gleamed issue no. 8
Space Age design that worships the sun, cocktails that help the bees, perfume that leatherizes.
Hi friends! Welcome to the eighth issue of gleamed.
This week, I’m leaning into the literal meaning of gleamed with a spotlight on a niche facet of Space Age design, Solar Age. I think it portrays something I love about the world of art and design, that the more you dig, the more you find.
That’s really what I intended gleamed to be all about. The name comes from a combination of the word “gleaned,” as in to have gleaned or ascertained information, and the word “gleam,” or the quick, bright shimmer of light that comes from a reflection. In a way, the publication is meant to do just that—shine a glowy little spotlight onto the objects, people, and places that I think are beautiful.
xx,
Austa
This week I’m feeling…Solar Age aesthetic
Lately, Space Age design has been making a comeback, and I’m loving the various niches (there are many) within the unique concept. It was all the rage in the 1950s - 70s, when Americans were obsessed with everything extraterrestrial, thanks to the launch of Sputnik and the Apollo missions. The wider design cues of that time period, now thought to be retro, are forever enmeshed within the Space Age aesthetic. I love the way this creates a fusion between the past and a camp representation of “the future.”
I think of this iteration of the Space Age aesthetic, which I’m dubbing Solar Age, as being high fashion and sun worshiping. Within its world, metals gleam, colors are washed out, everything moves slowly and the air smells like Tom Ford’s Soleil Blanc.
Spotlight on…Leatherize
Last week I wrote an exciting piece for Robb Report on a brand new launch by Brooklyn-based perfume house, D.S. & Durga. One of my favorite brands that I’ve been obsessed with for years (I wear their Radio Bombay), they’ve become synonymous with genderless fragrance that incorporates avant garde notes. They are also lauded for their fragrance enhancers—the first of which is a musky scent called “I Don’t Know What.”
Unlike a typical fragrance, which is meant to be opaque in scent, fragrance enhancers act as a veil to be draped over something else. Their latest is one called “Leatherize,” which turns any scent into something you’d wear, as they told me, into “a place of ill repute.” I like to layer Leatherize over my Vacation eau de toilette, so that I can smell like I’m on my way to play billiards at a dive bar by the beach.
A fun thing to do…support pollinators, with cocktails
It’s safe to say that we all know by now that we have to save the bees, but last week I learned that it’s not just about them. Bees have enjoyed the bulk of the spotlight when it comes to their role as pollinators, but on a trip this past weekend with Barr Hill Gin to Montpelier, Vermont, I came to realize that there are actually thousands of different pollinators that help keep our ecosystems thriving, and fresh food on our table. Wasps, though often dreaded, are among them.
To help support their work (the pollinators), I plan on drinking as many bees knees cocktails as possible next week, because from September 23 to October 2nd comes the return of the largest sustainability initiative in the spirits industry. Obviously I’ll be hitting bars in NYC, but Bees Knees Week is happening all around the country—just find a participating bar near you.
If you don’t feel like going out, you can also just make one at home, or invite friends over and make it a party. The main thing to do is tag Barr Hill and use their designated hashtag and they’ll plant 10 square feet of pollinator habitat per post. I love a plan that’s both boozy and beneficial to the environment.
Where I’m traveling to next…Jarnac, France with HINE Cognac