October / Global
At the front
What we’re celebrating this month. Plus: the art of composing for cinema.
how to live: uniforms
Looks can kill
Tyler Brûlé on why brands need to take back control of their image.
In the past few weeks, uniforms and guidelines have become leading topics among clients. Over dinner in Zürich, a ceo asked me to find out how a competitor was able to keep staff looking so well groomed while he was fighting a running battle about whether or not female staff should have to shave their legs or if male staff could wear jangly earrings. Meanwhile, in Toronto, a global hospitality group told me that it was struggling to define itself as premium because too many staff members were resisting guidance about what to wear. I keep hearing the same questions: “How did we let things get so baggy? When did we lose our courage to fight for our brand?”
I usually interject with the reminder that the uniform is alive and well in many parts of the world. “But how do we get back to where we were 10 years ago?” clients would ask. In the case of the company in Toronto, I said that it would require its board to jettison some inclusivity initiatives in favour of brand preservation. Such advice used to be met with spasms of wincing but it’s now clear to most that something has to give. Many companies are weighing up how to bolster their customer base and build brand loyalty through superior products and service delivery rather than political gestures. The Toronto executive summed it up best. “We have lost our best people because they were embarrassed by colleagues showing up for their shift in slippers,” he said. “It all happened on our watch.” —
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Turn of events
Recent times have been filled with good wine, great discourse and even better company. Here is a glimpse into some of our recent celebrations. —
Paris, 27 June
Bureau opening in the French capital.
Milan, 16 July
Mingling alla milanese.
Zürich, 27 August
Summer party at our Swiss HQ.
Alexandra Stréliski
Pianist and composer
Alexandra Stréliski is a Canadian neo-classical pianist and composer. Alongside her albums Pianoscope, Inscape and Néo-Romance, she’s worked on television and movie scores for Dallas Buyers Club, Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects. She tells us about gauging a city by its markets, her current podcast tip and her love of Brian Eno.
What’s your morning news fix?
If I’m in Montréal, I like to read La Presse and Le Devoir, and internationally I tend to have a look at Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The New York Times and Le Monde.
Coffee, tea or something pressed?
I take my coffee black. I do that on tour – it’s much simpler that way.
Your favourite weekend market?
I live in Rotterdam for half of the year and every Saturday, I’ll buy some fish and grab an Indonesian snack from its market. You can tell a lot about the people, produce, history and the variety of cultures by a country’s markets.
And a favourite bookshop?
I also live in Montréal’s Mile End, and one place I love is Drawn & Quarterly, which has a great selection of books for gifts.
Any podcast recommendations?
Recently, I got into the podcast, History of Ideas. It’s about understanding philosophical debates with a contemporary outlook.
What’s on the airwaves before drifting off?
I’ve been listening to Brian Eno’s ambient works for years to calm down and relax. It really is my go-to to get my head out of the world. Thank you for this, Brian!
Waste not…
Anyone who has recently ventured into a park or spent a day at the beach in Helsinki knows that the city has a problem. Or 5,338 problems, to be precise. That’s how many geese the authorities say have made their home in the city and its leisure areas. Not only can these geese get aggressive but their faeces litter much of Helsinki’s coastline. To make matters trickier, this particular species, the barnacle goose, is protected by the EU, meaning that Helsinki has had to come up with some rather innovative ways to deter them…
This summer, the Finnish capital experimented with fencing in, not birds, but humans. It turns out that the urban geese, despite having wings to fly with, opt to walk in cities rather than become airborne. However, by installing fences just high enough so that the geese can’t be bothered to jump over them has meant Helsinki has turned to enclosing areas in parks en masse for people to enjoy without the birds bothering them. And, so spoiled are these urban geese that show a preference for manicured lawns, that this has also resulted in the city to curb cutting the grass in certain parks.
Some have suggested a softer strategy: adaptation. If we are to coexist with the geese, let’s at least have better tools. Helsinki recently launched an open competition to design a more effective shovel for the 45 city officials tasked with collecting the geese’s waste. We’re waiting for those results to drop soon.
The government has promised to help as well. In its policy programme, it says it will allow people to hunt for barnacle geese. Some skilful EU-level diplomacy is needed first, but in a country that boasts more than 300,000 active hunters, it would be an effective solution. We’re just not sure how many people would enjoy hanging out in parks with bullets flying around.
Perfect shot
A fleeting visit to the verdant Alpine Austrian town of Bad Ischl might sound like an idyllic trip to the land of The Sound of Music, but reporting trips are never as tranquil as one might imagine. Coordinating the calendars of 12 members of the region’s cultural programme to find a convenient time for a group shot (see page 44) is a challenge in and of itself. The selected time for the photoshoot happened to be during rush hour and the location – chosen for its quaint Austrian spires to create an atmospheric backdrop – happened to be a through road. It made for an amusing episode of role play as a school crossing patrol officer when I found myself halting residents on their way to work, apologising in broken German for blocking their way. Meanwhile the photographer, perched on a rickety stepladder for a privileged viewpoint, took the 10-second break in the traffic to snap as many pictures as possible. When it comes to getting that perfect shot for a monocle feature, we’re prepared to move mountains – and a number of cars.
Three things you’ll learn
Exploring the intricacies of national fineries, catching up with deft designers who are jacks of all trades, plus an American political spectrum that isn’t so fractured after all.
1.
National dress is alive
From a Malaysian kebaya, Nigerian agbada suits or Qatari dishdashas, designers, craftspeople and young professionals across the world have found traditional clothing is now filtering into the worlds of fashion, culture and politics. Young Emirati Saaed Al Mheiri told us, “Traditional clothing balances timeless elegance and a deep connection to values passed down through generations.” Dig out your lederhosen.
2.
Do it all, all by yourself
Travelling to Istanbul ahead of this year’s Quality of Life Conference, we met the city’s multidisciplinary studios proving that a can-do, do-it-all attitude is sometimes all it takes. “In the morning you’re dealing with design, at lunchtime it’s the budgets and then you’re fixing a water leak,” says Inanc Eray, explaining that the city’s designers are taking it all on.
3.
There is goodwill left in American politics
For this issue, monocle sat down with journalists from across America’s news outlets to talk business, and an election. Despite the doomsayers, positive attitudes remain strong. Bret Baier, Fox News’ chief political anchor believes there is a clear need for a bipartisan show from politicians. “I think that there is hunger for a more formal way,” he told monocle’s US editor Christopher Lord.
global
Seasonal sights
Join in on the fun in the forthcoming season of mists and mellow fruitfulness (as John Keats wrote about autumn) with this trio of events that monocle has planned for this October:
1. Celebrate the new quarter with us at our Zürich HQ where an autumn market will be taking place 5 October.
2. We’re heading to Istanbul from 10 to 12 October for our annual Quality of Life Conference.
3. The Monocle Shop has now landed at Frankfurt Airport. Come by for gifts if you’re passing through Terminal 1.
