Monocle Weekend
Edition: Saturday

This week’s dispatch is the perfect accessory to your weekend. From the top we’ll be donning the Harris/Walz camouflage cap and heading out into the Pacific Northwest to forage for chanterelles. Then it’s time to indulge ourselves in Istanbul with the Monocle Concierge before we sit down with Japan’s sartorial oracle, Hirofumi Kurino. Here to set us off in style, Andrew Tuck enjoys a summer encore in Palma de Mallorca.

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After Monocle’s 2025 planning session in Zürich this past week, I exited stage left and, instead of returning to London, went back to Palma de Mallorca. In Europe at this time of year, flying just a couple of hours south can feel akin to time travel, returning you from the early throes of autumn to summer again. On the first morning I awoke to a big blue sky and the pleasant sound of tennis being played on the clay courts of the Palma Sport & Tennis Club that sits in front of my home. Birkenstocks and shorts were ready for an October encore.

As the other half was on hound duty in London, I had the apartment, and the days, to myself. I messaged a few friends to see who was around and my dance card was soon organised for dinners and drinks. But when life gives you these social firebreaks, it’s also good to have no plans, to see where the day, and the road, takes you. To find some joy in being alone.

In the slow, complicated process of getting to know a place, we all find ways of navigating a town, a city. I like to walk, to read Palma through its rich architecture, its design, its galleries (well, the good ones). It’s the same with the island. I drive to a town I don’t know, find a café, say hello to people and track down interesting buildings. My partner is more than happy for these expeditions to be undertaken solo.

On Sunday, even after a late night with Chiara and Roberto, I was in the car by 09.00. The architect Antoni Alomar built two churches in Mallorca in the 1960s, both in the southeast of the island. They are modernist beauties – concrete, warm timber, vast volumes, reimagined iconography, simplicity and adornment carefully calibrated. The only problem is getting in. The churches are only open if there’s a service, which is rare, and the last thing that a priest wants is some architecture junkie wandering around taking pictures when he’s trying to conjure up the sublime. “Don’t mind me!”

I had already managed to visit the church at Es Llombards and now wanted to see the one in the seaside town of Colonia de Sant Jordi. Yet again the satnav wouldn’t play ball, so by the time I arrived the priest was already in full swing. I waited and the moment the parishioners started departing, slipped in. The priest was deep in religious chat but there was a caretaker-come-bellringer. I explained my mission. Could I walk around, perhaps take some pictures? He beamed. He loved this place. He took me to see a side chapel and showed me where I could get a better view of the walled garden. Then, while he replaced a large statue of Christ on the altar and made everything shipshape, he left me to sit, to look, to be alone. I marvelled at the kindness of strangers and at how uplifting and entrancing the work of an architect making village churches some 60 years ago could be. Thoughts soared. Although I could have done without the parking ticket.

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Finally, the last call for your flight to Istanbul. This time next week, team Monocle and the delegates and speakers at the Monocle Quality of Life Conference will be tucking in to a tasty Turkish breakfast (“I’ll have the menemen eggs, please, and at least two coffees”). Now, if you shake a leg, rather than malingering under the duvet, you too could be having a side order of freshly baked bread and honey in our fine company. There are still a few tickets available. All you need to do is get your credit card out and visit monocle.com/conference or, if you need any assistance, contact my colleague Hannah Grundy, our events supremo, at hg@monocle.com.

Oh, and here’s why you should come. We’ll have a masterclass on branding, insights from entrepreneurs with dynamic companies, deep briefings on global security, unique access to our host city, the opportunity to meet a triumvirate of mayors with powerful personal stories and much, much more. Plus, there will be a great reception, fun dinner and no doubt some late-night dancing (hence those coffees). Oh, and Istanbul. Last-minute decisions can be life changers. Come.

With only a month to go until the US elections, both sides are exploring every avenue to attract voters (writes Sarah Browne). One such avenue is merch. In 2016, the Trump camp successfully adopted the red baseball cap in its branding. But this year the Democrats are hitting back with a fashion statement of their own. Since its launch this summer – when it sold out in a 30-minute scramble – the Harris/Walz camouflage hat has become a trademark accessory in liberal enclaves across the country. But has it missed its mark with Middle American voters? Given camouflage’s long popularity in blue-collar workwear, many assumed that the campaign was trying to rebrand a traditionally Republican-coded style to attract swing voters. But the cap has been adopted in wealthy metropolitan hubs – where it matters little that the fluorescent name-branding cancels out the camouflage – so it’s hard to imagine that the cap was designed for Midwestern heads. Instead, it is for loyal urban consumers who love the symbolism – and the irony – of claiming rural aesthetics for themselves.

In either case, the design has proved to be a savvy move, generating nearly $2m (€1.8m) in 48 hours (including pre-orders). These returns will no doubt help to patch the gap in Democratic engagement with battleground states in the Midwest. While some rural, working-class voters could perceive it as a misplaced pivot towards centrism, camouflaged beneath the surface is a cunning ploy to tap an already established base and target those who will ultimately decide the election.

Pacific Northwesterners need a reason to appreciate the rain (writes Gregory Scruggs). After an all-too-brief summer, the wet season returns with a vengeance. I put away my paddleboard and pull out my French-made Opinel knife, ready for the hunt. The region’s damp, forested hills are the world’s best breeding ground for mushrooms and this autumn has brought a bumper crop of chanterelles. Every weekend, budding mycologists and foraging families decamp to the woods in search of these golden-yellow beauties. Chanties, as they’re colloquially known, hold the distinction of being both incredibly abundant and easy to identify. There’s no need to consider gill shape and spore prints, field guide in hand, fretting over whether you’ve accidentally plucked a poisonous toadstool.

Chanterelles typically sprout in the same location. Avid pickers mark their maps and return annually but soliciting a secret spot is akin to asking a CIA agent for state secrets. Commercial foragers shoulder 40kg rucksacks piled high with ’shrooms for which top chefs will pay top dollar. As Langdon Cook documents in The Mushroom Hunters: On the Trail of an Underground America, the value of the illegal mushroom trade rivals that of some narcotics.

For amateurs content with a haul sufficient for Sunday dinner, mushroom hunting is not like typical trail pursuits. Striding purposefully to rack up the miles does no good. You need to slow down, poke under logs and follow your intuition. Just don’t get lured too far into the woods by the fungus’s siren song. If you have to call search-and-rescue for a lost mushroom hunter, you’ll be hoping that they have a truffle-sniffing dog on call.

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

Dear Concierge,

I’ll be in Istanbul in October. What are the most interesting places to visit and shop? Thanks in advance.

Mariane Pratte,
The Philippines

Dear Mariane,

Your question comes at an appropriate moment – we are preparing to host Monocle’s annual Quality of Life Conference in Istanbul next week and we’ve been seeking out the very best sights and hospitality spots for our delegates to enjoy.

There is history on every corner of this huge metropolis, and one of the most recent openings offers an authentic yet luxurious taste of the past. The Zeyrek Cinili Hamam, a historic bathhouse located on a bustling backstreet of the peninsula, was built in the 16th century and reopened earlier this year after a 13-year restoration. Check out the on-site museum for an insight into the building’s story and Istanbul’s hamam culture before heading into the bathhouse itself for a steamy few hours under its exquisite domes.

For a special dinner, book a table at Neolokal, a restaurant run by Michelin-starred chef Maksut Askar, who draws inspiration from the famed cuisine of his home region, Hatay, and focuses on fresh, zingy flavours and sustainability. The restaurant is in Salt Galata, one of the best arts spaces in the city and once played home to the grand former Central Bank. Work up an appetite with a wander around the surrounding neighbourhood, Karakoy. This port district at the confluence of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn is undergoing a stunning renovation, and is home to the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art.

For a souvenir, seek out an original artwork by Devrim Erbil, whose sketch-like paintings of the city capture its magnificent chaos. You’ll find his work on sale in galleries across the city; head to the Asian side and have a look in Seven Art Gallery in Kadikoy, which also sells a range of work by contemporary Istanbulite artists.

Japan’s sartorial big hitters have long intrigued the fashion world – and Hirofumi Kurino is right up there as one of the most influential figures in menswear. A co-founder of Japanese fashion retailer United Arrows (UA) – where he is now a senior adviser – and a consultant for Japanese manufacturing organisation J-Quality, Kurino is the embodiment of great style. Monocle meets him in the fashion archive of UA’s Tokyo HQ to talk about the art of getting dressed.

How do you decide what to wear every morning?
There’s no formula. Sometimes I choose my clothes the night before, sometimes I decide in the morning. It depends if I have a certain image in my mind. I prefer natural fabrics but I’m open to any material or silhouette. Colour is key for me when I’m choosing what to wear; it’s more important than the fit. Royal blue is my favourite. I dress for myself, and maybe for friends who appreciate my style but I’m not interested in showing off or thinking about whether someone is going to photograph me. If I head out in the morning and something doesn’t feel right – maybe the socks are wrong – I’ll turn back. My wife and daughter are the same.

Anything you steer away from?
I don’t like rules for dressing and age is irrelevant but I do avoid logos and big luxury brands, and I don’t like pre-ripped jeans. If my jeans tear naturally, that’s different.

You’re often on the road. How do you pack for a trip?
I’m good at packing a capsule wardrobe and I like a soft Eastpak holdall on wheels. I have 10 of them.

What are your wardrobe staples?
I still wear a lot of jackets and suits. I’m a big fan of Caruso suits; I love the way they’re relaxed but elegant. I wear shirts from all over the place but UA is probably the biggest buyer of [Neapolitan shirtmaker] Salvatore Piccolo. I’ve also ended up with an encyclopaedic knowledge of white T-shirts and Uniqlo has one of the best. I’m interested in mass production and love the socks from my nearby supermarket. I also go to a local barber. I’ve had my hair the same way for 30 years – if I go somewhere fancy my hair will look the way the stylist wants and not like me.

Which young labels are you currently enjoying?
Recently, I’ve been interested in Wales Bonner and SS Daley [from London] as well as [Milan-based Japanese label] Setchu. A black Setchu blazer that I have is amazing, it folds up into a B4 envelope and the creases are built in. You just have to hope that nobody tries to iron them out.

Are you still excited about fashion?
If I think about fashion as trends or big companies, I’m not so thrilled. But if I think about creation, craftsmanship and interesting people, then I’m excited.

A longer version of this interview features in Monocle’s October issue which is out now. For more style and fashion inspiration pick up a copy today. Or, subscribe so you never miss an issue.

“For a little too long, I was known as the bag lady,” Wanze Song tells Monocle. After working as a pattern maker in the UK and Shanghai, Song returned to her hometown of Toronto in 2020 and launched a product that captivated the city’s creatives: the Dumpling Bag. It was an instant hit. Inspired by her family’s weekend tradition of making and devouring dumplings, the handbag caused a stir with its pleats and crescent shape. Four years on, her brand has maintained its cult appeal, crossed borders and broadened its range to both womenswear and menswear. “I wanted to know what fashion could look like when you don’t create new fabrics or [invest in] marketing,” says Song, who has made a name for herself with her sharp, elegantly tailored silhouettes.

Most of the brand’s sales come through its e-commerce platform and Toronto showroom but Wanze also works with Canadian boutiques such as Lost & Found and Neighbour. “I’ve declined offers from the big-online retailers,” she says. “First, I want to land my 10 dream boutiques across the world.”
wanzesong.com

For more stylish reporting, pick up Monocle’s October issue which is out now. Or, better yet, subscribe so you never miss an issue. Have a great Saturday.