Brooklyn We Go Hard - Le Magazine SS 13

 It’s important to remember that a clothing brand is behind this magazine, so you have to expect at least a modest amount of blowing of one’s own trumpet. There’s a lot of BWGH product in here obviously. But this isn’t a catalogue, it’s a fully fledged magazine that curates its content better than some I’ve paid a tenner for. I’d actually probably pay something in that region for this if I had to, they’ve hooked me with their continental charm. 

 I like French people. I also like Monty Python but it’s all in good fun right? What I love about ‘Le Magazine’ is that it’s written in both French and English, or rather, as far as I can tell, first written in French and then translated. This leads to a smattering of charming grammar slip ups that really just suck me in even more when I’m reading. More often than not it’s not even a mistake, it just sounds like a French guy talking to you and occasionally struggling for the right words, resulting in him saying not quite the right words, which end up sounding better than how the right words would have sounded. There’s this great article about ‘Burano Island’ which is actually an archipelago of four Islands linked by bridges in Northern Italy. What’s that? You didn’t know about Burano Island? Well I guess that copy of ‘The Travel Almanac’ you were reading on the tube actually had a hole cut out of the pages for your iphone and you’re not cultured at all. Anyways, after quickly googling Burano I settled into the rest of the article which takes you on a lovely meandering jaunt through some of the Island’s culture and history. At one point I could have been reading Monocle if it weren’t for the lack of political statistics. The photos could have been a bit bigger too but there is probably a bit of a push for space when articles have to be in two different languages. The whole thing makes sense in the end though because as it turns out BWGH’s new collection is inspired by the colours of Burano. Balance is restored. 

  In the rest of the publication you’ll find a write up about artist Phillippe Pasqua, accompanied by some beautiful photography, an interview with A-TRAK and this really cool section near the end called ‘Faces’ which is essentially a bunch of small interviews with people. Except the questions are all wrong in the right sort of way. The interviewer asks one girl ‘what solution could curb the phenomenon of nosocomial infections?’ I don’t know what they are but an online medical journal tells me “Nosocomial infections can be defined as those occurring within 48 hours of hospital admission.”  And just like that I’ve been educated. Read this section just to see how people try to avoid answering the bizarre questions or succeed in answering them with wonderful insight. 

 That’s it really. I would pick up a copy of ‘Le Magazine’ quicksharp if I were you. It’s free. I got mine from ‘Present’ on Shoreditch High Street. If you’re not lucky enough to live within easy reach of such a hip-happening area then try Colette, Soto, Antonioli, Opening Ceremony, Hypebast or Urban Research. 

 Le Magazine also comes free with all BWGH purchases and if you really can’t find it in print download it here.

(Photos by M&M)