Latest news with #Holcombe
The Guardian
26-04-2025
- The Guardian
New renovations, retro vibes: reviving Australia's rundown motels
Motel Molly is giving vacay vibes. It's giving idyllic. It's giving 'hot girl summer' lives on in Mollymook, a town on the New South Wales south coast. I'm in an oceanside room in one of four colour-themed buildings called Capri, Olive, Limoncello and Rosé. My room in the latter comes in pinks from powder to peach, coral and mauve with – squee! – a Smeg fridge and kettle in a high-gloss fairy-floss colourway. Elsewhere are rattan chairs, Scandi-style ceramics, glasses etched with frosted cursive font and a throw tufted with designs that vaguely evoke the US south-west. Motel Molly's fun, feminine and retro aesthetic is shared across most of the Australian motels popping up out of the bones of buildings that originally welcomed road trippers from the 1950s to the 80s. Just when you think the zeitgeist is at its zenith, another opens: Casita Motel in Batemans Bay, promising 'escape to a summer state of mind'; The Shores on the Gold Coast, promising 'poolside vibes, vintage charm and endless sunshine'. Unlike the high-rise condominiums that have transformed places like the Gold Coast, the new-old motels are capped at two storeys and tend to offer roomier proportions and more fresh air than boxy new-build hotels in an equivalent price point. Renovating existing buildings is less wasteful than constructing a new hotel. Which doesn't mean it's easy. Berry View Hotel in Berry, also on the south coast, was in dire shape when builders 'took the roof off and stripped it all out', according to its general manager, Peter Holcombe. 'The pool was horrendous green and curtains were nailed to walls.' Now, people pull over to photograph the motel's tangerine-coloured doors and stylish pool area. The backlash from locals wary of development is over, Holcombe says; they now see its cheery facade as 'the gateway to Berry'. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning On the mid-north coast, in Crescent Head, vans circle like sharks near the point break beach; boards on top with fins up like a finger to the wind – best when blowing offshore from the west and paired with an east-south-east swell. You can buy oysters in the bottle shop and prawns from a truck. A dirt road ambling south through Limeburners Creek national park leads to some blissful back beaches. 'It's just a cool vibe here,' says George Gorrow, the designer and hotelier known for founding the denim brand Ksubi. In 2016 he opened The Slow hotel in Canggu, Bali, with his wife, Cisco Tschurtschenthaler, and in 2023 the couple opened Sea Sea Hotel in Crescent Head. Their goal of 'surf shack meets Alpine lodge meets Bavarian hunting hut' was squarely achieved in a meticulous remodel of an existing motel. Sea Sea's breezy indoor-outdoor restaurant and bar made waves in a town that even the most loyal of locals admit had no decent food options. Now, thanks to Sea Sea, it's got everything from chef takeovers featuring 'tide to table' menus to bar staff who know their vermentinos from their viogniers on a list curated by Mike Bennie, the founder of Sydney's natural wine-focused store P&V Wine and Liquor. With date-night lighting buzzed by group-hang vibes, the music is curated by Gorrow's friends at Reverberation Radio in Los Angeles. The same tunes play in the rooms, cabled into bespoke speakers that double as bedside tables. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion The couple are trendsetters – so what's in store for 'Creso', some resident now wonder. The owner of the Station Boardstore, JJ, says the town is 'about 60/40' for and against Sea Sea. 'Some people think it's a bit swanky and say, 'If you want that kind of thing go to Byron,'' he says. Gorrow gets it. He came here loads as a kid on surf trips with his dad. 'The last thing we want is for this place to turn into the new Byron Bay,' he says. There was already a hotel here, he points out, but the owners 'had lost the love'. Aside from doing a cracking trade in milestone birthday parties, Sea Sea is booking local bands, showcasing artists and surf films and has put in nearly 3,000 plants. 'It will take time to earn our stripes with all the locals but we're off to a good start,' Gorrow says. In 2022 the Timothée Resort opened in Busselton, Western Australia, marketing its original 1980s breakfast hatches, because who doesn't love near-extinct mod cons? They aren't used for cornflakes, Tip Top bread and sachets of Nescafé though, because like all of the new-old motels the Timothee Resort has read the room and knows nostalgia is a visual lure only. Breakfast here is an all-local Margaret River affair with bagels and schmear, oven-baked granola, cold-pressed juice and rip-and-drip filter coffee. The motels' original heyday is documented by the architecture enthusiast and comedian Tim Ross in Motel: Images of Australia on Holidays. He writes that the uptake of cars in the 50s, and boredom with pub stays, made motels with en suites, a pool and colour TVs 'a stylish and sophisticated way to travel' for families. Today's revamped motels vary considerably in amenities and cost. A midweek booking, off season, at the Berry View – where you have to leave the premises for breakfast – will set you back $175 a night for room with a queen bed, or $160 for a single. A summer weekend stay at Sea Sea, with access to its restaurant, bar, lounge, sauna, ice bath and pool, runs to $503 a night. If many of the made-over motels' social media profiles are a sign, the demographic has flipped from families to photogenic young women in swimwear, with a heavy emphasis on Club Med-style imagery. Is that the kind of retro we want revived? Perhaps it gets others pouncing on the 'book now' button but I'm rattled by how uncertain this marketing makes me feel about fitting in. Maybe the motels are simply yielding to the reality of the Instagram algorithm, or, less optimistically, maybe the body positivity movement was just a fleeting fantasy of a more inclusive future. It wouldn't be the only progressive ideal sinking like a stone right now. The infantilising touches chafe a little, too. At The Kyah, a delightful motel in Blackheath that provides a much-needed alternative to the Blue Mountains' typically frilly, fusty accommodation, the 'do not disturb' door sign reads: 'Soz, not right now … building an awesome pillow fort.' Even Motel Molly's cute 'Gone for a dip' sign only makes sense when I read the reverse: 'Having a snooze'. The quirky mantras feel vaguely dictatorial. Should I be taking a dip? Having a snooze? Building a pillow fort? Probably. Where are my #vacayvibes? The ubiquity of a single shared aesthetic that idealises the past is perplexing, too. Holidaying merely in another place isn't enough any more: we want another time. But no matter how hard they're trying for Amalfi Coast meets Palm Springs meets 1970s Los Angeles, the overwhelming here and now of Australia prevails. At Motel Molly, the violet-blue skies are filled with screeching birds, the trees hum with insects and the air is salted with sea spray. Unlike the all-pink palette, these appealing features are timeless.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Much Will Hermès Birkins, Chanel Flap Bags and Fendi Baguettes Cost After Trump's Tariffs Hit European Imports?
With 20 percent tariffs imposed on European Union countries by U.S. President Donald Trump's new policy, brands like Hermès, Fendi, Chanel, Gucci and Dior may be forced to increase the prices of some of their bestselling products, including luxury bags made in Italy and France. Companies can share tariffs with retailers depending on their supply and demand. However, when it comes to the luxury market, 'it is likely that most, and perhaps all, of the tariff with be passed on to the buyer in the form of a higher price,' Randall Holcombe, professor of economics at Florida State University, told WWD. More from WWD The Power of Flowers Celebrated in Paris Lindsay Lohan Pops in Purple Chanel Minidress With Jamie Lee Curtis in Yellow Vivienne Westwood Suit for 'Freakier Friday' Presentation at CinemaCon 2025 New York Fashion Designer Kenny Bonavitacola Dies at 71 'Purchasers of luxury goods are probably not very price sensitive, so sellers will be able to pass the tariff on to buyers in the form of higher prices. This is more true for luxury goods than for goods that have price-sensitive buyers,' he explained. If the brands pass all 20 percent of the tariffs on to the consumer, here's how the existing prices of some of the luxury bags could look. Chanel flap bag (small, grained calfskin and gold-tone metal, black), currently priced at $10,400 at the brand's website, could cost $12,480 after tariffs. Hermès Birkin typically starts at $12,000, according to Sotheby's, but it could start at $14,400 after tariffs. Fendi Baguette (blue denim-effect FF jacquard bag), currently priced at $3,490 at the brand's website, could cost $4,188. Gucci Jackie bag (medium size), currently priced at $4,800 at the brand's website, could cost $5,760. Dior Saddle bag (medium soft with strap black goatskin), currently priced at $4,400 at the brand's website, could cost $5,280. Dior Lady Dior bag (medium size, black cannage lambskin), currently priced at $6,500 at the brand's website, could cost $7,800. On Thursday, Citi identified publicly traded companies with the highest revenue exposure to the U.S. market, listing LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Dior, Fendi, Givenchy and others) with 25 percent and Kering (Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen and others) with 24 percent. Meanwhile, the luxury companies with lower U.S. exposure were Moncler (13 percent), Swatch Group (15 percent), Prada Group (16 percent), Hermès International (17 percent) and Burberry (19 percent). For Holcombe, the tariffs 'should have a minimal impact on their sales. If luxury brand buyers are less price-sensitive, there will be little need to shift their business models in response to the tariffs,' he said. In case of retaliatory tariffs — the European Union is preparing tariffs, regulatory measures and restrictions on U.S. firms, expected after Monday — the luxury market should still be the least affected, according to Holcombe. The issue would be if international consumers decide to boycott Made in USA products. 'There are not many American brands that produce for those markets. The bigger impact is likely to be from consumers in other countries who decide not to buy American goods as a protest against U.S. tariff policy. We have already seen this in Canada, for example, where consumers are boycotting U.S. goods,' Holcombe said. View Gallery Launch Gallery: Inside the Factory That Makes $10,000 Chanel Handbags Best of WWD Looking Back at Mugler's Best Celebrity Fashion Moments Through the Years: Beyoncé, Zendaya and More Happy Birthday, Sarah Jessica Parker: Her Style Through the Years From the '90s to Today Vanessa Trump's Style Through the Years: From Runway Model to Red Carpet Fixture [PHOTOS]
