The new week is here and with it comes the chance to delve deep into some fresh culture and fashion. Here’s your latest look at the i-D Guide.


Support… Santa supporting Refuge Network International
It’s December! With festive season officially on our doorstep, now’s the time to start giving — and we don’t just mean material things! Santa himself has linked up with Refuge Network International as an ambassador, to help alleviate poverty on a global scale. Huxley and fashion photographer Francesco Nazardo trailed Santa around London on his day off to see what he gets up to when he’s not bringing joy to billions around the world. It turns out there’s no such thing as an off day for old Saint Nick — here he is doing his bit for the RNI, and sleighing while he does it. Head to their website for information on how to help out.


Wear… BELLE
You’ve likely seen the Bali-based label, BELLE, popping up in your feed — whether it’s the soft, layerable separates or frilled, feminine mini dresses and bikinis — made by local artisans in Indonesia. Inspired by coastal spaces and community, while aiming to push the bounds of conscious design through fair and just labor, and local, low impact materials, the label has captured a new generation of fashion fans — us included! Check out their SS24 campaign, read up on their ethical approach and shop BELLE here.

Buy… Story mfg’s new fragrance
Isn’t it magic when a fashion brand expands into fragrance territory and gets it completely spot on? Story mfg just spent over a year working with slow, natural craft practises to extract rare scents and their debut eau de parfums have arrived: Earth Tone Research (a petrichor type smell built around mitti attar, an extract from discarded clay tea vessels) and Never Ending Meadow (inspired by wild open spaces, with notes of jasmine, juniper and chamomile). The bottles themselves are beautiful too, with cork used instead of plastic, and a stone-like stopper handcrafted from deadstock materials. Both scents are available here. Discover more on the latest episode of Story’s podcast, where founders Katy and Saeed go in conversation with Joseph, their talented perfumer.

Donate to… Matchstick Piehouse
Since opening its doors in 2018, the south-east London music venue and community space has hosted the likes of Bel Cobain, Goat Girl, Liv Wynter, Ezra Collective, Moses Boyd and Blue Lab Beats, as well as Steam Down, a beloved weekly jazz improv night. Now it’s on the brink of closure and needs help paying off debt to the building’s landlord. Regular patron or not, independent venues like Matchstick Piehouse our vital against the tide of Prets or Ballie McBallersons that inevitably appear in their place. Donate here and follow them on Instagram for a schedule of upcoming fundraising events.

Listen to… Drumsheds
After opening earlier this year in what used to be Ikea Tottenham, Drumsheds has already cemented itself as one of the UK capital’s best new venues for live shows, warehouse raves, day festivals and any cultural event worth attending. Last weekend that reputation was heightened by the debut of the new queer event False Idols, which saw icons Shygirl and The Sugababes take to what we can only presume was once a display room for flat-pack wardrobes, to perform major crowd-drawing sets.
Now, Drumsheds have released their line-up of events for Spring 2024, and while the Chase and Status concert in February is already sold out, there’s plenty more for the Drum and Bass stans. The Worried About Henry night on 16 March 2024 will see hit DJ Wilkinson take to the stage alongside other special guests (the last event saw surprise appearances from Dizee Rascal and JME). Bonobo is set to bring his trip-hop artistry to the Hydra event on 31 March 2024, while False Idols is set to return on 13 April 2024. Though, the line-up for their next event hasn’t been announced, the unexpected genius meeting of queer icons nostalgic and new for the last show suggests we’re in for something mind-blowing. Craig David is then planning to host a rave on 23 April 2024 filled with the best garage, house and hip-hop artists du jour. The techno fans meanwhile should look into making North East London their home for the next few months, as the five weeks of events will include Adam Beyer’s famed party Drumcode, Amelie Lens, James Hype, Meduza, a Radio 1 Dance takeover and a whole lot more. See the full line-up of events and get tickets here.
Go to… Lapsus Calami
The title of curator Eddie Peake’s latest show translates into ‘slip of the pen’, and the works of the artists within it — among them Actress (Darren Cunningham), Bolade Banjo and Ajamu X — respond to the theme of masculinity through a series of “laterally connected and associative ideas”. Expect a broad offering exploring, then, “its possible permutations, its fragility, its falsehoods, its antitheses, the areas where it collapses or exhausts itself”. With artistic direction by Will Davis, the show runs at London’s Marlborough Gallery from 8 December to 27 January. More information here.

Go to… Pictures of Us
Featuring works by the likes of Lotte Andersen, Sabelo Mlangeni and Matthew Arthur Williams, Pictures of Us, curated by Lewis Dalton Gilbert, sees a collection of artists look inwards, and capture self portraits in myriad creative forms. It runs at Gathering in London until 13 January. More information here.

Stay at… The W Budapest
W Budapest has unveiled a collaboration with artist Ronan McKenzie to introduce a new visionary chess board, featuring her artistic representation of Budapest’s rich cultural history. As Budapest celebrates its 150th anniversary of unification, W Budapest is positioning itself as a cultural hub, offering a novel way for people to connect and converse through chess, a game deeply rooted in the city’s history. Ronan’s design references iconic elements of the city and inspiration from the building’s storied past and visionary interior design. We spoke to the London-based creative about bringing her expertise to this collaboration and developing her ever-evolving portfolio.
Let’s talk about the board and how it all started.
We really interested in a dynamic approach to design. The W Budapest is about inspiring play and connection and conversation and how all those things interlink. The palace that the hotel is built in has had these past lives where people have gathered, whether ballet dancers training for the opera house or when it was a coffee and hangout spot. It’s had this historic identity for collaboration and connection. I have a really strong interest in interiors and architecture and have made furniture and different things, so they just wanted to let me run free and be inspired by the city.

How did you develop the chess board?
Everything on the board is intentional and has a very direct link to Budapest. The baseboard is blue and reflective, so it represents water. Budapest is cut in half by water — you have the Buda side and the Pest side, the side of the board, one side is hilly and one side is flat. So I wanted to bring those levels into it to really differentiate between the two sides. The pillars are representative of all these beautiful architectural historical details that I found around the city. Instead of traditional squares to play on, I wanted to bring in the hexagons of the traditional Hungarian style that you find at the palace. Then the colours came in with Za Za Gabor, who’s pink and Harry Houdini, for red, both being Hungarian people of influence and importance. The knight, the king and the queen are all ballet-inspired abstract shapes, ballet being a really strong part of the design narrative, but also movement being really integral to my practice. The king and the queen are both made up of multiple dancers, and the idea behind that was that the strongest players are collaborative. They’re made up of groups of people as opposed to being individuals.
What was the greatest challenge in working through this new medium?
When it comes to the chess set, I really want people to feel excited, to feel challenged, to feel stimulated. And for me working on the figures was probably the most challenging part of doing the board because I’m used to doing very figurative work. And although I really enjoy abstract shapes in furniture, textures and things like that, being able to translate my flat ideas into 3D ideas, to then communicate them to a 3D renderer and have them produced was a process that is completely new for me.
You’re getting to learn.
Exactly. And play! I have the opportunity to impact someone’s day or how they feel, which is really interesting to me. It’s a really passive ingestion of someone else’s creativity. And I like that!