BREAD & BUTTER.

Bread & Butter, one of Europe's largest fashion tradeshows, if not THE largest, made its triumphant return to Berlin. The company is actually headquartered here but for the past few years, it was based in Barcelona. I for one am happy about the return to Berlin. Barcelona is a fun city, but the show needed some change. I'm not saying they got everything right in Berlin, but it was definitely nice to have a change of scenery. And the venue they got was incredible. Most of these types of shows occur in conference centers or convention centers. Maybe something in a hotel. Usually very drab and cookie cutter. The boys at BBB got access to the recently closed Templehof Airport just outside of central Berlin. The architecture of this massive structure is just amazing. You often find yourself asking, "Am I really standing here? Doing business?" It's weird. There were some logistical bugs about getting around and such, but overall, the team at BBB did an awesome first job at making the best use of this site. Sorry, I don't have many photos since it was too damn busy. But here, you can see other shots of the show and site.

REED PGS x WJS

Reed Pages now available online via the coolest travel store in the world — WeJetSet.com.
As my man Taj would say, "Cold check it!"
Thanks to everyone for the support!

REED PGS BERLIN.

Reed Pages is now available in Berlin at 3 dope locations:

The most impressive magazine shop in Berlin:
DO YOU READ ME
28 Auguststraße
10117 Mitte, Berlin, Germany
+49 30 69549695

The most progressive high end street fashion store in Berlin. The original. Often duplicated.
FIRMAMENT
Upper Level (ring doorbell for admission)
Schröderstrasse 8, 10115 Berlin, Germany
+49 30 49808674

And the WoodWood Mitte flagship (along with the Copenhagen location)
Rochstrasse 4
10178 Berlin
+49 30 280 99 039

BACK TO BERLIN.

I haven't been to Berlin since May of 2007. Even still, I consider Berlin my 3rd home (behind NYC and Tokyo); so it was good to come back to the bloc. The best attribute of Berlin, (observed back in '07) is still true today: Creativity for no apparent purpose. As in NYC, there is no end game to everything. There's no strong desire for fame. People do their craft simply because they want to. The city seems to foster this thinking. There are so many stores, artists, people, galleries and businesses where you ask yourself "WHAT? HOW? WHY?" And the answer is usually simply, "It's Berlin, man. Berlin." War fresh in the mind. Rents and real estate at rock bottom prices. And a huge liberal influx of different artists, cultures and people make for great ingredients to an exciting city. It's what I love about Berlin. And it's why I am happy to be back. More to come...

AU REVOIR.

On the last day of Paris, we hit up an incredible retail store called Merci. It's really on another level for retail merchandising, branding and curation. It also looks like it cost a mountain of money...but it's not obtuse or gaudy. I hope this style of shopping becomes the norm for big box retailers in the near future.
パリ滞在最終日、僕達はMerciというすばらしい小売店を訪れました。小売の商品開発、ブランディング、キュレーションは他とは別レベルでした。山ほどのお金が掛かったと思いますが、けばけばしくなく洗練されています。このようなスタイルがこれからの巨大店舗の見本となるよう願っています。

And on a final note...最後に．．．

(Seen at the Be Positive Exhibition.)
和訳：「時には残酷な事を見るほかがない。目を伏せる事さえできないほどの速さで、記憶に焼きついてしまうから。」
(Be Positive展覧会にて）