The Monocle Minute

The last time I flew out of Istanbul, it was 2017 and the city was staring into an abyss. I was heading back to London after two hectic years of covering Turkey and the region for Monocle, having been stationed there through the failed military coup. I’d watched as Istanbullus were forced off their streets by myriad threats. Their city’s once-robust tourism sector and buzzing nightlife had shrivelled; the torrent of investment that began in the mid-2000s had become a trickle. So, on returning to Istanbul – our host city for Monocle’s annual Quality of Life Conference – I was relieved to find that it seemed to be back in business.

This return to form was a pleasant reminder that great cities die hard. In Cihangir, young Turks were again spilling out onto the streets at night; crowds thronged Geyik, the neighbourhood bar. The backstreet workshops were bustling and shiny new trams were plying the Bosphorus shore. At the conference, it wasn’t just mayor Ekrem Imamoglu with a positive (albeit faintly political) message about his city’s future. There were also fashion designers Basak and Defne Kocabiyikoglu with their brand, Nackiyé, which celebrates the craft of this region.

All of this is not to underplay the challenges that Turkey faces. When I left seven years ago, the exchange rate was four Turkish lira to the euro; today, that has ballooned somewhere close to 40. Years of investor flight has taken its toll on what was once a promising emerging market. The narrative about Istanbul’s troubles will take some time to unpick. It’s a city resuming its natural role as a convener of top talent in everything from hospitality to healthcare. And in the case of our conference, that meant conversations and characters you simply wouldn’t meet elsewhere.

Christopher Lord is Monocle’s US editor. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

The Arctic Circle Assembly (ACA), held annually in Reykjavík, is one of the sleepier stops on the diplomatic-conference circuit. The High North has long enjoyed the idea of what was comfortingly known as “Arctic exceptionalism”: that whatever else the nations of the region might disagree about, they could usually work together on matters pertaining to the Arctic itself. But it would be encouraging to see this year’s ACA, which begins on Thursday, striking a less conciliatory tone.

In the Arctic, as elsewhere, Russia has compensated for being shunned by Western nations by growing closer to China. In September, China joined Russia for joint naval and air-force drills that included the Arctic Ocean. This year, China took delivery of its fourth icebreaker, despite having little use for such craft close to home. The urgency of Arctic issues increases every year in proportion to the melting of the ice, which everyone anticipates will open new shipping routes and reveal new resources, including colossal untapped fields of oil and natural gas. All will require protection. If the West doesn’t want to step up, it’s pretty clear who will.

October is anything but a quiet month for Paris, as it makes its final preparations for Design Miami Paris and Paris Art Basel – both of which open this week. Architects and design enthusiasts are expected to rush to the rue de l’Université in the 7th arrondissement for the second edition of the US design fair, where they will find furniture, lighting and objets d’art.

Meanwhile, art lovers and collectors will make their way to the Grand Palais to discover the latest works from the market’s big names and galleries. The fair’s first edition since its name change – from Paris+ par Art Basel to Art Basel Paris – brings together 195 galleries, a 27 per cent increase on last year. Following September’s buzzing fashion week, this major rendezvous of the art and design sectors further bolsters Paris’s reputation as a global cultural capital.

“Are We on Air?” asks the awning of Kiosk-o-thèque on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard. The newsstand is the latest project of Arman Naféei, the host of a monthly podcast that’s also called Are We on Air? and founder of creative agency Studio Neu. Naféei spotted the booth, which is opposite the Chateau Marmont, when he was the hotel’s director of ambience – a role that tasked him with creating the perfect mood for guests. “I had my eyes on it when it shut down during the coronavirus pandemic,” he says. “I knew that the location would be perfect for my kiosk. A million cars drive by every week. I call it an ‘experiential billboard’.”

The kiosk is a combination of a gallery, a bookshop and a podcast studio. It’s also used for events, which have so far ranged from artist Nadia Lee Cohen’s book-signing party to a pop-up celebration of a film by director Yorgos Lanthimos. “It’s anything that you want it to be,” says Naféei. But among the vintage magazines and vinyl, you’ll still find the weekend papers.



For more unlikely finds and agenda-setting stories on culture and the arts, pick up a copy of Monocle’sOctober issue, which is on sale now. To hear our full interview with Arman Naféei, tune in to‘The Stack’on Monocle Radio.

In recent years, Madrid has been building its reputation for fashion, stealing some of Barcelona’s thunder. Several of its neighbourhoods have become retail hubs as local designers and a growing population of expats open concept shops and brand flagships that touch on every aspect of the market, from leather accessories to womenswear.

Among them is Salesas, a district sandwiched between Chueca and Salamanca in downtown Madrid. It has rapidly turned into a magnet for the city’s creatives, transforming into one of its most elegant retail addresses.

Subscribe todayto read the full article or pick up a copy ofMonocle’s October issue, which is available online and on newsstands now.

This week on The Stack, Rob Orchard from Delayed Gratification tells us about design changes in his magazine and their new book Misc: A compendium of delightfully random facts. Plus: Condé Nast Traveller expands to Germany.