The Monocle Minute

Over the past few weeks, the Monocle team has visited design weeks in Paris, Helsinki and London. In each city, temporary installations have taken over furniture showrooms, galleries and public spaces. While it’s fun to frolic in a folly on the parade ground of the Chelsea College of Arts (which you can do this week), it makes you question the purpose and legacy of such installations beyond these events.

If you ask the likes of Tokyo-based designer Hideki Yoshimoto, who has curated a showcase called Craft x Tech that pairs Japanese artisans with leading contemporary talent, fairs such as the London Design Festival are key to shining a spotlight on lesser-known crafts. “It helps to encourage design cultures to survive,” said Yoshimoto at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where his exhibition is on display. “My aim is to contribute to a creative movement that could shape a part of future history.” In short, by bringing these craftspeople to the fore, other designers might realise the potential of their skills in real-world practice.

It’s similar for Steve Webb of Webb Yates Engineers, who is behind the Off the Shelf pavilion at London’s Olympia. The engineer worked with designer Rio Kobayashi to build the house-sized structure using very few screws, nuts and bolts. “We could use this approach to construct bigger buildings in the future,” he said. “The pavilion presents an opportunity to take risks and experiment with different concepts.”

But how do we ensure that these lessons are actually put into practice? And how do we make designers engage with traditional Japanese crafts, say, or encourage engineers to use Webb’s ideas to build bigger with less? Perhaps it involves adapting principles from another industry and its flagship events. Take Copenhagen Fashion Week, which has strict sustainability criteria that participants have to adhere to. Design weeks – in London, Paris and Helsinki – could introduce a follow-up clause, whereby participants must show that they have further explored their ideas after the events. It would guarantee that these festivals aren’t just a frivolity – but serious fun too.

Nic Monisse is Monocle’s design editor. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

With Germany toughening its stance on migration following an increase in arrivals from Greece and a rise in support for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, tensions are rising between Berlin and Athens. Greece’s migration minister, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, is in the German capital today to attend a conference addressing the issue. The discussions at the conference will be pivotal to shaping bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as the future of Europe’s approach to migration.

Germany’s reintroduction of checks on all nine of its land borders has drawn criticism from several of its European partners, who complain that its decision to impose tighter restrictions endangers the Schengen Area’s free-movement principles. The strain has prompted renewed scrutiny of the EU’s border policies. Athens, meanwhile, has advocated for a more equitable distribution of responsibility for migrants. The outcome will be closely watched across the continent.

To mark “130 years of creativity”, Galeries Lafayette, France’s largest department store, is launching a series of exclusive luxury collaborations. The Paris department store has tapped top designers such as Ami Paris, Marine Serre, Louis Gabriel Nouchi (who was behind costumes for the Paralympics) and Victoria Beckham to create limited-edition collections.

Galeries Lafayette has also unveiled The Anniversary Table, a unique dining experience in partnership with Moët & Chandon. The tasting sessions will take place under the shop’s classic art deco dome, offering 360-degree views of the floors below. Department stores elsewhere should take note and inject a little more joy and surprise into the shopping experience too.

Almar Latour is the CEO of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Here, he talks to Monocle about the recent release of its reporter Evan Gershkovich from a Russian prison, the importance of print and the need to have a global perspective.

The story of Evan Gershkovich’s release garnered a lot of attention. What was it like for ‘The Wall Street Journal’ to be involved in it?
I can’t recall a single moment from the past few decades when the entire media industry came together to fight for one cause. And that’s because, in addition to Evan’s freedom, it was about press freedom across the world – something that is under threat in autocratic countries. There was a lot of solidarity based on the fact that what happened to him could have happened to any journalist. As a brand, we decided to be loud about it. Our editor in chief, Emma Tucker, and I pushed hard to put a spotlight on his story. It was amazing when he was released. But it was also a difficult year and a half for him, his family and the company.

Is print media still important to you?
What’s not to love about print? The tradition, the crinkling sound of the paper, the focused information and the news choices that have been made – it is a service. We have hundreds of thousands of loyal customers who still cherish and love print. I am the first to know about it. If a copy of The Wall Street Journal doesn’t get delivered, I receive letters, emails and calls. It’s important that we put our customers first. Major shifts are under way in print but the medium is still a very important part of our business. We will continue to offer it as long as there are people who cherish it.

Are there any new markets that you’re interested in investing in?
The Wall Street Journal has long been an established presence in Asia and hundreds of people work there for Dow Jones. It’s an area where there is a premium on factual information, and where business and geopolitical developments are really dynamic. But we want to grow in all parts of the world. There are, unfortunately, very few publications and media organisations that have a global reach these days. And I say “unfortunately” because it’s important to have competition around the world. It is also crucial to have an international understanding of the positions that governments are taking and the trends that are occurring in different nations. If you don’t offer that information, it’s harder for customers to make the right decisions.

For our full interview with Latour, tune in to the latest episode of ‘The Stack’ on Monocle Radio.

Monocle’s Andrew Mueller finds out about Soviet-era rock’n’roll in Ukraine ahead of the release of Even the Forest Hums: Ukrainian Sonic Archives 1971-1996. Plus: we discuss a new biography about filmmaker Agnès Varda and hear from Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic.