Monocle Weekend
Edition: Saturday

This weekend the Monocle Concierge takes us on a whirlwind tour of Washington and we find out why Kamala Harris’s sartorial style is looking presidential. Then, why a briny seaweed bath on the Irish coast is the cure you didn’t know you needed and how Tirana’s mayor went from protest to power. But first, Andrew Tuck takes us on a walk through Paris in search of inspiration.

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Tyler invited the art-and-design team to spend two days in Paris. The plan was for everyone to visit the new offices and the site of an epic project that we will be unveiling at the end of the year. More importantly, the team would see a host of places and people for a dose of Gallic inspiration. It sounded like a lot of fun so I made sure that I was on the invite list too. I committed a rookie mistake on the first day, however, dressing in a pair of polished black shoes – the only way to keep up with a Brûlé in full stride is to wear a high-performance trainer. You might even consider a few power-walking practice sessions in advance of any city tour in his presence.

Inspiration is vital in all of our lives but finding new sources of this elixir is often a neglected task. In a world where we’re carpet-bombed with imagery and information via social media, you can feel a little over-stimulated by the force feeding of too many fleeting seconds of inspiration. So while I am an Instagram user, I recognise that this is Pringle-style media. Once you’ve started devouring the content you just can’t stop and, at the end of your binge, you’re hard pressed to recall what hit you. And there’s another problem with using the likes of Instagram as a font of ideas – everyone else is too.

Back in April, during the breakfast talks that Monocle and V-Zug organised at Milan’s Pinacoteca de Brera, the designer Philippe Malouin was asked where he found his inspiration and how he began a new design commission. His answer was simple: “Books”. As he sat down to think about a project, he would avoid looking at social media, refrain from clicking on competitors’ websites and instead surround himself with books. Their pages would trigger fresh thinking – no matter the age of the title – and unearth seeds of inspiration that nobody else was discovering.

On our Paris tour we went to see many amazing places but one that entranced everyone was our invitation to see Karl Lagerfeld’s book collection. The late fashion designer bought a lot of books on everything from Kandinsky and Tadao Ando to the American Civil War to Taoism. Sometimes he purchased the same book several times, such was the pace of his literary acquisition. The books are kept in a vast, sky-lit room on shelves that run from floor to ceiling, where most are stacked horizontally in neat columns. Lagerfeld was a genius; one of the greatest designers that we’ve ever seen, an original, an aesthete. But even Lagerfeld needed inspiration – from art, photography, culture and his vast library of books.

When people ask me about the editorial complexities of making a magazine, one of the questions that often comes up is: “Where do you get all the ideas from?” There isn’t a simple answer. Over the years we’ve built a network of correspondents who tell us unique stories that our readers will want to know about, we send our reporters to trade fairs both obscure and renowned, visit cities that seem underreported and take wise folk to lunch. And, yes, we read every newspaper, magazine and book that comes our way. But sometimes we just walk a city’s streets – in our speedy power-walking shoes – taking in all it has to offer.

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There is another way to find fresh ideas (I couldn’t let this moment pass). The Monocle Quality of Life Conference is taking place in Istanbul from Thursday 10 to Saturday 12 October – expect a line-up of global speakers (and equally inspiring delegates), unique access to the city, plus lots of time with the Monocle team. Let’s also make sure we visit a good bookshop. You can purchase tickets at monocle.com/conference.

Each of the past three US presidents have brought a sartorial signature with them to the White House (writes Tomos Lewis): Barack Obama’s still-fawned-over tan suit; Donald Trump’s knee-brushing neck-ties; and Joe Biden’s classic aviator sunglasses. For Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, the garment of choice is the pussy-bow blouse. Worn for the marquee moments of her campaign so far – including her address at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last month – the blouse in various colours and fabrics conveys political and social firsts for women.

Essentially a variant of the scarf-neck blouse, the garment was revived in the 1980s when worn by women in positions of power from Wall Street to the Palace of Westminster. Margaret Thatcher, the UK’s first female prime minister, was said to be fond of its softening effect while maintaining the formality of the high office she occupied. More recently, in 2018, demonstrators in Sweden wore the blouses to show support for the late Sara Danius – then the former secretary of the Swedish Academy, who stepped down following several controversies – and for whom the tops were a familiar outfit.

By adopting the more free-flowing shirt for her presidential bid, as opposed to the uniform trouser suits of 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris is fitting in with barrier-breaking women of the past. As Harris campaigns to become the first woman elected as US president, Democrats are hoping her style will help to put a bow on that victory come election day.

Irish people have long praised the therapeutic effects of a seaweed bath (writes Mary Fitzgerald). For centuries, luxuriating in a tub filled with heated seawater and iodine-rich algae has been considered a cure for aches and pains. In recent years the practice has undergone a resurgence, expanding from the more traditional bathhouses still found in many coastal towns – the oldest of which dates back to the 19th century – to an outdoor version using upcycled Irish whiskey barrels. The seaweed bath revival is concentrated along the Wild Atlantic Way, a 2,600km driving route that hugs Ireland’s rugged western coast.

I tried the alfresco version on a recent visit to Doolin, a village perched on the Atlantic in County Clare. Sitting in our individual wooden barrels on the seafront, blissfully immersed in warm briny water spiked with oily, silk-smooth seaweed freshly harvested that morning, we watched the sun set over the western edge of Europe. A tonic indeed. Owner Owen Boyden told us the concept has proven extremely popular since he established his business in 2018. It’s not hard to envisage the experience taking off beyond Ireland. It’s a final restorative dip before the end of summer.

The Monocle Concierge is our purveyor of top tips and delectable recommendations for your next trip. If you’re planning to go somewhere nice and would like some advice, clickhere. We will answer one question a week.

Dear Concierge,

My husband and I are going to Washington in autumn for four nights and are overwhelmed with options. How would you recommend balancing the capital’s museums and landmarks with less structured exploration of the local scene?

Julia Springolo,
Canada

Dear Julia,

We feel your sense of overwhelmed-ness upon visiting the US capital but we’d argue it’s actually quite a manageable (and walkable) city. Most of the key museums and monuments are located along the Washington Mall – and they’re nearly all free. So as long as you bring some good walking shoes, you can pop in and out of all the must-sees: The Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum is hard to miss, while the National Museum of Asian Art and the Korean War Memorial are among the more unique options. If you’re running out of daylight hours, some museums open late on certain day. The Library of Congress, for example, has extended hours on Thursdays and often plays host to special events.

A bit off the beaten track, a quick trip into Virginia can bring you to George Washington’s historic Mount Vernon. Stop off for the evening in Old Town Alexandria, which is equally idyllic but (slightly) less touristy than its more familiar counterpart, Georgetown. And for entertainment, if you’re there in early October, we’d suggest a performance of Mister Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre, which also happens to be the site of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Check out the social calendar of national embassies too: Washington is the heart of global diplomacy and many embassies host concerts and events. It’s a great way to see soft power in action. Have a wonderful trip.

Erion Veliaj has been mayor of Tirana since 2015. He spoke to Monocle at the recent Globsec Forum in Prague about the lessons learned in mayoral life and what he wishes he had known before taking office.

Is it fair to characterise the Pyramid of Tirana – the building that was supposed to be Enver Hoxha’s mausoleum – as a sort of metaphor for what you’ve tried to do?
The pyramid was meant to celebrate an authoritarian ruler [Hoxha] of the most isolated country in the world. He passed away in 1985, before the pyramid was completed. But they finished it later, right before the communist regime collapsed. Afterward it became a disco and then a Nato headquarters during the Kosovo War. It went into complete decay. It’s now the biggest academy of digital literacy in the Balkans: the kids of Tirana get free courses in Python, Java, artificial intelligence, robotics, augmented reality and virtual reality.

You’ve been in office almost a decade. Is there anything you know about the job now that you wish you’d known nine years ago?
That the power of cities is tremendous. There are some fantastic networks in Europe, such as the Pact of Free Cities, initially started by Warsaw, Budapest, Prague and Bratislava as a resistance towards authoritarian governments. Eurocities is one of the leading voices for urban change and climate resilience. So there are so many networks that you don’t know about if you’re not in the job. Now I happen to lead some of these agencies, including B40, the Balkan city network. Some countries don’t get along because, you know, they don’t allow someone’s flag they don’t recognise. But in a city network it doesn’t matter if they’re from Kosovo, Serbia, North Macedonia or Bosnia: metropolises have an easier time sitting around a table with their city flags than nation states do with their paraphernalia.

Looking back even further, is there anything that you wish you could tell your young-activist self about the reality of politics?
I spent a decade trying to overthrow governments and another decade trying to build one. I realise now that the latter is a bit more difficult. But I think that passion is still in me and I have a sense of revolt if things don’t work.

Do you enjoy protests against you?
I feel tempted to join. Though angry protests are less articulate than protests that use humour, theatre and mockery. So I almost feel as though I should tell them that this is not how you do it; be fun. But I also know the formula for not being attacked and criticised – do nothing. I’ve seen politicians who leave no mark. I’d always take Tirana rather than being a mayor in some country that’s utterly boring and almost too perfect to enjoy. The drama of the Balkans, matched with creativity, can produce amazing success stories – and Tirana is one of them.

Private White VC has been making clothes from the same redbrick factory on the banks of Manchester’s River Irwell since 1853. When the label was founded, the northern English city was known as “Cottonopolis” due to its profusion of such enterprises and its centrality to the global garment trade. Today its manufacturing star has somewhat faded. But by focusing on high-quality fabrics and time-honoured processes, Private White has been able to keep a vestige of the Cottonopolis flame alive.

The brand’s latest collaboration is with another Manchester icon, the painter LS Lowry, whose landscapes of English industrial life feature armies of matchstick men clad in the appurtenances of the time: tweed overcoats, corduroy blazers and ankle-high leather boots. Private White’s beady eye has taken this adored mid-century style and updated it for the postmodern age. This latest collection, which goes on sale today, features denim shirts, Ventile rain macs and cosy cashmere cardigans perfectly equipped for those seasonal shifts. Our particular favourite is this no-nonsense-named pocket jacket. Its cotton-canvas exterior will suit in rain, shine and whatever you call that spitting bit between the two. privatewhitevc.com

For more all-weather reporting, pick up a copy of Monocle’s latest issue or subscribe today. Have a great Saturday.