Muhammad Ali’s Esquire cover. A personal favourite of mine. What’s yours? Let me know in the comments, all part of the Definition Of Cool project.
Tag Archive for 'Non-fiction'
Ah, the eternal question: What is cool?
Always followed by: And why have some people/places/things got it while others haven’t?
Are cool and style the same thing?
Are all stylish things cool?
Does something have to be fashionable to be cool? Or is cool about doing your own thing?
Is cool the same as the other indefinable quality we call x-factor? Or can you have that special star something and still be naff?
Is cool passion, authenticity, confidence, lack of effort or all of the above?
How do you know when you’ve got it? How do you know when it’s gone?
Is it something you’re born with?
Can you acquire it?
Can you buy it?
Can you sell it?
Is it something you can learn to be or does trying result in instant disqualification?
What’s your definition of cool?
Would it be the same as mine?
If it really is indefinable, then how come we all seem to know that those pictured above – Barack Obama, Steve McQueen, Apple’s iPhone, New York, Philippe Stark’s Juicer, Keith Richards, Miles Davis, James Dean, Adidas Shell Toes – all have it. Or maybe you don’t agree that they do.
How important is it anyway?
All my life I’ve been fascinated by the concept of ‘cool’, something you can’t see or touch yet we all instantly recognise, and react favourably to. Cool people/places/things are always popular, always respected, usually successful, invariably admired. Why? What have they got? What do they know? Can they themselves define it?
That’s what I’m intending to find out with The Definition Of Cool, my own personal journey in search of that magic formula. But first I need your help. I need to know your definition of cool. Who are the people, places and things that you think have it? And how would you put it into words? Don’t be too clever. I’m trying to get together a solid cast of characters I can go and interview – or in the case of products, places and dead people, those who know/knew them well. So don’t be afraid to be too obvious – obscure may be cool, but for our purposes it won’t get us very far. Pick people, places and things which are widely known and recognised, and tell me why you think they’re cool, along with your own definition, in the comments. Once I’ve got a sufficiently cool long list, I’ll be running a series of polls here on the blog to narrow it down to a short list of interviews for the book so don’t forget to sign-up to the mailing list here or subscribe to the RSS feed here, so you won’t miss your chance to vote.
The Eames Lounger & Ottoman. Charles & Ray Eames at their best, although with so many stunning creations to their name, it’s a tough call. Don’t believe me, look here.
After years of searching the high street and the internet, months of envying those of friends and after sending numerous emails to the manufacturer begging for them to help me in my quest, I am finally the owner of my very own examples of minimalistic, futuristic, cartoonistic Japanese design that is the TagCup. And better still, I bought them in the Selfridge’s sale. Half price. Some things are just meant to be… for everything else there’s perseverance.
The coolest film posters by the greatest graphic designer of the 20th century. Find out more about Saul Bass’s life and work here and here.
Found this in a charity shop on the way to buy a coffee table. It was in the window. Framed & mounted. £11. Bargain.
I’m in love with my shiny new MacBook Pro.
It’s my 5th Apple laptop. My first was a little grey scale PowerBook 150. The internet was a new invention, colour was way out of my price range and the trackball was quite possibly the most exciting thing I’d ever seen in my life. My last Apple laptop was the last PowerBook G4. And when I say last, I mean last. I ordered it online via the Apple Store first week of Jan 2006. Second week of Jan 2006 Apple launched the MacBook Pro. Gutted doesn’t quite cover it. It took a little under two weeks to arrive. By the time it did it was already obsolete. As laptops go it was alright, but it didn’t have the new Intel CoreDuo chip, it was bulky and from the off I knew it wasn’t going to be a classic. My new MacBook Pro on the other hand, this is vintage Apple. In years to come I’ll look back in that misty way I do when I think about my little 150 with its golf ball sized trackball.
I am, totally in love.
