Mid-May Zeitgeist
A few cultural distractions for that strange limbo between the May bank holidays.
A few things currently keeping me going.
1. Patti Smith x The Great Frog
Announced during her trio of nights in Brighton, Patti Smith and daughter Jesse Paris Smith (michiganmanhattan) are staging a collaborative pop-up at Soho’s iconic The Great Frog this Saturday. Expect tees, totes and sweatshirts featuring lyrics, references to Horses, still, in my mind, a total 360-degree work of art, from the Robert Mapplethorpe cover through to the lyrics, attitude and music, alongside William Blake ephemera.
2. Leather trousers, forever
As far as I’m concerned, leather trousers are forever rather than “having a moment”. Recently though, there’s been a noticeable softening in how they’re being styled. Dan Levy wearing Versace by Dario Vitale leather pants on the sofa for Fashion Neurosis, Diego Calva arriving in Cannes in Ferragamo, even the Dior Cruise menswear looks shown in LA pairing supple leather trousers with pyjama shirts, all of it points toward a more casual, louche approach.
The key shift is that leather trousers on men no longer have to default to full Leather Daddy coding. A fluffy sweater, an unbuttoned pyjama shirt, something slightly slouchy: the tension works better now when the leather feels incidental rather than performative.
Let’s not even discuss the horror show that was Luke Evans in Palomo Spain at the Met Gala 😱.
3. Soundtracks as emotional support systems
Speaking of Dan Levy, I rattled through Big Mistakes recently, enjoying the spiky humour, the visual candy of Jack Innanen as the golden-retriever boyfriend of the sister from hell, who it turns out is also a full-blown Insta menswear influencer, and especially the Peaches soundtrack. It almost functions as an additional character, adding this perfect staccato rhythm to the whole thing.
In other soundtrack appreciation, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’s superb score for the Netflix Harry Hole adaptation adds an entirely different layer of dread and melancholy to the drama. Half the time I’m not even sure whether I’m watching for the plot or just sitting inside the atmosphere.
4. Summer art flood incoming
As we head toward summer, the next wave of blockbuster art shows is about to land: Anish Kapoor at Hayward Gallery, Frida Kahlo at Tate Modern.
One definitely worth clocking is art-world it-boy George Rouy’s upcoming show at Hannah Barry Gallery in Peckham during London Gallery Weekend. The artist walkthrough is already sold out, but there is a waitlist in operation.
5. In defence of Euphoria
While discourse around the next era of Euphoria has become almost universally cynical, I have to dissent slightly. Yes, everything now feels wider-screen and more overtly cinematic, and the cast have aged out of the dangerous teenage limbo that originally made the show feel so volatile, but how could they not?
Personally, I’m enjoying the shift toward pure spectatorship: Nate in head-to-toe Bottega, Jules evolving into this complicated artist/sex-worker figure, Rue drifting into something harder and more butch-adjacent, and Maddy very clearly being positioned for a full femme-fatale revenge arc. Whether it all entirely works is another question, but I’m still finding plenty to hold onto visually.
Maybe that’s the mood of this particular mid-May stretch: culture less as escape than as temporary surface distraction, little aesthetic lifeboats while everyone waits for the weather, the holiday, the flight, the next version of reality to finally arrive.