chance to launch it.

ESQ: Like the Numi.

HSY: That’s right. [laughs]

ESQ: What’s the next big thing in design?

HSY: Sustainability.

ESQ: That’s every company’s buzzword.

HSY: Yes, but we need to figure it out. Using recycled material, do you think that’s sustainability? I don’t think so. I think it’s more than that. It’s about the cycle. Using recycled material in the product is the easy part but that doesn’t tackle the root problem. There’s something more to this and I can’t put my finger on it just yet.

Oh, but this is too serious. Maybe, the next big thing is luggage for space travel, who knows? Maybe it’ll be a combination with a drone so you don’t need to carry your luggage.

ESQ: Or you can attach the drone to your bag and you can carry it so you can fly. Like Doraemon.

HSY: Yeah. Exactly. That would be fun. There are already people out there who can ride on motorised luggage. I’m not sure when a drone version would happen, but I look forward to seeing it.

The RIMOWA Original Cabin Optical is quite the optical illusion.
(RIMOWA)

It's been almost 75 years since the iconic grooves that are now featured in just about every RIMOWA creation was first realised. You'd recognise a RIMOWA design from afar—way before you notice the branded plaque or the monogram—just from the grooves alone.

Save for translating the grooves on a number of different materials throughout the years, including on he Never Still series' nylon as well as the brand's revolutionary polycarbonate designs, RIMOWA hadn't changed the look of the grooves until now.

(RIMOWA)

In a limited-edition release, RIMOWA introduces the Original Cabin Optical. A departure from the clean and straightforward aesthetic that the brand is known for, the Original Cabin Optical disrupts the iconic grooves to create (as its name suggests) an optical illusion throughout the façade. At first glance, it's as if the grooves have been distorted and caused to disappear at parts; but in actuality, they're still present in their original placement. The shimmering effect visible at every single angle tricks the eyes into thinking that the grooves are jumbled up—thanks to alternating brushed and unbrushed finishes on the aluminium.

To mark the significance of this update, RIMOWA isn't restricting itself to just the exterior. The interior of the Original Cabin Optical too receives a new look with the Flex Dividers as well as the lining decorated with a jacquard pattern that mirrors the outside. Also included is a specially designed leather tag in black and featuring the same pattern as a shadowy contrast.

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(RIMOWA)
(RIMOWA)

But just how limited is this release? Only 2002 pieces—a palindromic number that's a nod to the idea of perception—are available with each individually numbered and labelled as such. If anything, that tells you how special this release is. And couple with RIMOWA's Lifetime Guarantee, talk about a limited-edition piece for life.

The RIMOWA Original Cabin Optical will be available in stores and online from 7 November 2024.

A presentation of knots and braids in constant motion.
(MAXIME VERRET)

I have been to the Collège des Bernardins in Paris a couple of times. The former Cistercian college is located on the city’s artsy left bank and has become quite a popular event space. You’d immediately be taken by its long nave stretched by magnificent Gothic vaulted arches and columns; then, a few seconds later, you’d realise how the walls have aged with a sort of chaotic uniformity.

The historical monument provided the perfect blank canvas for Hermès to present its latest dinner service. Much like the open floor plan of the Collège des Bernardins, Tressages équestres (“equestrian braiding” in French) is designed with a sense of airy quality marked by strategically placed artwork set against kaolin white porcelain.

“We wanted to carry on the theme of the equestrian world that we have referenced in our previous collection, called Saut Hermès, which was already about the theme but in a different way, in a much more figurative way,” creative director of Hermès Tableware Benoit Pierre Emery tells me. We’re in a backroom of the presentation space, sequestered from the series of scenography conceptualised by French art director Maxime Tetard where individual pieces that make up Tressages équestres are in constant rotating motion.

Virginie Jamin and Benoit Pierre Emery.
(DENIS BOULZE)

“We had in mind to do something very delicate and very precise in terms of artwork. And to go in this new direction, we wanted to work with an artist who brings a really strong sense of details, who could express and pay reverence to the craftsmen and the equestrian elements. Working with Virginie was really the best choice we could make because she has this magic hand,” Emery adds.

Virginie Jamin is the creative hand behind Tressages équestres. She is no stranger to Hermès, having first designed a porcelain ashtray for the house in 2004, which then sparked a longtime collaboration that has seen her putting her stamp on throws and almost 30 silk scarves. Emery praises Jamin’s ability to “find the perfect balance between abstraction and figuration, traditional and modernity”.

One look at Tressages équestres and you’d be able to tell the inspiration behind the collection. The dinner service references the passementerie and braiding used in harness-making—something that Hermès certainly knows a great deal about. Jamin’s line-work precisely captures the intricacies of braiding techniques while also highlighting the material that they are set on. The colours used stay true to the natural fibres employed in real-life braiding and are punctuated with bright hues the likes of lemon, mint and petrol blue. Yet, they’re not done heavy-handedly, serving only to accentuate textures and volumes.

Jamin shows me just a sliver of the equestrian paraphernalia like saddles and whips that she discovered at the Emile Hermès Museum and the Conservatoire des Créations Hermès. “There were so many options because every object is functional. And through this functionality, there is some kind of beauty,” Jamin explains. “I wanted to share that because it’s not made to be beautiful but it is beautiful. I wanted to express this in a light way with clear lines and very respectful for the work of the artisan because it’s about artisanal, about drawing, which are very important for the brand, and about the equestrian world in a very abstract way.”

The objects then informed the initial sketches for Tressages équestres. Jamin opted to transmute them into border-like motifs that trace the circumferences of each piece in the dinner service. “The purpose was to be faithful to this first vision, which is very simple and rudimentary, but everything is already there,” Jamin explains. Rudimentary as they may be to her, they’re actually already pretty impressive to begin with, at least, to my untrained eyes.

What is not rudimentary is the process of completing the entire project; Tressages équestres took nearly three years to complete. It’s not that Hermès artisans are not skilled in what they do—clearly, far from it—but rather, a lot of time and effort were put in to ensure that the very best expressions were realised, and as intended.

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For starters, the designs had to be manipulated to perfection, and with the dinner service having 27 different pieces including 10 new hollow-ware pieces, there was a lot of trial and error to best fit each of Jamin’s unique designs to the right piece. From the point of reference to scale and proportion to the colours used, every single detail had to be balanced and well thought out to an almost obsessive degree.

“Sometimes, I believe that we are a bit crazy because we are probably the only house that can really spend that much time on a set of details. But details are really important. One of the first elements that we discovered at the Conservatoire des Créations Hermès—I think it’s a very important detail—is hidden under the saddle. It lets the saddle fix to the animal and it gives security to the cavalier. We were fascinated by it because it’s so beautiful, it’s so well-knitted and handcrafted,” chimes Emery. Jamin echoes Emery’s sentiments, likening the entire process as “a balance between playing together but very seriously”.

While it may not be apparent for the unfamiliar, one of Hermès’ tenets is the element of play that’s inherent in a lot of its creations. If it’s not in the personality of a creation, play comes in the form of being able to manipulate a creation to fit your whim and fancy. With Tressages équestres, the idea is that the individual pieces are part of a bigger story realised by you. “This is a sentence, this is another, and you can compose after that, the other story you want. Then, people who buy the service can play with it, so it’s a free playground,” explains Jamin as she points to a select number of pieces stacked on the table in front of us. It would be remiss of me to not point out that the placement of the designs on each piece are so precise that it allows for stacking without obstructing even a line. Like Emery says, “crazy”.

As the creative director, it’s up to Emery to be the catalyst behind each project—finding the right person to help tell the story and expanding the Hermès universe that pays homage to its heritage in a timeless way. Tressages équestres is thoroughly Hermès in every way.

“Each new project is a new dialogue. I’ve known Virginie for a long time so it was easy for this collection,” Emery enthuses. “What I love is having a certain intuition for a project when you go and ask an artist to collaborate on a project. You have a theme in mind but you don’t have a clear idea of what it’s going to look like. That’s the magic. It’s an emotional thing to see it when it’s finished. And to be honest, you never really imagine it would be that beautiful.”

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