New In - May_Jun 24
Spring to summer transitions and a new set of content to get your teeth stuck into. Our May and June compilation includes the soundtrack to our life, the first major retrospective held at a specific, prominent northern institution and a farewell to one of the sporting greats.
The feature-length documentary dives into Roger Federer's last tennis tournament and the twelve days leading up to his retirement – unpacking his fellow legends, career heartbreaks, and untold locker-room truths behind his farewell at the Laver Cup. It is an emotive chronicle depicting the impact of one of the greatest tennis players of all time and the legacy he’ll be leaving behind. The footage was intended for private archives but is now available for all to watch. It also captures his close relationship and camaraderie with a trio he’d competed so closely against throughout the last two decades: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. When Rafa cries, you will cry. Watch Federer react to some scenes available for public viewing here. The sport won’t be the same without him.
Less: Stop Buying So Much Rubbish
Patrick Grant is a businessman and television personality known for his work on Saville Row. He founded the social enterprise clothing brand Community Clothing, based in Blackburn. The brand specialises in British manufacturing, fair employment, and reducing clothing waste. Through his background in tailoring and his outspoken critique of the fashion industry’s overconsumption and decline in quality, his new book, Less, draws on his personal journey of embracing a minimal wardrobe – a carefully curated selection of higher-quality items, thoughtful purchasing, and celebration of craftsmanship.
Located in London's Spitalfields, Bread and Wine is one of three restaurants on St John’s roster. It’s predominantly meat-heavy and known for its minimalist approach to British cuisine. However, do not fret – dietary requirements are all catered for, as confirmed by our most recent dining experience. Our takeaways included delightful rustic interiors, impeccable seasonal ingredients, and a chocolate brownie to die for. We also love their Neal’s Yard Bakery for grab-and-go treats.
We recently watched Leah Williamson at Oxford Union, and it sent us back down a YouTube rabbit hole of previous talks at the university. Their channel serves up intellectual debate and conversation from popular culture public figures, politicians and academics, colliding over today’s most pressing issues. The England captain, Leah, explored diversity and representation in football, research into women’s injuries, and drew comparisons to the men's game. Others we love are actors Stanley Tucci, Andrew Scott and journalist Yalda Hakim – set in the world’s most prestigious debating society; these complex discussions are up for grabs for us all to view.
A collaboration that combines Mizuno's Japanese cutting-edge sportswear technology with Margaret Howell's minimalist, utilitarian design ethos, featuring understated aesthetics, premium materials, and functional features, the collection reimagines performance wear with everyday elegance. Perfectly blending style and practicality, it’s ideal for those who want to merge their active lifestyle and discerning wardrobe. The capsule collection launched on May 3, and we’ve already built up quite a wishlist: the Gilet, Sweatshirt, and Training Top.
Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is a masterstroke of storytelling. It became the first South Korean film to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival with over 200 accolades, from Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes to Best Original Screenplay at the BAFTA Film Awards. The story follows two families, Kim and Park. The former are financially struggling and living in a basement in Seoul, while the latter live in a sleek, modernist mansion. One by one, the Kim family becomes employees at the Park household under false pretences, and this is when it all starts to unravel. You can watch this gripping black comedy on Netflix, and here is a very wholesome video of the director admiring his Oscar [3.20].
Franki Raffles: Photography, Activism, Campaign Works
For the BALTIC’s first retrospective, the incredible work of Franki Raffles takes centre stage in an exhibit navigating her social photography, activism, and campaign works from 1984 to 1994. Honed in mainly on the outputs documenting women’s lives and work, the gallery space takes you from Scotland to the Soviet Union and China to the Caribbean. Over the 10 years, Raffles produced 40,000 images, with only a handful shown at the Gateshead institution, showing archive material and adding context to her vast body of work. The rest are in the University of St. Andrews photography collection. Catch the exhibition until 16 March 2025 to see work that has never been shown publicly, accompanied by a new publication supported by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.
We’ve all watched The Bear, right? We love a critically acclaimed drama set in a restaurant. Cue our inclusion of The Menu in a previous New In. Starring Jeremy Allen White as Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto, the show delves into his journey as a talented chef returning to Chicago to salvage his late brother's failing sandwich shop. It captures the chaos and beauty of the culinary world, with Season 3 having just released a mere few days ago. We’ve already binged it. Stand performances come from all the cast, but kudos to Ebon Moss-Bachrach, from whom we have watched since Girls, and Matty Matheson, for making the smooth transition from chef in his own right offscreen to the restaurant’s handyman on screen. The soundtrack complements the rollercoaster of emotions through grief, ambition and family, featuring Wilco, Radiohead and Weezer tracks. Disney+
Kim Lim: Space, Rhythm & Light
Space, Rhythm & Light is the first major museum exhibition of British-Singaporean artist Kim Lim’s work since 1999. It was a pleasure to catch the work in situ just before it closed at the beginning of June. The Hepworth showcased over 100 artworks spanning four decades. The vast collection encompasses metalwork, woodwork, printmaking, and archival material. It engulfs almost a whole floor of the Wakefield gallery – a lovely complement to the main collections of Barbara Hepworth, our everlasting muse.
Our boys. The soundtrack to our life. In April, we saw the Swiss-Ecuadorian duo Hermanos Gutiérrez perform live at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, and it was what can only be described as magical. Blending electric guitar, slide guitar and percussion, the brothers, Estevan and Alejandro, take you on a journey through desert landscapes. Their instrumental music has been described as spaghetti western derived from their Latin American heritage. Still, they lean on influences from Buena Vista Social Club, Santo & Johnny and movie scores from Ennio Morricone. But their latest record, Sonido Cósmico, evokes a whole new emotion entirely – the second album produced by Dan Auerbach of Easy Eye Sound. Rather than feeling grounded, Sonido feels almost space age. It's the same feeling but a new and evolved sound.
