The Material Review

Issue 065: Designer Sheep, A Michelin Star Curse, Spotify's Paradox of Music Discovery, Prep Directory, Bootcut Jeans and Q&A with Ben Dietz.

Stories worth reading. Stop indexing the internet.

11,000 Years of Designer Sheep

“According to a new exhibition in Amsterdam, centuries of human intervention turned the animal into ‘a wool-producing machine with ears and eyes.’” [NYT]

When the Michelin Star Becomes a Restaurant’s Curse

“For some chefs, achieving the industry’s most prestigious award can come with a litany of drawbacks and harm a restaurant’s bottom line” [WSJ]

The Prep Club Directory

“A collection of club sanctioned retailers across vintage and heritage sectors. UK and EU focussed, but usually with international shipping on E-comm stores.” [The Prep Club]

The Paradox of Music Discovery, the Spotify Way

“A new book explores the company’s commitment to shaping what its users hear.” [The Atlantic]

Will men buy bootcut jeans?

“We weigh up the potential impact of Kendrick Lamar’s viral bootcut jeans from his Super Bowl performance.” [Vogue Business]

A shortlist of things we’ve got our eye on.

August Special Augie Type-GP

P. Johnson Safari Jacket

40L Carry-On Travel Case

Jan Machenhauer Christo Shirt

BOOX Palma 2

Ben Dietz is an NYC-based brand consultant and the man behind the all-encompassing weekly digest, [SIC]. A trusted source on just about anything, we talked with Ben about his favorite pants, where he shops, an excellent recent art discovery and the current state of board sport brands.

What’s a memorable recent purchase you’ve made?

I recently snagged a pair of Parages Pleat Cord Pants from Vancouver’s Wallace Mercantile and they’ve made me decide to divest of any sweats and just wear these instead; super comfortable and easy to wear. Parages is a couple of French guys apparently, so they do blues really well - my natural metier. The first thing I got from them were their ‘Dad Pants’ which seemed comically large at first but have had a way of streamlining themselves to suit me somehow - proof that Jonah (Weiner) was right as usual when he wrote “If your pants look "too big," wear even bigger pants.”

What is something you’ve had your eye on?

My buddy Ryan Wallace of the excellent Halsey McKay Gallery invited me to come see him at the Armory Show in September and while I was wandering around I came across the paintings of Alexandra Barth, a Slovakian artist now based in Sanguinetto (“the bloody rivulet,” per Lord Byron). She paints serene interior details at scale; sublime but anonymous, and I was really struck by the calmness they projected in the noisy visual environment of the art fair. Her work feels like an unintended echo of Charles Sheeler early ‘precisionist’ interiors - and since he’s another recent discovery of mine, that appeals as well. Anyway, everything Mrs. Gallery was showing of Alexandra’s sold out, so I’ve been keeping tabs since.

Do you mostly shop online or in-person? What’s a physical store you love?

I buy mostly online for ease, but I love physical retail the most. I’m a fan of Pilgrim Surf Supply’s shop in Williamsburg for the instant barometer on grown-up casual clothes I get when I visit; some of my favorite things come from their in-house line and they carry a few of my favorite brands as well - Beams+ (which can do no wrong IMO) and Arpenteur to name a couple. Plus great SMUs (special make-ups) exclusive to Pilgrim, plus books and magazines. I have never been a surfer but grounding the whole approach in East Coast surf gives it all a reason to exist, which I appreciate. And Chris Gentile who runs it is a true sweetheart.

Which brands do you think currently have the best media strategy? Is that an important factor to you when deciding to buy something from a specific brand?

It’s not a brand I buy TBH, but I am constantly impressed with media strategy of Vacation, the SPF / personal care / CPG brand - largely because they seem to really understand that they are a media experience brand as much as a maker of products, and they lean into informing and entertaining really heavily as a result. Ask me, this is how all modern brands need to behave - not making communications for the sake of merchandising, but merchandising a lifestyle that fits the brand’s usage occasion(s). They’ve built a real brand galaxy around the founding joke and it provides surprising value at every touchpoint.

Are board sports brands dead? Are there any skate brands that you think more people should know about?

As a lifelong skateboader, there’s not as much excitement as I’d like, but brands like Sci-Fi Fantasy and Limosine prove there’s plenty of life in the space. Likewise Always Do What You Should Do over in London. To that end - I am very biased but I think my longtime friend Bill Strobeck’s Violet brand is doing a bunch of exciting stuff - see the recent Ryan McGinley collab for illustration - all built to answer what his skate team itself wants right now, and not really any commercial demand. It makes all of their items feel current and vital (to my eyes anyway) for that ‘super-picky skate kid,’ as James Jebbia described the OG Supreme New York consumer. I’d love Bill to take the business upside a little more seriously if I’m honest, just because I see a lot of potential in it.