BORN Issue 6 Spring

CONNECTING PEOPLE WHO MAKE BEAUTIFUL PRODUCTS WITH THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM

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SPRING ISSUE 6 | 2016

① A Creative Leaders Tour with Land Rover’s Chief Design Officer and many more at the forefront of the industry. ② When technology creates new communities. A look at tech businesses that bring us closer. ③ Adrian Cheng - K11 Art Foundation. When art pioneers give back. ④ Born in Milano. Is not the same without me. ⑤ Crowdfunding in the 19th Century. ⑥ Born in Cannes. During Film Festival, Born Awards Winners' exhibition 11-22 May. Discover more on www.born.com

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DISCOVER MORE ON WWW.BORN.COM

RANGE ROVER

ONE COULD BE FORGIVEN FOR NOT GETTING OUT IN A HURRY landrover.com

Official fuel consumption figures for the Range Rover Vogue 3.0 Litre TDV6 Diesel in l/100km (mpg): Urban 7.8 (36.2), Extra urban 6.4 (44.1), Combined 6.9 (40.9). CO2 emissions 182g/km. Drive responsibly on and off-road.

THE BORN AWARDS WINNERS’ EXHIBITION 11-22 May 2016

LA TERRASSE DES MARCHES C E L E B R AT E S C I N E M A A N D C R E AT I V I T Y AT T H E C A N N E S F I L M F E S T I V A L

Photographer Credit: Pierre Leroy

By invitation only 2 Boulevard de la Croisette 06400 Cannes, France

Imagine a future generation of socially diverse, creative individuals, brimming with ideas. Their skills are not only channeled into the fields of art and culture, but transcend to an acute business-awareness.

What would a world look like if creativity influenced banks, governments and institutions? What if the left side of the brain became the driving force in our society’s values and in the education of our children?

It doesn’t have to be one or the other. There’s a misconception that form and style are mutually exclusive, but creativity belongs to us all. It is not limited to the upper echelons of the elite and this is especially true when functionality and style come together in a perfect equilibrium.

Jean-Christophe Chopin BORN Founder & CEO

I find inspiration in the legacy of Steve Jobs, who remained true to his vision even when he was the only man left standing.

I find inspiration in the resilience of the design greats who might not have gotten it on their first, second or fifth try, and reinvented themselves from scratch until they did.

Creativity has a new role in our society. Gerry McGovern, our Jury President this year of the BORN AWARDS and Chief Design Officer of the Land Rover Group describes it in 3 elements: “visceral, behavioural and reflective“.

Creativity is hope and reality. It’s the emotion linked to technological, financial and societal prowess. Creativity’s power is engrained in generosity, built from openmindedness, as it can only reach its purpose in being adopted by many. It produces extraordinary energy, desire, emotions and re-socialisation since it is better done with or for ‘others’.

It gives the creator the luxury to dream and materialise dreams.

It is right to be inspired, just as it is legitimate to create a door when opportunity ceases to knock naturally. I created BORN from my relentless dedication to creativity, and as a way to help others realise their potential. Let’s participate, contribute and celebrate these beautiful creations that change our lives and give hope to those yet to take part.

THE EDITO OF THE FOUNDER

We’re experiencing a time of unprecedented ambition, and with it a wave of entrepreneurship and creativity contagious to both the young and the established. A struggling economy cannot prevent people around the world from having ideas, it can, to the contrary, propel creative thinking to champion the challenges we face.

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The laws of branding are being reshaped in the face of the new digital era. Our entire society and how we operate within it has changed, and now is the time for us to rethink the rules.

The world is evolving, and so must creativity.

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Design is democratic, even the most mundane objects in our daily lives deserve to be beautiful. This fusion of function and style leads us to one of the many definitions of “la belle création”: when functionality is elevated through its aesthetic, touch and interface.

Born Heritage For gentlemen drivers only.

WWW.BORN.COM | ISSUE 6 | 2016 THE POWER IS YOURS

The Pinterest generation is here to stay. Take one rifle through the pinboard platform’s pristine throw pillow arrangements or heavenly baked goods and recognise the nerves of steel required to fend off the DIY bug. But for the rest of us who might not be part-time carpenters, leather-tanners or domestic goddesses, a slew of design-oriented businesses are creating beautiful products, all unified by one key component in the creation process: you.

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The Power is Yours

The Social Knitwork

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THE POWER IS YOURS

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n an age of instant online shopping, Wool and the Gang reminds us of the slow gratification that comes from making things by hand.

Wool and the Gang is a London-based start-up that sells scarves, hats and mittens with just one catch: you have to knit them yourself. In doing so, the founders are reclaiming knitwear from the conveyor

belts of mass production and putting it back into the hands of people. No doubt, people will love their scarves that much more after investing the hours to make them by hand.

Founders Aurelie Popper and Jade Harwood met as students at Central Saint Martins, both studying textile design. After stints at Balmain and Alexander McQueen, they developed a belief that fashion should be made sustainably with love, not with robots. And so, the gang was born.

Wool and the Gang kits include a pattern, the exact amount of wool required and needles, all packaged in the brand’s signature paper bag. Patterns range in complexity, letting the customer determine the degree of challenge involved. Once the purchase is made, they are part of the gang.

Online, users can customise primary and secondary colours and opt in or out of the inclusion of a handsome set of knitting needles. They can either keep their pieces for themselves or sell their creations online through the WATG knitwork.

But Wool and the Gang is more than the garments it ultimately produces. Each kit is portal into a growing community of fellow knitters, who get together at knitting parties in a growing list of countries. Right now, they’re hosted in the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and the US, but knitters are encouraged to host their own – as WATG mandates, if you want something, take it on yourself.

“fashion should be made sustainably with love�

Produce with Purpose

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DIY dining delivered to your door

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HelloFresh seems to have a vendetta against tragic takeaway dinners. Ditto aimless ambling through supermarket aisles and mediocre meals. With sights set on greener, loftier ambitions, this Berlin-based start-up wants to revolutionise the way we eat, one delivery box of local produce at a time.

What sets it apart from ubiquitous fresh box delivery services is what accompanies the goods: recipes.

Each week, in-house chefs dream up tasty, approachable meals presented on beautifully photographed recipe cards. These are delivered right to your doorstep in a chilled box containing each ingredient required. This is a key step in avoiding food going to waste (a sad but true reality for other veggie delivery services), and if the recipients happen to learn a thing or two about cooking?

Mission accomplished.

The brand sets out to understand what it means to be busy, strapped for cash and not exactly a Jamie Oliver in the kitchen, and empowers customers to cook healthy meals for themselves and their friends. And speaking of Jamie Oliver, HelloFresh has just teamed up with the British celebrity chef for a series of limited-edition recipes that are available in six countries starting in 2016.

HelloFresh has since grown from its Berlin beginnings to offices in London, Sydney, New York and Amsterdam.

Fully customised furniture is just a few swipes away

“I’ve always thought that the perfect furniture design is adaptable to individual needs while following a specific design intent”

How to design the perfect table

Start with the legs.

The Yves Béhar Hub Table has three different leg shapes to choose from. Select one, and then slide the scales to determine the pattern and shape.

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Determine the size.

The width and length of the table are completely adjustable. The same table can live as a modest square side table or a long, elegant dining room centrepiece.

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Finish with finishings.

Choose white, black or oak for the top and frame. Combine as desired and add to basket.

THE POWER IS YOURS

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t is now possible for anyone to collaborate with renowned designer Yves Béhar without actually ever meeting him. Launched at London Design Week in 2015, Tylko is a furniture customisation app offering sleek wares for the home. The debut collection consists of a shelving unit, a pepper mill and, indeed, the Béhar table.

Users go through a step-by-step process, using simple sliding scales to adjust height, width, depth, angles – even the thickness of table legs. Each piece can be as ornate or as humble as the owner desires, while the price fluctuates in real time as design decisions are made. Then, an augmented reality option superimposes the piece of furniture into its potential new home.

“I’ve always thought that the perfect furniture design is adaptable to individual needs while following a specific design intent,” says Béhar. Indeed, a balance is struck between maintaining the designer’s original vision and granting flexibility to the personal preferences of the individual.

Custom furniture itself isn’t revolutionary, but bespoke has a price tag. Co-founder Mikolaj Molenda noticed a void for affordable customisable pieces. “We discovered that there’s no current option for these within the mid-market in the furniture industry, and Tylko is the answer to that,” Molenda said.

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The Tables have Turned

A Fine Balance

From Paris to Oakland, we look at brands that champion the precise combination of technology and creativity to foster new communities around the world.

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A FINE BALANCE

Sound Never Looked So Good

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onos is, to some audiophiles, the future of sound.

Its state-of-theart, hi-fi speakers are engineered to drench a space in the highest quality sound, and function through subscription with music streaming providers like Spotify and Apple Music. But despite what it sells, Sonos isn’t in the business of speakers. It is in the business of appreciating and loving music. As proven by its recent advertisements featuring Q-Tip, St. Vincent and a bearded and barefoot Rick Rubin, it’s something Sonos does with precision, great design and aplomb.

Last autumn Sonos opened its latest Sonos studio in a former printworks in East London’s Shoreditch neighbourhood. A gallery, a music

Sonos studios are beautifully designed meccas for music appreciation.

venue and a gathering space, the Sonos studio is an immersion in music, technology and art. The space serves as a hub for exhibitions, workshops, artist talks and, no surprise, live music. London is home to the second permanent Sonos studio, following Los Angeles and pop-ups in New York and Amsterdam, a choice that was obvious to the team given London’s deep musical legacy.

Inside, the space is one you want to be in. Local design shop Brinkworth was enlisted to create a fully acoustically sealed building with an adjustable ceiling that can be “tuned” depending on the event and musical direction. Listening galleries feel like living rooms, decked in modern furniture from Bréton Brut, Tom Dixon and Vitsoe. This dedication to design is one that extends throughout Sonos's system, from the industrial styling of its speakers to its awardwinning corporate identity – and what better atmosphere for cultivating the next generation of music lovers.

Five tech tools furthering creativity

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Vimeo | An online video-hosting site with crystal clear HD and no ads. It has recently dipped into content creation by funding the hilarious High Maintenance web series.

A fashion house takes a leap of faith Faith Connexion is unrecognisable from what it once was. The French luxury brand, founded in the early 2000s and acquired in 2012 by Groupe Allard, has shuttered its boutiques and done away with its existing creative team.

The brand recognised limitations in the traditional model, a tunnel vision effect of a single creative director executing on a single vision. Instead, its creative approach is made up of the sum of many.

Faith Connexion combines a collective of designers and artists to contribute to each collection. Online, they attribute the individual street artists who spray and splatter painted their latest collections. These are just two of many; the plan is to double the size of the creative studio and increase the number of contributing artists to approximately one hundred.

Despite the brand’s growth, Faith Connexion will not be opening stores anytime soon. Its distribution strategy – referred to as the “Circle of Faith” – consists of partnerships with select multi-brand retailers around the world: in Paris at L’Eclaireur, Maxfield in Los Angeles and in Beirut at Le66 Champs Elysées. In what owner Alexandre Allard refers to as “a virtual adventure,” stores within the Circle of Faith use an app to shop from Faith Connexion’s inventory; items are pulled directly from the brand’s warehouse and sent straight to customers in Faith Connexion’s packaging (not that of the retailer). In return, the retailer gets 30 percent of the sale price. And it’s selling. Last summer, Kim Kardashian made headlines for wearing a slinky number in St Barts.

The collections blend artfulness with street punk: tutus, ripped jeans and smart blazers make up a single look in the latest collection. The roughed-up luxury aesthetic reveals that much of the creative team behind Faith Connexion previously learned their craft at Balmain. Indeed much of the brand’s initial buzz was a result of the ambiguity around whether Christophe Decarnin, Balmain’s former artistic director, is quietly sitting at the helm. The nature of his involvement and how this grand fashion experiment pans out remain to be seen.

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Squarespace | Squarespace gives people with no digital experience the tools to create websites.

A robust support system of in-person workshops and video tutorials exists for those who need a little hand.

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InVision | For those who specialise in digital design, InVision is a tool to help websites come to life through prototypes.

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WhatFont | For designers who never stop designing, WhatFont is a browser extension that allows users to highlight a font they like, and find out what it is and where to find it.

A FINE BALANCE

No stores and no single creative vision: how Faith Connexion is pushing industry frontiers.

Selfies, rich kids on boats and unimaginative brunch arrangements are three things you won’t find on VSCO. The six-year-old company out of Oakland, California, takes a decidedly different approach from its fellow, though much larger, photo-sharing app Instagram.

First, the VSCO Grid highlights the best photos posted of the day. Though thousands are uploaded daily, only around 400 are selected to be featured on the Grid. The curation is done not by algorithms but by humans, and aims to inspire rather than induce envy. Second, there is no “like” function.

It’s noteworthy how these two deciding factors distinguish the look and feel of images that can be found on the Grid.

The stuff of “like” baiting and instant validation is markedly absent, replaced by shadowy portraits, dusty landscapes and sunny interiors.

VSCO (pronounced “visco”) makes its money in part through collaborations with brands like Burberry and Marriott. The latter is a collection of visual travel guides

by VSCO-approved photographers that explore the texture – grainy walls, moody staircases and lush architecture – of cities like Seattle, Berlin and Cairo.

At last count, over 72 million photos tagged #vsco were uploaded to Instagram.

The extensive community of artists, both established and amateur, is nurtured through the VSCO Artist Initiative, a USD $1m grant. Selected artists are profiled and given resources, and their books and posters sold at the Artist Initiative online shop.

The latest for VSCO is its own discovery of moving image. The recent launch of DSCO (yes, pronounced “disco”) similarly bestows two-second GIFs with the same, ethereal treatment.

Behance | Behance is an Adobe-owned online platform for creative individuals to publish their portfolio, and connects them to future employers and the creative community.

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VSCO has grown from a photoediting platform to a creative community of millions.

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iPhoneography without selfies or likes

BORN CREATIVE LEADERS

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CREATIVE LEADERS TOUR

Dispatches from the BORN Creative Leaders Tour

We created the BORN Creative Leaders Tour series to help individuals find their footing as they endeavour to build their businesses. To find inspiration, we travelled through Europe seeking the continent’s most ambitious entrepreneurs, designers and chefs to learn about their craft for a series of filmed interviews, which we post online for the BORN community. At BORN, we facilitate mentorship and pass on wisdom from entrepreneurs at the top of their game to up-and-comers. ⦁ In Italy we met Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura, who wrote us a manifesto that covers intellectual endeavours in the kitchen, culinary technique and Lou Reed. Back in London, we spoke with the very wise Gerry McGovern, Land Rover’s Chief Design Officer, about a well-rounded approach to automotive design, and chatted old-school Italian glamour with fashion designer Serafina Sama. ⦁ The latest leg of the tour took us to Geneva, where we met with the watch industry guru Jean-Claude Biver, the guys behind The Hamburger Foundation, who allege theirs are some of the best hamburgers in the world (we won’t disagree), and philanthropist Yann Borgstedt.

And to Paris to meet with K11 Art Foundation’s Adrian Cheng and Maria Buccellati from Faith Connexion. ⦁ We collected the highlights of what they had to say about creativity, drive and making things happen for yourself. Visit us online to watch the full interviews and for new films every week. ⦁ Next stop for the BORN Creative Leaders Tour: New York!

creativeleaders.born.com

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I certainly wasn’t born a car designer. My father never drove a car in his life!

From a very early age, I sensed that I had some artistic sensibility. I was fascinated by film, colour, art. I grew up in Coventry, which was heavily bombed during the war. It was totally rebuilt in what was considered then to be an international style of architectural modernism.

That sense of optimism had a massive influence on me. Even today, I’m still fascinated with mid-century modernism. But I certainly wasn’t born a car designer.

My father never drove a car in his life!

A lot of people doing the sort of job I do will be carobsessed, which is important of course, but I’ve always been interested in more than that. I eat, breathe and sleep design in its various manifestations, whether it’s in architecture, product design, interior design or art.

A lot of my contemporaries probably collect cars; I don’t. I collect art.

People often ask, “What’s the measure of great design?” For me it’s simple: it’s one that sells. I love to design cars, but we need to sell them so we can reinvest and create livelihood for people. That’s a good social, moral story as much as anything else.

For a long time, creativity has been thought of as a “nice to have.” Art was always a cultural incentive, but design was never thought of as a viable career choice when I first started. Today we’re living in a world where technology, connectivity, sustainability, all these forces are a melting pot for what needs to sustain the way we live, and that’s creativity. I’m not talking about design here, but creativity is essential even in boardrooms.

It’s big dreams that move the world up. If you have an idea you should try and live it. And don’t give up, because to create anything there are going to be hurdles.

CREATIVE LEADERS TOUR

#BornLandRover

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The World According to Gerry McGovern

Gerry McGovern is the Chief Design Officer for Land Rover. We met at his studio, where he told us about creativity and what it takes to design iconic cars.

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Isa Arfen is a five-year-old womenswear brand founded by the 33-year-old Serafina Sama. The brand has grown considerably and today counts Alexa Chung and Lena Dunham among its fans. We met Serafina at her studio in Notting Hill to talk about old-school Italian glamour and her dreams for the brand’s future.

Orlebar Brown launched in 2007 with a vision to do away with unsightly swimwear conventions, like large tropical prints or garish colours, and instead give an air of style to the beach uniform. We met founder Adam Brown and learned how this photographer created a hugely successful brand in virtually no time at all.

Serafina Sama

Adam Brown

Born: You moved to London 16 years ago to study fashion at Central Saint Martins. Was London your first source of inspiration?

On the watershed moment

On starting from scratch

“The idea for Orlebar Brown came at a friend’s 40th birthday. There was a big group of people between 25 and 50, all working within creative industries. I was sitting by the pool, thinking the women looked great but the men were just ghastly in their baggy boxer shorts and brash patterns!

When we changed clothes for lunch, the idea of transitioning from one space to the next caught my attention. Why should we need to change from pool to lunch, from swimsuits to shorts? That idea fermented in my head, and I decided to make shorts you can swim in, instead of swimming shorts. And that idea of focusing on transitions in space has remained a cornerstone of Orlebar Brown.”

“I’m delighted that I knew nothing when I started. I genuinely mean that. I worked as a photographer and approached this as a series of challenges.”

Serafina Sama: No, my actual first sources of inspiration were probably my mother and my aunts when I was growing up.

The women in my family were the ones who spurred my interest in fashion. One of them was really into vintage, and the other into folkloric costumes, so there was this very Italian eccentricity that surrounded me.

B: What happened between finishing at Central Saint Martins and starting your own brand?

B: What advice would you give to those looking to become a successful creative entrepreneur?

SS: I took a year off before I finished my degree, which you are encouraged to do. I spent some time in Milan at Marni, at Lanvin in Paris and at Vogue in New York.

Even if you are only making coffee, just seeing Alber Elbaz doing a fitting gives you so much. It was the first time I got to see how a studio works in real life.

SS: To have a clear vision of what you are, and what you want to put out there. Keep believing in it and have fun with it at the same time.

And don’t be afraid to ask for help and for other people’s opinions.

They either make you think about things you hadn’t before or they confirm your own beliefs.

B: What was the first concept of Isa Arfen?

B: You’re now in most high-end boutiques, celebrities are wearing your brand and you just did an Elle cover with Alexa Chung. What’s next?

SS: I started with the idea of creating a wardrobe that felt feminine and had a bit of oldschool Italian glamour, but was still wearable. I felt the brands I admired did great statement pieces that get worn once and then you get tired of them. I looked at my husband, who gets dressed in 10 minutes because he has those few key pieces that all work well together. I didn’t have that in my wardrobe. I wanted pieces you can count on.

SS: I have a lot of dreams for the brand. I dream of introducing accessories, handbags, shoes and costume jewellery. I’d like to tell the full story. And I would love to have my own store here in London.

My dream store would have the collection but also a florist corner and little espresso bar, because I love interiors. Who knows, Isa Arfen Casa one day! If I start daydreaming I can loose myself quickly.

On learning the ropes “I did a three-day course on starting your own fashion business. I did a one-week drawing course so I can get information to a pattern cutter.

When I learned to draw, I had to learn about cash flow. I always asked friends. People are very generous with their knowledge and enjoy helping others. Don’t be afraid to ask.”

On creating a community

On timeless design “Great design is timeless. Orlebar Brown is not about high fashion.

We are about a man or woman who has an evolved sense of who they are. Whether it’s colour, fit or length, they know who they are and what they want to wear.”

“In the very early days, I started asking people to send photos telling us where their shorts have been. In the last few months we had 7,000 people sending us their photos.

This has been a great way for us to understand who our customers are.

For me it’s very interesting because it’s also about participation.

Community, belonging to a club and participating in the life of a brand.”

Creativity is poetry

Massimo Bottura

When we met Massimo Bottura at his Modena eatery, Osteria Francescana, we wanted to get to the bottom of what creativity means to him, and how he has applied it across his career. We were in luck. The three-Michelin-starred chef had spent the day prior on a train preparing for a conference on the same topic, so this was top of mind. He wrote down his thoughts or, as he referred to them, “the compression of my 20 years in Osteria Francescana. And it goes something like this”: 19 WWW.BORN.COM | ISSUE 6 | 2016 CREATIVE LEADERS TOUR

“At the moment you have mastered a technique, you are conscious of your means. You have developed critical thinking and most of all, you know yourself. Then, at that moment, along the road to creativity, if you trip over a ripe banana or taste a pesto with breadcrumbs or are witness to a broken tart, you can see the world with new eyes. Those of a child, who’s stealing raw tortellini from under the table: that is the moment when you capture that flash in the dark. Creating a recipe is an intellectual gesture that involves ingredients, technique, memory and the compression of everything in bites of edible culture that have the flavour of your passion, used as a vehicle to transfer emotion. Creativity is poetry.

In a world of obligations, you can lose your point of reference. The secret is to keep a small space open for poetry, to be able to jump into that space, and realise the unimaginable. Creativity is folly. In an essay about Lou Reed, Lester Bangs wrote, 'Lou Reed is my hero, principally because he stands for all the most fucked up things I could ever possibly conceive of. Which probably only shows the limit of my own imagination.' Creativity is the speed of your thoughts, what allows you to rebound, to react, to capture that light and arrive on time to your next appointment, because trains that leave at dawn do not wait for everyone. Creativity is liberating all that you have inside, without filter, without being shy. It is the happiness of a gesture, the scandal of the emotion.

Like my beloved jazz, it is the dissonance that makes the harmonic, melodic. It is the intuition of the pauses and the silence that makes the music. The concentration and then the performance. The chord of the guitar that breaks and turns into an opportunity. A contemporary chef needs to live in the moment, to explore and go deep without forgetting the past and where he comes from.

That is your unique vantage point. Knowing where you stand in the world is what will keep you grounded and not washed away by the first storm. You cannot improvise being a great chef, but a great chef knows how to improvise.”

designjunction Immersed in design 22–25 September 2016 Granary Square King’s Cross, London International Design Brands Installations Pop-up Shops Live Flash Factories Eateries Design Demonstrations

For more information visit: thedesignjunction.co.uk #djKX

BORN focuses on 3 categories:

1. INNOVATION/TECHNOLOGY

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664K 219%

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in

2015]

over 10 years versus S&P 500 Index

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3. HOMEWARE total worldwide crowdfunding pledges

$23BN

in 2015 [$23

bn

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in 2014

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in

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Average backers pledge for rewards is

$75

in 2013

in 2012

$34.4BN $16.2BN $6.1BN $2.7BN

•

North America $17.3bn

•

Asia $10.5bn

•

Europe $6.5bn

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South America $85m

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Oceania $68m

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Africa $24m

20M online customers of design-led products

THE PEOPLE ECOMONY IN NUMBERS

e-

co m

$15k — $150k

for a product launch on average

[$60bn of

$60BN

Needs are

DESIGN-LED SMBS

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bn e-

2. LIFESTYLE (Fashion, Sport, Accessories)

Design-led businesses have consistently outperformed in the last 10 years: the Design Value Index (DVI) of market capitalisation-weighted, design-driven companies is

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[$76

$76BN

SMBS IN THE WORLD

200,000,000

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BORN IN NYC

In time for the BORN in NYC launch in April, we celebrate the city and its people who once took part in an unprecedented collective effort to complete the Statue of Liberty in 1885.

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T

he Statue of Liberty, a beacon of freedom and photo ops, is one the earliest examples of crowdfunding as we know it today. The statue was a diplomatic gift from France to the United States, but New York Governor Grover Cleveland refused to use city funds to build a pedestal.

Although the French succeeded in raising 250,000 francs from regional governments and the descendants of French soldiers who fought in the American Revolution, the American campaign of auctions, plays and boxing matches didn’t reap many rewards. By 1884, the American Committee for the Statue of Liberty had run out of money. Unless something happened, Lady Liberty would have nowhere to stand.

It came down to one man’s ingenuity to help save the day. Prominent publisher Joseph Pulitzer decided to take the matter into his own hands and launched a campaign to fund the statue’s granite plinth through a campaign in his newspaper, the New York World.

At the launch, Pulitzer wrote a passionate editorial to rouse the crowds: “The New York World is the people’s paper, and now it appeals to the people to come forward and raise the money. Let us not wait for the millionaires to give us this money. It is not a gift from the millionaires of France to the millionaires of America, but a gift of the whole people of France to the whole people of America.”

The bold move paid off, as he succeeded in raising the remaining $100,000 from over 160,000 donors within a few months. A true testament to the power of the sharing economy, the story managed to capture the imagination of New Yorkers of all ages, as one family’s pledge attests: “Philip and Eliza Bender, 50 cents each; (children) Anna, 25 cents; Frannie, 25 cents; Leonard, 10 cents; Frank, 15 cents; Alice, 10 cents; Ralph, 10 cents; Carri, 10 cents; Miss Nicey 25 cents.”

What makes this collective fundraising effort so interesting to us now are the parallels to today’s crowdfunding platforms. The World was acting as the single platform that raised small donations from a large group of people. Pulitzer also recognised the importance of rewarding donors by offering gold coins for the largest donations and vowed to publish every single donor’s name, no matter how small their contribution, in the paper. And this took it viral.

A Look at the

2016 BORN Awards

The Born Awards Trophy Designed

by Gerry McGovern Categories TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION HOME & DESIGN

BORN AWARDS 2016

SPORT & LEISURE MOBILITY CREATIVE REVOLUTION FASHION

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ARCHITECTURE SOCIAL IMPACT ART

Special Prizes CROWDFUNDED PROJECT

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DISTINCTIVE CREATIVITY

Celebrating the best of upcoming talent against the magnificent backdrop of the French Alps.

Every year, BORN is proud to celebrate the best and brightest in up-and-coming creative talent. The BORN Awards seek to foster and nurture the next wave of designers, artists and entrepreneurs, and to ensure the future of thinkers and innovators is indeed a bright one.

After all, when creativity benefits, we all benefit. This multidisciplinary award celebrates talent in design, architecture, art and fashion.

This March, in the awards’ sixth year, we were honoured to collaborate with the purveyor of heritage Brit-ish automobiles, Land Rover. Chief Design Officer, Gerry McGovern was an inspiration to work with. His sharp eye and enthusiasm was certainly put to great use as the President of the Jury. He joined a panel of expert judges from around the world, including Deborah Spencer, Founder of Design Junction in London, Milan and New York, Adrian Cheng, the founder of the behemoth non-profit arts initiative K11 Art and Peter Howarth, founder of Show Media, to carefully scrutinise a survey of some of world’s best and brightest.

The awards were hosted at the L’Apogée Hotel in Courchevel, the thick of the majestic French Alps. The works of the nominees were exhibited throughout the hotels and boutiques of Courchevel for all to dis-cover and enjoy. For those who were unable to attend, we’re pleased to recognise the winners once again in these pages. We hope to see you next year.

Winners Technology & Innovation

ODO FIORAVANTI

TOM EVANS

Sport & Leisure

Mobility

DE ROSA & PININFARINA

ALESSANDRO VISMARA

Creative Revolution

Fashion

JEAN-CLAUDE BIVER

RODRIGO SOLORZANO & NAOKI KAWAMOTO

Architecture

Social Impact

MARCELO JOULIA

YANN BORGSTEDT

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Home & Design

Special Prize

Crowdfunded Project

Distinctive Creativity

THOMAS DRISCHEL

DAVID JONES

BORN AWARDS 2016

ANNINA ROESCHEISEN

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Art

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BORN AWARDS 2016 CEREMONY

BORN ULTIMATE AWARDS 2016

BORN AWARDS 2016

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BORN ULTIMATE AWARDS 2016

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COURCHEVEL EVENTS

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Shanghai Chi K11 Art Space, Wuhan K11 Art Space

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Installation view of Inside China - L’Intérieur du Géant, Chi K11 art museum, Shanghai

hen it comes to art, Adrian Cheng is not one to sit on the sidelines. If it’s an illustrious organisation in the art world, chances are this Hong Kong-born arts enthusiast sits on the board. He was ranked among ArtReview 2014 Power 100 as a leading influential figure in contemporary arts and is on the board of the Kowloon Cultural District Authority, National Museum of China foundation, Visiting Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a member of the International Circle of Centre Pompidou - and this is just an abbreviated list.

But Adrian Cheng is, of course, more than the sum of his illustrious CV. What we at BORN are inspired by is that his life’s work is dedicated to giving back to the arts community around the country and the world.

In 2000, Cheng founded the K11 Art Foundation, a non-profit art foundation in China that acts as an incubator for young artists, and it supports the education of art among the burgeoning country’s youth. Much like Born strives to foster the next generation of creative businesses, K11 Art Foundation is a driv-ing force for the education and appreciation of art in China.

The foundation has an extensive network of participating artists, museums, curators and educational institutions to promote the arts through programs and exhibitions, through collaborations with international institutions such as the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Met in New York and the ICA in London.

To date, the foundation has organised more than 200 exhibitions and workshops throughout the globe, including at K11’s own art museums, arts spaces and pop-up spaces. And not least of all, at the recent BORN awards in Courchevel, Mr. Cheng donated even more time to the arts as part of the awards jury, which celebrated the best of up-and-coming art and design talent.

Adrian Cheng When art pioneers give back

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polar bear sculpture, “Born Wild” was transported to the slopes of Courchevel, dangling from a helicopter.

That year, he designed and per-sonally awarded the Central Saint Martins BORN prize to the young artist Tess Dumon for her haunting equine sculpture of four soaring horses.

In early 2016 he collaborated with BORN yet again as part of a creative challenge presented by Land Rover.

The task was to use the wireframes of the Evoque Convertible as a canvas for an original work. The concept is a play on the design process itself: in automotive design, the wireframes are a key stage in a vehicle’s conception, the milestone in which a concept is visualised into its 3D form. Orlinski took creative control of these sculptural wireframes, and accepted the challenge to create an evocative sculpture of his own.

Richard Orlinski

Breathing new life into the everyday

RICHARD ORLINSKI

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ichard Orlinski is a force to be reckoned with. The esteemed French sculptor creates objects from our everyday visual vocabulary shoes, super heroes, alligators - and reimagines them into gleaming resin and marble sculptures.

His ambition as an artist is to sublimate reality and to create works of art that are visually arresting and timeless. The sculptures feel familiar and yet seem transformed into a polished, geometric form, as though they are pixelated figures born from our screens. It seems to be working for him well: he has been ranked one of the best selling French artists by Art Price since 2011.

Richard is no stranger to the BORN initiative. In 2014 his striking

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AMFAR INSTITUTE

amfAR Institute Artists Unite Against AIDS

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midst the pageantry and the sunshine of the French Riviera, the world’s leading actors, artists and performers come together for one of the most significant charity events of the year, the amFAR Cinema Against AIDS Gala at the

Cannes Film Festival.

This year’s gala is set to be a splendid event indeed, with a performance by Katy Perry, a fashion show curated by former Paris Vogue editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld and what will surely be an utter treasure trove of an art auction.

But this is more than red carpets, flowing ballgowns and crisp tuxes. The decadence here, however, takes a sombre yet optimistic tone. The underlying purpose is very much on everyone’s lips, to combat the epidemic that ravaged New York’s artistic community in the 80s and early 90s and has since spread to developing regions around the world. And the creative community has taken it upon themselves to champion both changing perception of, and driving awareness to HIV and AIDS. It’s creative clout working at its best to change the world we live in. amFAR was founded in 1985 in response to the growing epidemic in New York. Since the foundation’s inception, major steps have been made towards treating HIV and AIDS. It’s through star-studded events like this that 25 years later amFAR has been able to invest more than $366 million to make significant discoveries which have in turn saved and lengthened the lives of thousands around the world.

BORN IN MILANO

IS NOT THE SAME WITHOUT ME

A global movement that highlights the value of the individual and the power of making a collective difference

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America paris la habana www.rosaclandestino.com @rosaclandestino

“BECAUSE YOU ARE PART OF THE STORY”

BORN IN MILANO

NEXT STOPS

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ased in Milano and born in the US to exiled parents, a Cuban mother and a Nicaraguan father, the globetrotter designer Silvia Argüello – a.k.a.

Rosa Clandestino – has repeatedly been appointed by Vogue Italia as one of the next big in the fashion industry. An unconventional woman whose eclectic background and gypsy-chic style are reflected in each one of her collections. “Growing up in Latin America influenced my heart and sensibility.

Becoming a designer and living in Europe influenced my style and sophistication” acknowledges the designer.

Curious and sensitive, sophisticated yet down to earth, Rosa Clandestino doesn’t follow trends, often times defies the status quo and always stays true to her DNA. “No matter where you are, make it home, learn to adapt and be yourself” is Clandestino’s way of life. When it comes to the creative process, whether a runway collection or a capsule of t-shirts, the designer never compromises the couture-tailoring, style and details within her pieces. “I’m a detail maniac” she exclaims.

After a successful career and recognition from the most prestigious press and celebrities, Rosa Clandestino decided to launch the viral campaign Is Not the Same Without Me. A global movement that highlights the value of the individual and the power of making a collective difference. “We live in the selfie era, where everyone is a protagonist. Why not be a protagonist for good and promote making a difference?” the designer questions. The itinerant, couture-aesthetic capsule collection embraces the power of the individual. “I would like for people to take a cool souvenir, but also a reminder: Life is not the same without each one of us!” affirms Clandestino.

Aiming to connect on a closer level with people and showcasing her creations around the world, Rosa Clandestino launched her moving shop #DestinoCar with two timeless classics of the Made in Italy, Ape Piaggio and Alcantara. The gypsy-chic-journey started with Milano is Not the Same Without Me, adoptive city of the globetrotter designer.

Next stops: America, Paris, La Habana … with one-of-a-kind collections for each place, moment and city. Now, up to you to follow the coolest moving shop!

NIRVANA 88.5m / 290ft / 2012 / Oceanco / 12 guests / from €900,000 per week

Nirvana. 88 metres. Built at Oceano with every conceivable concept included and finished to impeccable standards.

Beach club, swimming pool, balconies, private decks and the quality and quantity of space that is life changing in the scope of what you can do. See and enjoy.

How to reach Nirvana? Through Edmiston.

LONDON MONTE CARLO NEW YORK MEXICO CITY edmiston.com

+44 20 7495 5151 +377 93 30 54 44 +1 212 792 5370 +52 5552809574

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A WIREFRAME OF MIND

A Wireframe of Mind n automotive design, a key stage of the process is when the vehicle is visualised in 3D wireframe files. All subsequent development is hinged upon this as ideas go from concept to reality. Land Rover is playing on this, having built physical wireframes of the Evoque Convertible, a sculptural representation of the vehicle’s form.

BORN selected renowned artist Richard Orlinski to be given creative control of the wireframe sculpture to create his own unique installation. For Orlinski, this is an exciting challenge to build something from an existing design. The piece will be on show in Courchevel until end of March and has already been sold for 50,000CHF at the Womanity Foundation Gala that took place in Geneva on February 4th.

Call and Fly Getting you there without compromise Successful Business Jet Travel requires attention to detail that only experts can anticipate. With 50 years of Swiss precision guiding everything we do, TAG Aviation shares your respect for little details that make big differences.

For complete peace of mind and the finest air transport solutions available, simply Call and Fly.

Geneva: T +41 22 717 01 00 | F +41 22 717 01 07 chartersales@tagaviation.ch | www.tagaviation.com

A Luxury Fortress on Wheels 37

For those who require a getaway car or are simply looking to live vicariously through their inner James Bond, Land Rover has just the car for it. An escape hatch? Sure. Explosion proof? Naturally. The Sentinel is Land Rover’s first fully armoured vehicle, engineered entirely by the Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) department. The design is based on the swanky Range Rover Autobiography with customisable interiors. The discreet shell does not hint at the fact that it is indeed bulletproof, but instead speaks to its nimbleness and elegance – not unlike Mr. Bond himself.

While a fully armoured vehicle may not be in the cards, the Sentinel’s design is based on that of the Range Rover Autobiography, a car more suited for everyday use than for the transport of world leaders. From fuel type to interior finishes to the tint of the sunroof, it’s entirely customisable and can be created at landrover.com.

❷ The core is built from a superhigh-strength steel, protecting passengers from significant explosions from above or below the car (up to 15kg TNT blasts), including a grenade attack. ❸ A flat tyre would be a rather anticlimactic interruption. The Sentinel’s tyres are engineered with flat inserts which allow the car to keep moving even when the tyres are completely deflated. ❹ The Sentinel is fitted with an Emergency Escape System, a secret hatch that lets passengers make a safe exit if doors and windows are obstructed. ❺ For new drivers, a full training programme is offered to ensure that all new drivers are able to operate the car to its full potential in the most challenging situations.

Find out more at landrover.com/sentinel

A LUXURY FORTRESS ON WHEELS

❶ The multi-laminated, tinted windows shield nosey eyes and can withstand bullets. They can resist targeted penetration by 7.62mm high-velocity, armourpiercing bullets.

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FEATURES

LEGENDS LIVE FOREVER ACADEMY

I Georges Favre-Jacot

www.zenith-watches.com

titanium

Born in Cannes • • •

11-22 May, 2016 Cannes Film Festival 20 May 2016 BORN Private dinner, Les Terrasses des Marches Launch of the BORN AWARDS 2017

BORN in NY • •

13-15 May 2016 BORN join forces with Design Junction for Dwell on Design Our first US campaigns will launch in June on born.com

BORN in Monte Carlo •

BORN in Italy • • •

14-17 June 2016 BORN in Florence to celebrate menswear fashion at Pitti Uomo Fashion avant-gardist Claudio Antonioli Footwear designer Alberto Del Biondi

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•

3-5 June 2016 BORN and LikeBike celebrate the best lifestyle bicycles in Monte Carlo 28-1 October 2016 BORN joins Edmiston at the Monaco Yacht Show

BORN in Paris •

2-4 September 2016 BORN in Paris for Salon Maison & Objet

BORN 2.0 •

15 September 2016 introduction of new exciting features for design-led brands on BORN

BORN in London •

22-25 September 2016 BORN and Design Junction to celebrate Home Design in London

Contacts

BORN USA Fueled Collective 568 Broadway New York, NY 10012 CONTACT contact@born.com +44 [0] 7552 396 097 BORN is published by BORN UK, Soho Works 56 Shoreditch High Street London, E1 6JJ All Rights Reserved.

PRODUCTION AGENCY Apropos [www.apropos-london.com] SPECIAL THANKS TO: Land Rover [www.landrover.co.uk] Moncler [www.moncler.com] Zenith Watches [www.zenith-watches.com] Edmiston [www.edmiston.com] Le Cap Horn Restaurant Courchevel La Terrasse des Marches Cannes For commercial opportunities with BORN contact Pierre Sapin Email: psapin@born.com Tel: +44 (0) 7552 396097

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BORN UK Soho Works 56 Shoreditch High Street London, E1 6JJ

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www.chanel.com

La Ligne de CHANEL - Tél. 0 800 255 005 (appel gratuit depuis un poste fixe).