Wes Anderson

All posts tagged Wes Anderson

Darjeeling Limited Luggage

Posted by James on January 31, 2016
Posted in: Did Ya Know?, New Home. Tagged: , , , , . 4 Comments

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Wes Anderson.

His highly-stylized movies capture Preppy characters that seem to have been pulled straight from J.D. Salinger stories.

Not my favorite film of his, but a good one none the less, is the Darjeeling Limited.

A humble little film that chronicles 3 brothers as they travel across India in search of themselves and the men they were supposed to be.

Still from the Darjeeling Limited

Sure, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrian Brody may technically be the stars…….but I think the real star of this movie is the luggage.

Pile of Luggage from the Darjeeling Limited

Designed by Wes’s brother Eric Chase Anderson, and produced by the then-creative-director for Louis Vuitton – Marc Jacobs, the matching luggage is a metaphor for the emotional baggage the brothers carry around with them after their father’s death.

Italian, Alberto Favaretto was smitten with Wes Anderson’s movies too. A few years ago, he designed a notebook inspired by Anderson’s film, Moonrise Kingdom, that took off like wildfire. So he started making other Wes Anderson influenced pieces; Margot Tenenbaum iPhone cases, Grand Budapest Hotel note cards and Team Steve Zissou swim trunks.

Most recently, his company, Very Troubled Child – a phrase taken directly from Moonrise Kingdom, started producing the infamous luggage of the Darjeeling Limited’s Whitman brothers with rave reviews.

There’s a weekender bag;

Darjeeling Limited Numer 4 Bag from Very Troubled Child

A small messenger bag;

Darjeeling Limited Number 8 Bag from Very Troubled Child

A zippered pouch;

Darjeeling Limited Number 9 Bag from Very Troubled Child

And, most importantly for traveling, a passport cover.

Darjeeling Limited Number 10 Bag from Very Troubled Child

Each piece is completely constructed by hand, of Italian leather, to order.

Very Troubled Child even offers the the option of a hand-painted monogram.

Or not.

Your choice.

But I’d go with the monogramming.

Wes Anderson would.

Chuck Dugan is AWOL: A Novel – With Maps

Posted by James on August 6, 2013
Posted in: Did Ya Know?, New Home. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

On the nightstand this month…..

Chuck Dugan is AWOL: A Novel – With Maps, by Eric Chase Anderson.

Chuck Dugan is AWOL

If his name sounds familiar, that’s because his brother is a big-time Hollywood director….Wes Anderson. He makes those quirky, amazing little films, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore and Moonrise Kingdom.

If you’ve seen any of Wes Anderson’s films, then you are already familiar with Eric’s work as well. Aside from the cameos he almost always has in his brother’s films, he helped conceptualize the look of his brother’s inimitably stylish film, The Royal Tenenbaums. Assisting the production designers by drafting the layout for the Tenenbaum’s brownstone, as well as creating all of Richie Tenenbaum’s artwork in the film. For The Darjeeling Limited it was Eric who created the family’s logo-covered luggage, the house of Louis Vuitton produced it. Eric also designed the packaging for each of his brother’s criterion collection dvds.

Back to his own writing career now.

From the dust jacket (remember when books had dust jackets?), “On the day of his eighteenth birthday, midshipman cadet Chuck Dugan receives a startling letter, including a treasure map drawn by his late father and news that his mother is about to marry a rogue and scoundrel known as “the Admiral.””  Sounds like a great start. What could be more exciting than a treasure map and a wedding to stop?

The book is littered with Eric’s illustrations, and of course, maps. It’s just charming.

Technicaly…I think it’s a “young adult” book.

But who cares?

Go grab a copy. (Used ones start at 1 cent)