Prada Sea Beyond Capsule Collection

 

In 2021 Prada and UNESCO collaborated to produce the Sea Beyond educational program.  This was conceived for schools worldwide to educate children at the ages of 7-14 about sustainability, and ocean preservation.  Prada has since gone on to ensure all its nylon products are "Re-Nylon".  Which means that the nylon used is regenerated nylon, with the hopes this can be reused in the future.

Prada has continued to fund this program, and has likely educated many children about the dangers and risks of plastic in the sea, and microplastics in everyday drinking water.  They have now further monetised this by releasing a capsule collection titled the Sea Beyond collection.

The Collection itself is simply four classic Prada nylon pieces, in primary colours, and one small detail, the Prada logo is coloured to match the product, a nice little detail.  Prices start from £380 for the bucket hat.

While it's admirable Prada are investing money into sustainability, and is encouraging they have likely shaped young minds with their program, it seems inherently contradictory for a fashion brand to tout their credentials as a supporter of anti climate-change ideologies.  By their very nature, that of needing to produce a new collection twice a year, they stand diametrically opposed to this.  With factories creating garments, shipping them around the world, and into stores, the amount of carbon dioxide produced makes a course for kids to learn about pollution in the oceans rather like a band aid over a bullet wound.

The best thing Prada could do to contribute to climate-change is to stop existing.  But that won't happen. So, nice products, we might buy the jacket, the self coloured logo is quite cool.

Casio S100X Urushi Edition Calculator - Otherwise known as the Special One

It's difficult to imagine spending £500.00 on a calculator, considering it's been a feature of every mobile phone for over 20 years.  However, Casio have produced a special edition of their flagship S100X model.  Do you doubt it's a special edition?  They even call it the "special one".

The features are pretty irrelevant, because it's a calculator.  If you need a feature list for a calculator then you are a very particular type of audience.  Probably you're an accountant.  What's more interesting to the man on the Clapham Omnibus is that while the standard line on this is how stratospherically expensive it is, it actually isn't.  For the price to be properly estimated, the non special-edition model needs consideration.  Its price is £350.00 to £400.00.

So what does the additional £100.00 to £150.00 get you?  A calculator cast with a Japanese Urushi lacquer technique by a master craftsman, Ryuji Umeda.  This utilises layering lacquer tree's filtered sap on the calculators miles aluminium housing, and achieving a sense of depth with repeated applications.  This process takes around a month for each model, and a good example of how much an average Urushi lacquer item costs can be found by a quick google search.  This shows average models, such as a small box from less skilled craftsmen, cost £50.00 to £100.00.

So then what we have is, contrary to the popular view, not an extortionately expensive calculator. But rather an already expensive calculator in a handcrafted housing, which all signs point to consumers being charged cost price for.

The re-sale market however is another thing altogether.  These are listed on eBay and other resale sites for £1,500.00 - £2,000.00.   

New Balance Phone and Balance Phone Pro Minimalist Smartphone

It never ceases to surprise us the ways in which lifestyle choices can be subverted into consumer products, with the minimalist phone 'market' being an exceptional example of this.  What began from some individuals deciding to use simpler phones that lack the trappings of fully-fledged devices has now morphed into a complete industry.   We have the Light Phone, Punkt phones, Brick device for limiting phone functionality, and the less creatively named Minimal Phone.  Now from a Catalan based company comes the Balance Phone and Balance Phone Pro.

This device, in the same way as all others in this space, promises to help you "avoid distractions" and "reclaim your time".  Along with hyperbolic statements about living "intentionally".  It offers these as a solution for children, lacking addictive apps, and the ability to access harmful sites.  Along with bold promises that "finally you have a distraction free phone".

Our view of this is; if you want to avoid distraction, buy an old candy-bar type phone.  They still make them, so there's no need to buy one from a brand with a website featuring Sans Serif and stylish design cues.  Furthermore, the idea a child would be satisfied with anything less than the latest and most advanced iPhone, or that you can simply prevent them from contacting their peers through apps, is ludicrous, and demonstrates unfailingly the creators of this phone have no children.  As with all the devices in this rapidly growing marketplace, they are merely vacuous aesthetic luxury choices.  The only one that's sort of acceptable is the Punkt MC02, as it it has big bold keys for old people, and no screen, and therefore no apps.  To reiterate, these minimal smartphones are oxymoron's, which is fitting as they will likely be used by morons.  

If you disagree, the Balance Phone is £269.00, and the Pro for £609.00, both from their website, and available now.

 

 

Astell Kern Ultra High End SP4000 MP3 Player

 

In a world where separate dedicated devices are becoming increasingly rare, and in which a smartphone or laptop is generally peoples all-in-one entertainment device, some brands keep the candle of specialisation burning.  Astell & Kern manage to do this with the MP3 player.  

The new SP4000 is their most ambitious yet.  With direct access to to music apps, preserving hi-fidelty audio quality.  Their True Quad-DAC creates exceptional signal to noise ratios, and copper-shielding, and the latest technology in high end audio.

The price for this excellence is £3999.99, making it the brands most expensive player yet.  It's a remarkable achievement that this brand single handedly keeps the world of high-end MP3 players alive.  A remarkable achievement given how completely redundant MP3 players now are.

Rimowa Classic Titanium Further Dilutes the meaning of Classic.

For the uninitiated, Rimowa's classic collection is intended to be the throwback, evergreen, permanent and never-changing collection of luggage pieces for the traditionalist. However, last year under the stewardship of LVMH they decided to eschew this by releasing black aluminium versions.  They have now demonstrated an entirely schizophrenic definition of classic, by releasing the model in titanium.

It is worth mentioning on the record that at no point prior to the mid 2010's was Rimowa's aluminium ever coloured.  Further, the classic range never was.  Yet such pedestrian concerns over convention fall by the wayside when considerations such as the profit motive take precedence.

So here we have it.  The "classic" Rimowa luggage range, in titanium, a colour which is neither classic, nor enduring.  Available now from £1100 for cabin luggage.

Luxury Industry Sends Mixed Signals With Record Earnings Alongside Bankruptcies.

Human beings are obsessed with status, and the need to have one-up on others is almost entirely responsible for the existence of the luxury goods industry.  We can wax lyrical all day long about how it's about quality, but overwhelmingly it's the inherent desire to feel better than others.  That's why luxury is so enduring, from the Sybarite community in Greece in 720 BC, to the modern day, it continues to thrive.

This is what makes luxury goods such an excellent recession marker, because while we may all love to show off, luxury is something that can fall by the wayside more easily.  It's annoying to not be able to afford a Birkin, but it's better to choose that than starve.  

However, while the Global economy is in considerable turmoil, with crypto, stocks, and property markets in decline, the luxury industry is sending very mixed signals.  Take for example, on the one hand we have Saks, which has filed for bankruptcy (read here), while on the other, the Richemont luxury goods group posted record earnings (read here).

These are certainly confusing factors, it my be the music starting to stop, and Saks feeling it more quickly given their retail presence, or it may just be that given a recent report from the World Bank that the top 10% of earners are not responsible for the majority of the economy.  Meaning that no matter how dire the world is for 90% of the population, consumers will keep consuming.  We don't have a view, but are interested to see how this plays out.

 

Margiela Copies Golden Goose Deluxe With Replica Tape Sneakers

Distressed clothing is relatively common, which makes sense, as slight wear gives an air of lived in appeal that speaks to establishment credentials.  Shoes are less often distressed, and trainers very rarely, as frankly, the idea of distressing sporting shoes seems a little odd, given they are designed to fulfil the requirement of being in good condition for the exercise use they are then put to.    however, Golden Goose Deluxe weren't disparaged by this, and managed to found an entire brand on distressed and destroyed sneakers.

Now Margiela have copied them.  Not slightly, completely, as in 2024 Golden Goose released a pair of trainers with Scotch Tape across them which managed to attract some media attention, with some articles in mainstream press being written about how ridiculous they look.

Margiela's version take their well known Replica sneaker, and distress them, as mentioned, in the exact same way as Golden Goose Deluxe.  Available now in black or white for £650.00 a pair.

Bang Olufsen Pre Loved Demonstrates Commitment to Circular Production, or a Desire to Sell old and Refurbished Stock.

 

The re-utilisation of older tech devices is an extremely nuanced practice.  On the one hand there's the idea that high quality products should be able to be re-used, otherwise why bother paying a premium. Then there's the highly contentious environmental conservation argument.  Based around the principle that producing products requires energy, so using older ones is simply good use of limited resources. Weighing into this sector is Bang Olufsen's "Reloved" retail arm.

There's not much to say about the logistics here. It's a new Bang Olufsen department that sells refurbished items.  Presumably stuff that came in for repair and didn't have an issue, or had some other reason to come to the brands workshops that could be turned around and resold.

The website for these items speaks both overtly and covertly of the idea that this is a major step towards "circular" production methods.  This is not an entirely bad idea, as conceptually circular production really just means a product is manufactured with a view to it lasting longer.  However this directly contradicts with the brands approach to this, as they're constantly producing new colour ways to maximise profit with their Atelier range we often deride.

We don't entirely disregard the idea that hi-fi products can be reused and have longevity.  It is definitely one of the the categories of technological products that can last and last, and have real workmanship put into its production.  It certainly falls into the group of products such as cars and watches that can be handed down.  Yet Bang & Olufsen's approach here is pretty nakedly an attempt to profit unfairly by selling deadstock and repairs they have lying around.  Don't believe use?  Just take a look at their pricing; an M3 speaker discontinued around a year ago which sold for £300 are on their new website for £319.00.

You might disagree, and there is of course one counterpoint; that you can get designs you might like that aren't available any longer with a B&O warranty.  If that's for you head to https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/gb/home/reloved to browse the regularly updated selection.