Latest podcast; and both Twitter and Facebook appear to be down on IFTTT

I had recorded an earlier podcast but deemed it too controversial; instead, here’s something I uploaded to Anchor last week on the day Paul O’Grady passed away. It’s a little tribute to him (and Lily Veronica Mae Savage). There’s a little bit about a racist builder, and I conclude with the Business Book Awards. No, […]

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Farewell, Sergei Mitrofanov

Farewell, my dear friend Sergei. Taken far too soon.   Sergei trying to corral us for a photograph in London in 2015.   I’m pretty upset by this so rather than write a fresh tribute (which I will have to do in time in an official capacity), I’m going to quote from what I wrote […]

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Reflections about Lee Iacocca—unfortunately, not all of it is positive

The car Lee Iacocca will be remembered for, the 1965 Ford Mustang on the right. Before I found out about Lee Iacocca’s passing, on the same day I Tweeted about one of the cars he was behind when he was president of Ford: the 1975 US Granada. Basically, Iacocca understood that Americans wanted style. That […]

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Go well, Dave Moore

I was very saddened to learn of the passing of my colleague and friend Dave Moore on May 31, which I learned about a few hours after.    You don’t expect your mates to drop dead at breakfast while on a press trip, especially not at the age of 67, and it’s particularly painful to […]

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A farewell to Tim Kitchin

For the second time in two months, I found myself announcing to the members of Medinge Group another passing: that of my good friend Tim Kitchin.    Tim passed away over the weekend, and leaves behind three kids.    I always admired Tim’s point of view, his depth of thinking, and his generosity of spirit. […]

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Joseph Churchward, QSM: a tribute

Joe Churchward, on my last visit to his home in Hataitai in 2012. Joe’s wall at his home in Hataitai. Two of Joe’s business cards, given to me at my last visit. I started the day with the sad news that Joseph Churchward, QSM, has passed away.    Joe was a great typeface designer, but, […]

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The music of goodbye: farewell John Barry

It was with great sadness that I wrote an obit about my favourite composer, John Barry, today, and published it on the Lucire website.    While Barry didn’t have to do with fashion per se, his music was often fitting themes to each era. Who can write a complete history of 1960s’ music without some […]

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A tribute to Bernard Schwartz—that’s Tony Curtis to most of us

I can’t let the passing of Bernard Schwartz—a.k.a. Tony Curtis—go without some sort of tribute.    I’ve bitten my tongue a few times this year on writing what I wanted to on this website. And with hindsight, I really should have just gone for it, as someone who preaches transparency. Yes, I do indeed have […]

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Norman Macrae, RIP

I learned the sad news that Norman Macrae, CBE, 旭日章, passed away on June 11, just shy of his 87th birthday.    Norman was one of the great visionaries and forecasters of the 20th century, and served as deputy chief editor of The Economist till his retirement in 1988.    Among his forecasts was the […]

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