Tag Archives: Mexico City

Explore Mexico City’s Eco-Friendly Roma House

Ignacia Guest House, a boutique hotel in Mexico City’s Roma neighborhood (recently made popular by Alfonso Cuaron’s Academy Award-nominated film Roma) is the ultimate marriage of colonial Mexican architecture and contemporary design, topped with plenty of cacti, mezcal cocktails, and plenty of charm.

The hotel was named after the home’s primary caretaker starting from 1913 — Ignacia would stay at the house for more than seventy years and so her memory and service are forever ingrained in the city’s modern history.

Images Courtesy of the hotel.

Ignacia Guest House first opened in February 2017, just before a major earthquake hit the neighborhood in September, which destroyed numerous historical structures and claimed at least 217 lives. The hotel was immediately acclaimed for its design and renovation led by Fermin Espinosa and Gerardo Salinas Factor Eficiencia. The concept included a quiet color palette reflecting the green in forest and mountains and darker structures holding them up. Each corner of the establishment is a nook of its own, hiding behind lush greenery that establishes a safe oasis. To contrast the peace and nature, design elements by A-G, Bo Concept, PECA, and Jonathan Adler adorn the five suites.

The hotel is also committed to preserving the planet with special solar panels that power the place almost entirely. Ignacia Guest House also uses glass water bottles, clean cleaning products, and produce from local farmers — an exceptional example that one can totally be sustainable with resources available in Mexico City itself.

This year’s addition to the hotel is a collaboration with renowned local illustrator Hilda Palafox. Book a suite at Ignacia Guest House now.

Ken Grier Talks About Macallan’s Year In Review

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Featured photo by Paolo Pellegrin | Courtesy of Magnum Photos.

What do you do when you have the world’s best whisky on hand, a subterranean distillery being built, and aversion to any kind of traditional advertising moments? You call over Magnum Photos to document the process and bottle it into an exclusive collection piece whisky. Ken Grier, creative director at The Macallan at the Edrington Group, did just that and took the bottle for a liquid appreciation trip through Mexico.

With Grier at the helm since 1999, Macallan has witnessed some of the brands most creative collaborations, three Guinness Records for the most expensive bottles on record, and a new distillery that is almost 100% sustainable on a normal day. Jumping on the collaboration bandwagon, Macallan turned to its longstanding relationship with Magnum to document the progression of the building through one of the most historic uses of photography — architectural documentation.

Photo by Paolo Pellegrin | Courtesy of Magnum Photo.

The summation of the four-year construction is bottled in a single malt made from a combination of eight casks, each representing the particularities of each photographer. A special edition bottle, an exclusive book with images from the construction site, and a selection of six signed prints are packed into an object d’art box as the newest addition to the Masters of Photography series. “We have a DNA and a heritage and we are trying to do stuff that’s meaningful and interesting,” says Grier and so he made the ultimate cabinet of whisky curiosities.

Image: Courtesy of Macallan.

“A photography project about the construction of the distillery has a potentially very small audience of interest — Macallan, but if the work you make is also about the act of seeing and the act of photography then that opens a whole other audience,” says one of the photographers, Marc Power. “This has a life beyond.” Power took an extraordinarily careful, zen-like approach to when capturing the construction even though he was usually knee-deep in mud with his wife holding an umbrella over him. Each photographer took their specialty and brought it to the table with their individual point of view without a defined brief ahead of them from Macallan itself.

Photos by Marc Power | Courtesy of Magnum Photos.

Launched in Mexico City, the photo exhibit spent a few weeks at a gallery before the bottle set out for other Mexican destinations full with a 4D VR visit to the distillery and a mandatory tasting, of course. “People like to discover their own trends. They like to learn through experience,” says Grier. His entire approach to the brand has been unconventional from day one. “I think there is a lot more interest in people having different enriching experiences and people get a lot more quality and craft from the experience.”

Marc Power and Ken Grier | Courtesy of Macallan.

Enamored with the drink itself, Grier is also quite the rebel with a sort of teenage desire to do exactly what seems impossible. A distillery upgraded straight out of Teletubbyland? Sounds about right as a culmination of a brilliant career with outstanding achievements at the spirit brand which he is set to depart.

Netflix’s Made In Mexico Is Your New Reality TV Obsession

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTwXWLd4tPk

Netflix’s new series Made in Mexico offers a peek into the Mexican capital away from bizarre American political stereotypes, and instead glamorizing the city in an unexpected way. The lives of nine socialites (fresas in Mexican slang) are entwined and shuffled throughout as they begin making friendships, collaborations and friendships in Mexico City (lovingly dubbed DF — Districto Federal.)

It’s no secret that Mexico City is having a moment, with more individuals swarming there instead of historically expat-friendly cities like Paris. With that as Netflix is globalizing and internationalizing its shows. this year has seen some of Mexico’s best: a modern return to telenovelas (soap operas) with Casa de las Flores, a historical Luis Miguel series, and now reality TV — everyone is watching!

Photo: Courtesy of Netflix

The show is made to be quite light without overly antagonizing any characters, without incessant drinking, or snobbiness. In fact, all nine are very well educated, speak fluent English, are respectful — that’s because they’re Mexican. And we get to see into typical Mexican families — overbearing mothers, reluctant fathers, and quite a bit of machismo. They are in fact drinking tequila and mezcal and eating tacos.

We are so used to seeing the convoluted life of Americans in America going through very American issues, that a foreign mentality comes in welcomingly refreshing. And while Made in Mexico does focus on nine (white) socialites in the city of over 21 million habitants, filmed by an American company without really touching other national issues (other than the hurricane), it never set out to be that kind of show. The reality is that this is a very much existing side of DF. Kitzia, one of the protagonists says, “Mexico City is very closed” and she is right. Mexico’s elite is unlike Beverly Hill’s or NYC mingling around town, Mexico’s glam-pack really is separated from the rest of the country in gated communities, with bodyguards, and in their own little circle. And it is a real life that the show sets to report on and does so in an endearing manner unable to peel away from the screen.

The Ultimate Shopping Guide to Mexico City

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Central America’s fashion capital and overall stylish metropolis, Mexico City has plenty of unique shopping options. Influenced by rich history with an Aztec touch and its beaming weather, the city is a perfect playground for indie shopping in between dodging the continuous rainy season or feasting upon tacos and other street food (it’s the real deal). Here’s a list of a few of the best Mexico City shopping destinations.

Common People Man – Havre 64, Juárez, 06600 Mexico City

Photo: Courtesy of Common People.

This concept shop in the chic Colonia Roma neighborhood is a rabbit hole into 40 years of unique design. Offering anything from Comme des Garçons to in-house New Yorkino hats, Common People has all the contemporary designs currently making the rounds.

Goodbye Folk – Córdoba 55, Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Mexico City

Photo: Courtesy of Goodbye Folk

Like a dive-bar, when you enter into this vintage boutique you’ll never want to leave. Offering one-of-a-kind designs, this is where the hipsters go. A personalization program also allows you to design any kind of shoe you want, which the store will have ready in a matter of weeks.

Apartment 25 – Córdoba 25, Roma Nte., 06700 Mexico City

Photo: Courtesy of Apt.25

Apartment 25 has all the latest trends of the season — big names like Études and Comme des Garçons are stocked alongside also rising labels, like CMMN SWDN, and tons of other independent brands. And, of course, you will find the teeny-tiny sunglasses here!

Anatole 13 – Anatole France 13, Polanco, 11560 Mexico City

Photo: Courtesy of @thefancyarchive

Anatole 13 is a creative space in DF’s affluent neighborhood, Polanco. It offers a selection of curated items inspired by the latest trends in art and design, as well as some innovative culinary items. Fratelli sunnies, international coffee-table books, leather goods — you’ll find just about any statement piece here.

180 Grados Shop – Colima 180, Roma Nte., 06700 Mexico City

Photo: Courtesy of 180° Shop

Mexico’s own 180° Shop focuses on creating and celebrating contemporary Mexican design. Plus you can guarantee that no one will ever have something similar to your purchase as the store only produces a limited quantity of unique items with modernized traditional motifs. It’s an Aztec-meets-streetwear kind of thing. You can also stay right above the store at Casa Colima 180.

Hecho

Photo: Courtesy of Hecho

You might recognize this one from online stores like MatchesFashion.com, as Hecho offers bright and playful luxe men’s staples. Simple silhouettes, high quality fabrics, and a global influence should put this brand on your radar.

Chic By Accident – Colima, Roma Nte., 06700 Mexico City

Photo: Courtesy of Chic By Accident.

Chic By Accident is perhaps more a cabinet of curiosities than a fashion boutique. Offering fabulous furniture that takes the simplicity of Copenhagen design and fuses it with Mexican folk tradition, this store is a goldmine of contemporary pieces to update your home.

New Brand: Hotel 1171 Menswear

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Whoever heard of that old “flu” thing. We’ve got the travel bug around here (no, really, off to the European shows!), which has piqued (up) our already equable attention to travel-style. Fitting, then, that we come across a brand new label in menswear that counts travel as its core inspiration. Hotel 1171 arrives just in time for Spring 2013 with a laser like focus on the style-minded adventure seeker—that guy who is just as comfortable kicking it along the rugged shores of the American Northwest, the trains of India, the mountains of Peru as he is along the art galleries of New York’s Chelsea, the boutiques of Paris’ Saint Honoré, the malls of Mexico City. (By the way, we’re not mathematicians, but if you add all of that up, we’re pretty sure that equals Tokyo.) 26-year-old designer and creative director Brett Baldwin was inspired by the desert, Hong Kong and fishing trips to the Sierras for his first go round with Hotel 1171. The brand’s graphic is a door knocker—meant to recall the “excitement of travel and spontaneous adventures.” We assume, the metaphorical knocking, thereof. Standouts include a floral-lined bomber with leather trimmings (versatility, defined, and kinda western), saddle shoes made from aged leather, suede and lightweight athletic soles (for peripatetic needs), hoodies designed in premium fleece mixed with lambskin sleeves (a nice compromise between luxe and lazy) and the washed denim duffle bag that kinda-sorta-really makes us want to jump on a horse and ride off into the mountains. Check the whole collection, and video (great watch) after the jump.