In Brazil, Fashion Flares Passions

Welcome to Daslu, luxury shopping mecca of São Paulo, Brazil. Started by a lawyer's wife in 1958, the iconic and shamelessly opulent "fashion emporium" reluctantly tells the divisive story of modern Brazil.

Daslu's began when Lucia (mother of current owner Eliana Tranchesi) began purchasing luxury goods on her world travels. She brought the loot home to sell to her fellow society wives. As her maids served tea and tended to her guest, Lucia played personal shopper and the service model, so rare in shopping these days, remains basically the same to this day.

The model has been scaled up, up of corse. Even though Eliana walks the floor herself, the personal shopper role is now filled by the daughters of society. A Brazilian version of the Southern Debutant, the girls guide their assigned shopper through the maze that is Daslu.

The current building's layout is a glammed up homage home atmosphere of the original. As the original Daslu grew, Lucia bought up homes surrounding her own, connecting each with a breezeway and assigning each room a brand or a theme. By the 1990's word was spreading and a curious Chanel representative stopped by. Astonished, he quickly demanded a store. Other brands eventually followed suit.

In 2005 Dalsu, now spanning 23 houses, had maxed out on space and built it's current 180,000 square foot location. The site, menacingly close to a massive favela, a Brazialian shantytown, quickly stirred up social tension in Sao Paolo. The New York Times reports:

"Only days before Daslu moved to its new location...Brazil's minimum wage is $125 a month, and nearly a third of the population lives on less than $2 a day. Daslu's new location has made it a flashpoint for debate on social inequities in Brazil."

A decorative helicopter, often dressed to suit the season.

Protests quickly followed, but to be rich in São Paolo means to travel with security. The insular upper class enters the twice gated Daslu compound in armored limos, (or São Paolo's current favorite mode of transport, helicopter) and cross the threshold into a world where style and affluence can be flaunted without fear of attack from the desperately poor. Outside, they fear simply walking down the street. Inside, women freely disrobe on the sales floor to try on the latest from Paris. This has elvelated Deslu from shopping experience to a social hub for the elite.

According to businessoffashion.com Daslu continues to thrive despite retailers setting up their own shops in emerging shopping districts. This is thanks largely in part to the service, including those personal shoppers

After all, "who better to give style advice than people who really understand that helicopter world that these women live in?"

Check out the Book Delux by Dana Thomas for more info on Daslu and the global luxury industry.

Dear GM, Please Explain

The McKinsey Quarterly has posted an interview with Yin Tongyao, CEO of one of China's fastest growing automakers, Chery. 

If you feel like you have heard this name before, it's the Chinese automaker in the running to buy Volvo from Ford, was sued by GM for copying car design (see the QQ, Chery's most popular model, above) and almost built Chrysler's Dodge Hornet.

In the interview he describes early international influence on the car's they produce and how his small but agile company became quite accidentally globalized. 

It makes one wonder, what the heck were the "Big 3" doing?

yes, it really says that

Mr. Tongyao explains the evolution of Chery:

"The first batch of engines was developed in partnership with AVL List, a European design company... Eventually, we became a leader in engine technology in China.

Later, we cooperated with Italian companies on car design. To lower costs, we outsourced only part of the design and tried to do everything else ourselves, so all of our employees were able to improve their skills. 

Our global strategy came about quite by accident. At the beginning, we only had our eyes on the domestic market. We did not come up with the “brilliant idea” of starting to export to developing markets before breaking into more mature ones, because we were not that business savvy.

In 2001, shortly after Chery was permitted to sell cars, a Syrian car dealer saw the first model of our cars in Beijing and wanted to import from us. With no prior international trading experience, we almost refused him. Eventually, this car dealer bought 10 cars from us in that year, 100 cars in the year after, and over 1,000 in the third year. Gradually, Iran and other countries began to show interest in Chery. This is how we broke into the Middle East market. It’s the same for other markets—instead of our reaching out to car dealers, they came to us first."

True story or playing coy? Either way Chery is slowly become a force in the global auto biz.

Brazil: More to Offer than Soccer Players and Victoria's Secret Models

New York's MoMA stores are currently featuring Brazilian product design and designers. It's like Carnaval for design, but less naked.

Many items are simply great pieces that happen to be from Brazilian designers. Naturally ArtifactNouveau has pulled some highlights that dive a little deeper.

This clutch is hand-woven from traditional Chita fabric. This charismatic cotton fabric immigrated to Brazil with the Portuguese. It's typically printed with large colorful flowers and fell out of fashion as a bit stereotypical and passe. It has recently experienced a revival as trendy Brazilian designers like Jussara Lee use the traditional fabric in new ways.

Brazil's reputation as a leader in the furniture market is growing at a ridiculous rate. By 2006 estimates the $6.6 billion industry supports 16,000 furniture factories, and the sector employs 195,000 people. The industry continues to expand despite the rough global economy.

Of course it is the the vast amount of resources available in Brazil make it natural fit for furniture production, for better or worse. These "Wooden Block Robots" attempt to make the most of these resources as they are made from scrap wood from furniture factories.

$6.6 billion also happens to be the GDP of one Gisele Bundchen. No word on how her scraps can be recycled but Leonardo DiCaprio seems to be doing just fine.

Last we have a figa charm, abstracted from the traditional figa hand symbol. The figa, protection from the "evil eye" especially for mothers and children, has its roots in Ancient Rome. The symbol has made a storied journey through history and humanity to be "imported" to Brazil where it's meaning has evolved to a simple, but well known good luck symbol.

IKEA (PS We're Swedish)

Affordable design giant IKEA will be launching its PS 2009 line in a handful of US stores this August. 

The collection is part of an old notion that is recently gaining new momentum: "Culture as a Brand"

With this PS Collection, Ikea is mining Sweden's rich cultural and artisan heritage, mass producing it, and making it understandable to a worldwide audience.

A good example of this "evolution" of sorts, was PENDEL based on traditional Scandinavian clock style known as Mora.

moraclocks.co.uk offers a brief history of the clock.

"The ubiquitous sexy hourglass swedish 'Mora' clocks that we all know and love originally came from around the town of Mora in the Dalarna region of central sweden.

As agriculture and mining failed in the mid 1700s, the locals turned to clockmaking to make ends meet with families specialising in making or painting different parts of the clock,the movement or the face and incorporating them into other furniture including cabinets and even beds.

It is said that in the 1800s nearly 100 families were involved at the height of 'Mora' production although taxation and labour costs eventually curtailed production.

All of the products in the line are backed up by similar stories and history lessons.

Check out IKEA UK for the videos explaining the enchanting PS story.

Design Week Goodness

Artifact Nouveau is currently running around NYC covering the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and Design Week. Expect info from Brazil, Japan, and of course that epicenter of furniture design, Italy.

The New York Times narrows down the ridiculous list of events.

If you must, the full list can be found at Core77

Cue the Neil Diamond 'cause They're Comin' to America

click image to enlarge

GOOD Magazine released an great (legal) Immigration Infographic. So many of these groups stay segregated in their own communities it's easy to be ignorant to the true numbers. Something to consider next time you assume you know who you are designing for.

"Immigration may have taken a back seat during the financial crisis, but the issue still needs resolving. While illegal immigrants sneaking over the border is still a primary concern, it’s good to know who came to our country legally, and from where. Our latest transparency is a look at the 20 countries from which the most people came to America in 2008. How many immigrants already had family here, and how many received asylum when they arrived on our shores."

Info and Graphic via GOOD

Barbie Gets Shanghai'd

After extensively researching what lucky city would play host to the much hyped Barbie flagship store, Mattel chose the blondest and biggest breasted city it could think of: Shanghai.

The project, which obviously looks amazing, is a leap of faith for Mattel. They are looking toward China's fashion forward fringe to grow into a large and profitable sector as that "Chinese middle class" everyone is salivating over grows by leaps and bounds. Shanghai's has the become the center of such emerging label worship.  

One would assume Barbie would look a little different for her Asian demographic, allow BBC News to clarify:

"Interestingly though, it is the blond, stick-thin, traditional model of Barbie that most people seem to be buying, despite the fact there are other, more Asian looking versions on sale."

Annie Wang, the managing editor of Shanghai Tatler, explains: 

"I think my friends' baby girls don't really differentiate Barbie as a Western brand," she argues. "They see Barbie or they see Lion King as part of their life. It's just another alternative, like they eat Chinese food but they also know about McDonald's."

The store is designed for all ages as the brand strategy targets a wider age range in China. Children obviously after another toy, while young adults and mothers are drawn to the fashionable image of the doll and the experience they can share with their daughters.

How long Western brands will maintain their chic image in China waits to be seen, but many companies are making large bets that it will last a long long time.

Info via BBC

Images Via ArchDaily

The Toothpick: The Artifact Nouveau Concept Exemplified

I had the distinct pleasure of viewing a screening of Gary Hustwit's (of "Helvetica" fame) latest documentary "Objectified." While most of the film reads like a "masters of design" poster in your university hallway, there were many great tidbits to found in these intimate conversations with all-star designers and design thinkers.

For our interests, the most notable section of the film was an explanation of the Japanese toothpick. It was new to me that there even was a "Japanese style" toothpick. In fact, every time I had encountered said object before, I couldn't stop visualizing very small people on very small lathes adding detail for details sake. Turns out those notches are actually scoring marks for a snap off stand. A cultural gesture expected in Japan (ex. chopstick rests) but lost amidst other cultures.

A little further research turned out a great NPR story of a man dedicated to the story of the humble toothpick. There you can find even more info and, yes, a book on the subject.

Apparently, the Portuguese like their toothpicks fancy and (gasp) reusable.

Same problem, culture specific solutions.

Then there is America's toothpick innovation brought to you by Fred

Interpret that how you please.

To look for screening in your area visit http://www.objectifiedfilm.com/screenings/

Objectified Still via Objectifiedfilm.com

Images via NPR and Fred

China's Booming Cell Phone Market

Frog Design's Design Mind Online Magazine released a great article profiling China's mobile subscribers.

The article considers

*the battle for rural areas as cities are nearing 100% mobile penetration

*the youth of the market

*the surprising amount of elderly receptive to the mobile market.

The cultural importance of keeping a family close combined with the trend of youth moving to cities and leaving their parents in the countryside has created a boom in both demographics. This is unlike the west where many older consumers don't trust technology and continue on with land lines.

Bandai One Step Closer to Creating a Race of Perfect Females

On Febuary 7 Bandai Japan released "The Onna Dameshi (Girl Tester) comes with a total of pre-installed 100 questions, such as “What phrase will make boys happy when said out of jealousy by their  girlfriends?” or “What type of hair style do men usually prefer their girlfriends to have?”. The answers are the result of questionnaires given the Japanese men.

Hopefully the device isn't hackable otherwise you could end up with:

Question: Should I be okay with my boyfriend having multiple partners?

Answer: That's totally normal. Don't question it.

Question: How do I make a man want to date me.

Answer: Well first you could *$!# his &@^#. If that doesn't work try *@^!ing for a while.

The product goes along with the Japanese trend of identifying and packaging interactions into micro gadgetry. These mini interactions have become so ubiquitous in Japan that there are countless examples. Another personal favorite, "The Poking Box' pictured below

As far as American venture into the category, most have been for children. Worth a look is Radica's cube world.

 

Gotta give Japan the win here.

Bandai Info via Crunch Gear

Obama Attempts to "Train" Old Dog Americans

Whitehouse.gov annouced a "vision" for high speed rail yesterday. 

The President explained:

In France, high-speed rail has pulled regions from isolation, ignited growth, remade quiet towns into thriving tourist destinations.  In Spain, a high-speed line between Madrid and Seville is so successful that more people travel between those cities by rail than by car and airplane combined.  China, where service began just two years ago, may have more miles of high-speed rail service than any other country just five years from now.  And Japan, the nation that unveiled the first high-speed rail system, is already at work building the next:  a line that will connect Tokyo with Osaka at speeds of over 300 miles per hour.  So it's being done; it's just not being done here.

 

There are not-so-soft whispers of France's SNCF hoping to head the project.

SNCF gave a contract for new train to Canada's Bombardier in late 2006. The trains (see moderately sweet concept above) are to start service later this year.

Any possibility of the high speed train industry translating well to the US market?

While I expect many Americans to be excited about the plan, introducing the idea as "hey let's be more like France" might not have been the best strategy for the Red States.

Volvo Makes Adorable Attempt to Appeal to "Fast and Furious" Fans

I suppose even our no-nonsense scandinavian design friends need a splash of uncalled-for patternation every now and then. Starting April 7th, Sweds (Sweeds?) had access to new C30's that are expected to break the record for fastest decline in resale value...ever.

GM has taken note and will soon be offering the following patterns:

*flames

*bald eagles with American flag backgrounds

*"No Fear" themes

*giant hood image of Calvin peeing on the Ford logo.

Image and actual facts via NotCot.org

Chinese Car Designers Can't Get Jobs, Detroit Designers Unamused

As Chinese Automakers find themselves in the market for some foreign auto units. Most notably Geely's hope to bid for Ford's Volvo's Unit, many are curious as to how PRC companies will overcome their greatest hurdle. Design

The Wall Street Journal reports:

"A senior executive of one small auto maker in Hebei recently laid it out for us over a cup of tea: the reason his company can sell cars much cheaper than foreign auto makers who also produce cars in China, he said, is that his company does no engineering or design work whatsoever. Instead, they tell an outside engineering consultant which existing model they want to copy, and ask them to come up with a product counterfeited in a way that it won’t attract intellectual property lawsuits. In some cases that means companies combining styling ideas from two separate cars into one.

The problem isn’t a lack of talent — as China Journal found one recent day on a visit to the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. There we met Phoenix Wang and Jackie Lin, two students whose edgy car designs have put them near the top of their class. Both Wang, a 22 year old from Sichuan, and Lin, a 23 year old from Guangdong, have long been determined to pursue car design professionally. But they and their peers have dim prospects in a domestic industry that doesn’t value their skills."

Images Via Gems Sty

Dubai Leaves the US in the Dust...or Should I Say Sand?

Recession be damned. Dubai, home of the world's ______-est (enter adjective) _____ (enter noun) continues it's "one-up" frenzy with Dubailand, a development project so extreme the entrance to the place, The City of Arabia (see top picture) cost $5 billion alone.

The desert development has heavy Western participation ranging from a Six Flags, a Tiger Woods golf experience, and most notably a Universal Studios brought to you by GE's NBC Universal branch.

So what gives the "Arab Disneyland" it's Middle Eastern flavor? 

*An Islamic culture area shaped like a falcon, a cultural symbol of the United Arab Emirates

*A Dubai bazaar featuring true-to-region architecture, music, and market shopping

And thats about it.

The rest of the attractions, including a snow dome, water park, equestrian center, global village, and yes, life sized animatronic dinosaurs while grand, remain culture neutral or worse, decidedly Western.

Dubai, like the west, only more kick-ass.

Google Offers Up A Deal Chinese Consumers (hopefully) Can't Refuse.

In a valiant attempt to trump Baidu, China's leading search engine which holds about 62% of the market, Google China (28% of the market) is now offering the one thing any internet user could never resist: free music downloads.  The New York Times reports

"Google executives said they were responding to the phenomenal popularity of free music downloads in China and were acting legally by forming an alliance with the music industry, including Sony BMG Music Entertainment, EMI Group, Universal Music and the Warner Music Group."

Baidu itself is currently being sued by aforementioned record companies for making access to free illegal downloads too easy. Google is hoping it's legal music access will prompt Chinese users to make the switch.

No word on whether or not a song about freeing Tibet would pop up on either search engine.