What a strange and stressful time to be living in. As we're adapting to the "New Normal", PROFILE MAN seeks inspiration from the 50's - 60's, a period in time when there was full of hope and brilliance. For this mini drop, the prints are sourced with Googie aesthetic in mind, focusing on teal color and a little quirkiness.
WHAT IS GOOGIE
Googie style architecture is named after a West Hollywood coffee shop designed in 1949 by architect John Lautner. Googie reflects American retro-futurism and consumerism, inspired by transport age of cars, aeroplane and space travel. It started when Postwar America finally had money and vision of the future. Cars and freeways became the dominant transportation in Southern California. Roadside business owners’ realized stores' exterior designs had to be increased in size and a certain degree of weirdness to grab the attention of people in fast-moving cars. Googie is identified with dramatic angles, neon lights, giant zigzags, triangles, and suspended globes that represent atoms.
WHERE IS GOOGIE
Nowadays, we find these funky, bizarre designs across the U.S.: Space Needle in Seattle, the oldest McDonald’s in Downey - near Los Angeles, Union 76 gas station in Beverly Hills, Theme building at LAX, and Las Vegas welcome signage… Googie lasted for around 25 years and helped kick-start the re-appreciation of mid-century architecture and design.
Interestingly, due to the American's influence, Googie style are seen in some buildings in Vietnam designed by Architect To Cong Van - Dean of Saigon University of Architecture (1974-1975): a villa at 140 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City and Nong Lam Suc School in Bao Loc, Lam Dong.