HIKARI IS WEARING THE DORA DRESS

Hikari was born in Chicago, spent many years living in New York and is now based in London. She is a cultural entreprenuer, brand consultant and philanthropist. She worked at Deitch Galleries in New York and went on to co-found Paddle 8, an online art and design auction house established in New York in 2011.

Since moving to London, Hikari has become an active trustee of Women For Women, devoting much of her time and energy to creative fundraising initiatives and advocating for women’s rights and equality. The organisation provides education and financial support to the survivors of war, poverty and injustice, with the goal of rebuilding communities.

HIKARI IS WEARING THE ANDO TUNIC AND LARKIN PANTS

ON CATHERINE QUIN

As someone really busy, I love that Catherine Quin designs clothes that can be dressed up or dressed down. Versatility in an item of clothing means you will wear it more. I appreciate clothes that are timeless, that one can wear for years until they fall to shreds. This is especially important in today’s day & age, when the way we are used to consuming can’t really continue… it literally means species collapse & the end of humanity. It’s pretty obvious we need to just consume less…which sounds like a negative unless you realise it also means, consume better. Take more time to find what you really love, & buy things that will last you as long as possible.

I also think that designers can offer windows into other ways of thinking – and I love that CQ referenced Carlo Mollino, one of the most innovative designers of the 20th century.

His name echoes loudly but he realised relatively few works and projects for someone of his renown in a period after the war where things were being at a frantic pace. This is because he was always so determined to push materials to do things they had never done before, like his famous moulded plywood chair – wood had just never been bent like that, he patented the process.

He also indulged in his other interests outside of his more extrinsic facing work as an architect and designer – he also made erotic photographs that were only discovered after his death, he was an aerobatic jet pilot, a passionate skier, he wrote his autobiography at the ripe old age of 28.

I love this quote of his: “Only when a work is not explainable other than in terms of itself can we say that we are in the presence of art,” he once explained. “This ineffable quality is the hallmark of an authentic work.” He was not only unremitting in their integrity of his work but the way he lived his life.

HIKARI IS WEARING THE PENELOPE DRESS

On LITERATURE

 The Invention of Nature — The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt: a poet and a relentless explorer, he travelled the world and developed an applied theory of interconnectivity that lead to our current understanding of ecosystem, ecology, climate.

The Unfinished Palazzo — the story of the building which is now the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation – was actually owned by three different women who all attempted to reinvent themselves through purchase of this building and grappled with who they were, as women, versus how the world wanted to see them.

Double Vision — a double biography of the de Menil’s – collectors, philanthropists, activists, lovers – they were truly a power couple – though not for their fame and accolades but rather through how they changed so many other people’s lives in profound ways through their mutual love and love of art.

How to Change Your Mind – the New Science of Psychedelics — Michael Pollan who changed the way we look at food (his book was one of the foundations of Food Inc) has come back with this incredible presentation of the history, neuroscience, and psychology of psychedelics, probably one of the most powerful and misunderstood plants in our world.

 Just Kids — I know, I was late to read this. It meant so much to me. It’s all about how much it means to have someone close to you, who really believes in you. This is so powerful.