Author Archives: Byron Cordero

giacomo

Giacomo Gianniotti is Nobis’ Latest Brand Ambassador

In an age of influencer campaigns, #sponsored posts, and a general decline in authenticity, one brand turns to a more deep-rooted collaboration. Nobis—Latin for “us”— a now globally renowned premium Canadian outerwear brand has formed a multi-year partnership with Italian-Canadian actor Giacomo Gianniotti, more famously known as Dr. DeLuca in Grey’s Anatomy. We sat down with the actor and Robin Yates, co-founder of Nobis, to talk about this new partnership and the latest Spring 2020 campaign.

 

EH: There comes a point in every brand’s market life that the partnership is introduced. Whether B2B or B2C. Why now?

Robin Yates: At Nobis, we share the absolute conviction that brands are a reflection of the people that drive them. We feel strongly that by choosing to align ourselves more intrinsically with recognizable, like-minded ambassadors we can more effectively bring awareness to both our brand and the global community-driven initiatives that are such a vital part of who we are.

 

Giacomo Gianotti: So, I’ve never been the face or the ambassador of a brand before and I definitely felt that I’d reached a large following starting from a fan base thanks to my work with Grey’s Anatomy and a bit of my pursuit on the more philanthropic side — doing a lot of charity work, giving back and so much of that has been a huge part of the impact that I’ve been able to make and hope to continue to make in the future.

 

EH: How did this relationship commence?

 

GG: If you think about it, our partnership would really have started back in 2015 right after the earthquake in Nepal. I went climbing Mount Everest to the base camp with 19 other individuals in order to raise money for the earthquake. Nobis sought me out and outfitted me with gear during the hike up Mount Everest and that was the first time that I could really interact with the products and really see how incredible Nobis was.

 

Since we’d talked and we just had so much in common as far as giving back, and Nobis is more than making jackets that are high end but also that these are jackets that we can (in one way or another) help, for people that don’t have jackets, you can run initiatives in place to help our community.

 

[Nobis has long supported Gianniotti’s philanthropic endeavors, such as outfitting the actor for his trek to Mount Everest with non-profit disaster relief organization All Hands and Hearts, to help earthquake victims in Nepal.]

 

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giacomo

 

EH: What other values do you feel are shared?

 

GG: Robin built Nobis as a self-made businessman who created this product from nothing. Nothing was handed to him and those are the kind of people that I really respect and the people that I want to help bring attention to in Canada. 10 years ago, Toronto was kind of off the map, but, you know, with Justin Bieber and Drake, it’s great seeing so many amazing things coming out of that that we just elevated us as a city so much. And it’s become a real cultural icon. Right now in Toronto, we won the NBA championship last year and Nobis has really been a part of supporting a lot of those cultures; all that to say that I think we just realized we can accomplish much more together.

 

And so it was for us a perfect fit for them to have someone be the face of their brand [and for us] being asked to for the first time, we were both at that point where we needed to up the stakes a little bit and feel that Canadians came together [as a collaboration].

 

EH: What are some signature pieces that speak out to you that are a seamless fit?

 

GG: Nobis is known for those really sub-zero temperature jackets that will be so warm you’ll be so insulated. With this new spring line, they’ve come up with really fun fashion-forward kind of young hip jackets as well. They pioneered a lot of really cool technology like our magnet strip so add this on-the-go like a pocket so I’m just really excited to see how other styles develop.

 

EH: We have to ask. Tell us about your current role on Grey’s Anatomy?

This has been one of the biggest seasons for my character. We’re telling a story of mental illness right now. Last year we had my father’s character come on the show, who experienced bipolar disorder. And so now my characters are now starting to show symptoms of that and we’re trying to tell a story of mental illness where people can still live very functional lives if they get treatment and help and medication and supporting those people and making them feel like they’re a part of society. So there’s education to both people experiencing that, but also educating the people around them to know how best to support their loved ones who are going through it.

giacomo
giacomo
hinge

Hinge Will Pay You to Turn Off Your Phone

“No. No. Such an edited photo. No. Cute but this picture was taken in 2012. Wait… this one is a catch — scrolls — visiting for the weekend. Damnnit!” The perils of online dating. So let’s say best case scenario you find someone who checks all the boxes: smart, thriving, put-together, and lives in the same neighborhood. The next step is meeting up and this is where things take a turn: Either no one takes initiative, another date hops on it quicker, or the schedules don’t line up and both parties “forget” to follow up. This Friday, National Day of Unplugging, Hinge has just the incentive to get you both off your phones and on your date.

 

“Introducing people on Hinge is just the beginning of a connection,” says Nathan Roth, CMO at Hinge. “The real magic happens in person and in real life. We’ll never stop encouraging our users to meet up, and this Friday, we’re excited to give them a little extra incentive to set up a date and put Hinge away.”

 

How are they sweetening the deal? They’ll cover the cost. Users who decide to meet up with a match and put down their phones will receive $100. Try it out — it’ll be the most cost-effective date you’ve ever been on.

 

 

HOW

    • Participating Hinge users can follow the steps below to get a free date on Hinge.

 

    • Set up a Hinge date.

 

    • Pause Hinge on National Day of Unplugging — March 6, 2020 — for 24 hours starting at 4 p.m. EST.

 

  • Fill out the form at unplugwithhinge.com and respond to the ‘We Met’ survey in the app confirming their March 6 date.

 

DETAILS

    • Participants should pause their Hinge profile for 24 hours starting at 4 p.m. EST on National Day of Unplugging — March 6, 2020.

 

    • Between 4:00 pm EST on March 7 and Midnight EST on March 8, complete the in-app “We Met” survey for their date, and complete and submit the request form at unplugwithhinge.com using the name and email associated with their Hinge account to request a gift card

 

    • Once we verify their request, you’ll receive an email with a $100 e-gift card reimbursing them for their Hinge date (while funds last).

 

  • First come, first served. Ends 3/8/20, or when a total of $25,000 in gift cards is claimed, whichever is sooner.
Tequila Cazadores

Cazadores Tequila Claims that Añejo is the New Blanco

Mexicans love their mariachi and their tequila. Cazadores Tequila brought both these party essentials to its launch event for  Añejo Cristalino, the latest 100% weber blue agave tequila from the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. For the true tequila connoisseurs out there, “Blanco” (or white) is generally fermented longer and thus is shelved higher than its younger, añejo, tequila counterparts… until now.

 

After distillation, Añejo Cristalino ages in small oak barrels for over two years, allowing the liquid to have more contact with the wood and achieve a consistently smooth, complex vanilla flavor. The liquid is then filtered through activated charcoal and stripped of all caramel coloring while still maintaining the brand’s signature sweet taste. The result is a transparent añejo tequila with notes of walnuts, apples, and toasted wood.

 

Tequila Cazadores

 

“We’ve taken the time to perfect Añejo Cristalino—our most elegant tequila—and we’re confident that after one sip, those who consistently choose light, clear tequilas will also come to appreciate a full-bodied añejo palate,” says Jesus Susunaga Acosta, Tequila Cazadores Master Blender.

 

Añejo Cristalino made its official debut in New York City with a “Colorless” dinner co-hosted by Chef Aarón Sánchez, soundtracked by a local mariachi band. The monochrome meal, which consisted entirely of authentic Mexican dishes stripped of all color but still rich and complex in flavor, underscored that appearances can sometimes be deceiving.

 

Tequila Cazadores

 

Cazadores Tequila’s Añejo Cristalino is now available at select spirits retailers nationwide and can be purchased online via Drizly.

Art Basel Miami 2019: Diesel Sells $5 Million T-Shirts

If you can afford a $120,000 dollar banana then surely a $5 Million dollar T-shirt would be the only suitable attire to eat it with — just make sure you don’t get it stained. For these types of conceptual art forms and more, design, art and fashion aficionados from around the globe flock to Miami Art Basel in search of the unconventional.

 

Introducing “The Condo T-Shirts — The Most Expensive T-Shirts Ever,” a range of 143 unique T-shirts each featuring a corresponding floorplan of an actual DIESEL Wynwood unit and retailing for the approximate cost of a new dwelling. For example, T-Shirt “D6-7L,” clocks in at a tab of $1,049,000. The T-shirt “F2-L7” has a price tag of $5,500,000. But if you buy one, then, you get a new home—at DIESEL’s brand new Wynwood development — “for free”.
The building is designed by Zyschovich Architects and developed by Bel Invest Group, grown under the creative guidance of DIESEL and reflects the values and distinctive style of DIESEL LIVING.

 

The DIESEL Wynwood, a WELL-certified building, is enriched by a host of thoughtfully designed amenities, including a contemporarily designed pool, gym, meditation room, meeting space, and an expansive, open-space lobby with an art gallery. Outside of the building, the extravagance of a courtyard functions as a tropical oasis for the building’s residents. Hey, it’s even walking distance from El Patio if you want to dance and booze and now you have the shirt that tells people where to take you back to, should you forget.

Gitano Miami

Jungle Unravels in Miami for Art Basel at GITANO

First, there was Tulum followed by New York and now (naturally) Miami is the third International Destination for GITANO Miami. Baselers gathered for the grand opening of the design and wine experience located at the base floor and rooftop of the 40-room boutique hotel in the Faena District. GITANO at Casa Faena features the feels and vibes tailored to the industry’s most creative crowed. Exclusively for Basel, the Manscapers NY designed a unique live installation that honors Miami’s natural surrounding environment, while playing off the fun party sensibilities of the city and The Faena.

 

Gitano Miami
Flowing rings of greenery and tropical foliage spilled from Casa Faena’s atrium at varying heights that featured deconstructed mirrorballs, flowers, leaves, and birds. The design trio also presented thousands of white florals in the Casa Faena Gitano installation, paying homage to the one thousand elderflowers used to craft every bottle of St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur. Offering a modern take on Mexican and Mayan fare, the entire experience transports the guest to another time and place, inspired but the tropical jungle of Tulum and the Spanish-Colonial towns of the Yucatan, Mexico. Even if you stop in just to flex for the ‘gram, the sweeping oceanside views will be sure to generate a generous amount of likes and follows, brought to you by one the best experiential spaces of this decade.

 

Gitano Miami
GITANO at Casa Faena is located in Casa Faena at 3500 Collins Avenue. The restaurant, bar, and terraces are open daily from 8 am-midnight and 2 am on the weekends. The rooftop garden is open daily from 4 pm – 11 pm.

The Londoner Super Boutique Hotel

The World’s A Stage, London’s First Super Boutique Hotel

Known for creating immersive environments, world-renowned designers, Yabu Pushelberg, take center stage in orchestrating the world’s first super boutique hotel: The Londoner. Opening this June, the sixteen-story marvel will offer 350 guestrooms and suites, topped with a tower penthouse offering panoramic views; two private screening rooms; a mix of six concept eateries, bars and a tavern, including alfresco dining on the ground floor and a contemporary Japanese lounge bar with a rooftop terrace and fire pit; plus an expansive ballroom suited for any occasion, a variety of meeting spaces and a results-driven gym and spa.

 

Nestled in London’s Leicester Square neighborhood on Whitcomb Street, The Londoner is set to transform the city’s majestic skyline by delivering the most sophisticated playground on that side of the pond.

 

Walkthrough with Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu, where they lead us through the design process from concept to curtain call.

 

The Londoner Super Boutique Hotel

 

EH: We’re always fascinated by hotels of this elegance, walk us from design concept to completion. Where did you start? Were there any design MUSTS you were careful to employ?

 

George:Historically, Leicester Square has been the theatre district of London. We really wanted to play into these roots in a spirited, youthful way. We thought about the function of the theatre in front of the house and back of the house, which really took the shape of the design direction.

Glenn: The Londoner is somewhat of a displaced atrium. A guest can go up 8 stories into the sky or they can go beneath street level to discover stories of endless hotel programming. The hotel has a subterranean quality which allows guests to not get distracted by the reality that surrounds them and truly immerse themselves at the moment. Or they can escape their inner sanctum and go up to the top of the hotel and look out onto Leicester Square in a bustling bar that feels like the center of the world. The hotel can really morph to the mood and energy the guest is feeling or gravitating towards and that is the idea that really spurred the entire hotel concept.

 

EH: Describe any challenges and how you overcame them.

 

Glenn: We designed the hotel as a series of dreams that take place over one night’s sleep cycle. In 8 hours, a person could have 6 crazy dreams; we wanted to create that experience, with much less disillusion and with a heightened emphasis on the fun bits.  Our biggest challenge was creating a common thread that could fuse these spaces together while giving each environment enough room to tell their own story. We approached this by stacking the spaces, the dreams, on top of one another instead of blending them into one space. We wanted to give them each enough room to breathe and it also gives the guest the choice to choose what they want in that moment.

 

Reception Area

 

EH: Anything you tried that was new or a departure from other projects?

 

While we are accustomed to designing up into the clouds, The Londoner was our opportunity to design into the London skyline while also diving deep down into the earth. The building gave us a boundless opportunity to experiment with how we wanted to frame the guest experience and take down the pre-disposed barriers around how hotel spaces are and can be shaped. For example, we created a vessel of new experiences for the guest by placing important and active programming into the lower levels which can change the context of how people perceive and utilize the space. It may not sound luxurious, but that was the fun part, figuring out how we can utilize space in a new, clever way.

 

EH: What was the timeline?

 

Glenn: Over the past three years our team has gradually been bringing The Londoner to its full form. When we first started this project, we were actively working on three other projects based in London. They are all incredibly special in their own way and will all be opening quite soon. We feel quite connected to London and it is exciting to see all these projects come to life around the same time. While we can’t talk about the other ones just yet, we can soon!

 

George: Our work in London and Europe has organically expanded over the years. Our re-design of La Samaritaine in Paris will be opening this coming April followed by other exciting projects soon to be announced projects. We are back and forth to Milan to meet with our furniture collaborators and preparing for another big year of collection debuts at Salone. It is a really exciting time at YP, which makes openings like The Londoner that much sweeter, to see our visions come to life.
 

EH: Who did you envision is the client for the spaces?

 

Glenn: When we think of the who is staying at The Londoner, we envision a world traveler who likes to entertain as much as they like to be entertained. They are adventure seekers but understand the importance of rest and self-care. Those who see the fun in dressing up just for the sake of it, or to the opposite effect are trying to step away from the world for a little while, The Londoner is for them. It is a multi-generational hotel with no specific age in mind because to us, that is just a state of mind.