Author: studiobypines

Maison Margiela’s Next Canvas: The Home

Maison Margiela is extending its quiet rebellion beyond the runway into the realm of living.

Its debut residential project, Maison Margiela Residences, is set to rise on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, with only 25 limited homes that blur the line between architecture and couture. Each residence looks outward to the sea and inward to Margiela’s philosophy: transformation through deconstruction.

For over three decades, the Maison has treated design as an act of storytelling stitching together ideas across fashion, furniture, and form. This new venture continues that language, where walls behave like garments and materials carry the poetry of imperfection. Red marble, aged mirrors, and precise tailoring become architectural gestures rather than decorative choices.

In collaboration with Alta Real Estate Development, the project imagines what happens when Margiela’s codes trompe l’œil, reconstruction, and restraint translate into space. It’s a study in controlled disorder, where the intimacy of couture meets the permanence of structure.

Italian architect Carlo Colombo contributes a collection of bespoke furnishings crafted exclusively for the residences. His approach sculptural, deliberate, quietly cinematic builds harmony between the architecture and what lives within it. The result is a world where Margiela’s unconventional philosophy can be lived, not just worn.

Beyond luxury, Maison Margiela Residences represents a shift: a home as narrative, a structure as statement.

The Maison continues its exploration not to decorate life, but to design its atmosphere.

October 23, 2025
Art Don’t Die Studio by Pines Collection

Art has never belonged to time. It moves through it shapeshifting, surviving, leaving traces on those who dare to create. Art Don’t Die is a reflection on that immortality. A collection that honors the artists who turned imagination into rebellion, whose visions continue to haunt galleries, streets, and minds alike.

At the center of the collection stand two titans Salvador Dalí and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Dalí, the surrealist dream architect who painted the subconscious into elegance; Basquiat, the poet of the street whose chaos became scripture. Together, they represent two ends of a spectrum precision and impulse, order and riot. Studio by Pines reimagines them not as relics, but as living symbols of defiance.

Each tee is built like a relic unearthed heavyweight cotton washed into softness, carrying the weight of history. The prints are bold yet ghostly, fading as if they’ve lived lifetimes. The red Pines Studio mark bleeds like a signature of gratitude, a pulse that reminds us: true art never dies, it only finds new vessels to live through.

shot by @badboi

October 22, 2025
BARCELOS : THE ARCHITECT OF SHADOWS | A Pines Studio Feature

In Barcelo’s universe, fashion isn’t designed it’s written. Each garment, each thread, each silhouette is part of an unfolding narrative a story told in chapters, like episodes from a world that doesn’t quite exist yet, but somehow feels familiar.

“The idea was to build a brand that doesn’t follow the traditional format,” he says softly. “Something more like a series where every collection becomes an episode, revealing new characters, new cities, new fragments of a world in motion.”

This world is not so far from our own. A near future that mirrors today’s obsessions power, technology, control only pushed a little further, until it starts to blur. Here, the powerful monopolize not just economies but emotions. Here, the garments are both armor and confession.

The Story Before the Stitch

Before there were clothes, there were characters.

He began not with fabric, but with fiction imagining who these people are, what they fear, what they protect, and what they hide. “I create the characters first,” he explains. “Then I decide what they would wear, what the texture feels like, how the light would move across the fabric.”

He draws from the worlds of Blade Runner, Star Wars, The Mandalorian stories that dream of the future but ache with something human. Each piece becomes an extension of its character worn not for style, but survival.

It’s a process more like directing than designing. A cinematic ritual where concept and craft orbit the same sun.

The Language of Disguise

At the heart of the first capsule lies an obsession with concealment. The beauty of being unseen. “I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of hiding in plain sight,” Barcelo says. “The feeling of being a ghost in the crowd.”

He builds with layers, blurs, and muted reflections silhouettes that move like shadows. His garments don’t demand attention; they withdraw it. But up close, the details whisper technical fabrics, structured tailoring, a quiet sense of precision.

It’s the duality of existence: the wish to disappear, and the desire to be understood.

A World You Can Wear

What Barcelo is building isn’t a brand it’s a world you can enter. Every collection extends the narrative, and every customer becomes a participant in the story’s evolution. “I want people to feel like they’re watching their favorite film,” he says, “except they’re part of it.”

It’s fashion as fiction, garment as portal. A new form of storytelling where narrative and materiality intertwine where the act of dressing becomes the act of world-building.

In the quiet of the studio, he’s not designing clothes.

He’s designing universes.

And somewhere within the folds of fabric between shadow and light Barcelo’s story continues.

by PINES STUDIOS

October 18, 2025
Light Over Giza: When Anyma Brought the Future to the Desert

Under the watchful gaze of the Great Pyramids, Pines Studio went where few have ever gone behind the scenes of Anyma’s performance in Egypt. The desert wind carried sound instead of sand, and the lasers carved through the ancient night like a dialogue between history and the future. Our cameras caught the quiet before the chaos, the pulse before the beat dropped a crew chasing light down the highway to Giza, where myth met machinery.

The crowd tens of thousands stood shoulder to shoulder beneath the oldest wonder of the world, their silhouettes painted in orange glow. No brand had documented it like this before. It wasn’t just a concert; it was a moment suspended between centuries. A communion of dust, rhythm, and divinity. Pines Studio was there not as spectators, but as witnesses to the night technology bowed to the desert.

October 13, 2025
EASY LOVE: JOHN ALTO AND AYLA SPIN DISCO INTO 2025 | A Pines Studio Feature

John Alto has never been afraid of reinvention, but with Easy Love his latest release on Swedish House Mafia’s SUPERHUMAN imprint he arrives with a sound as polished as a mirrored dance floor. Swapping his trademark heavy bass lines for something buoyant and undeniably chic, the Los Angeles producer leans into a groove that feels drenched in nostalgia yet charged with tomorrow’s energy. At the heart of the track is Swedish vocalist and producer Ayla, whose velvety delivery turns Alto’s production into something cinematic less about spectacle, more about allure.

The collaboration didn’t start in a glossy studio but with a chance online discovery: Alto stumbled across Ayla’s voice, fell into its texture, and built Easy Love around it before they even met. Months later, when Ayla flew to Los Angeles, the session wasn’t about invention but completion fusing Alto’s neon-lit beat with her raw, genre bending tone. The track resonates like an artifact from a parallel 2025, where Studio 54 never closed and the fashion crowd still moved in sync beneath disco balls and strobe lights.

With co signs from Alesso, David Guetta, and Swedish House Mafia, Alto has already carved his name into the new echelon of electronic music. But Easy Love feels like a statement of intent: a refusal to be boxed in, a pivot from darkness toward something sleek, sophisticated, and versatile. It’s the kind of release that doesn’t just hit the charts it slips into the cultural fabric, the kind of track you’d expect to hear both on a Paris runway and in the after hours of Brooklyn warehouses. Alto isn’t chasing a trend; he’s tailoring the sound of now.

by PINES STUDIOS

September 24, 2025
ARTHUR ASHE TO THE UNDERGROUND: SHM IN FULL FORCE | A Pines Studio Feature

Last weekend, Pines Studio was invited to witness Swedish House Mafia’s rare back to back shows first under the steel and shadows of a bridge, then inside the glowing arena of Arthur Ashe. The contrast was electric: one night felt raw and underground, smoke rising into the night air as the city skyline flickered in the background; the other was a cathedral of light, lasers carving through the dome as thousands of voices rose in unison. Each crowd moved like a single organism phones lifted, hands stretched, strangers turned into family for a few hours.

People left both nights looking like they had been part of something that can’t be repeated a mix of sweat, awe, and disbelief still on their faces. There was a sense that Swedish House Mafia weren’t just performing, they were testing the limits of what a live show can feel like. Fans talked about goosebumps, about moments where the music seemed to stop time, about being reminded why we still gather in massive rooms and under overpasses to let sound carry us somewhere else. It was more than a concert it was communion

photos by Jason

by PINES STUDIOS

September 18, 2025
Moynat Taps Kasing Lung for a Playful Twist on French Luxury

Luxury heritage meets cult favorite art toys. Parisian trunk maker Moynat has teamed up with Hong Kong born illustrator Kasing Lung for a capsule that flips the codes of classic French craftsmanship with the mischievous world of The Monsters.

The Collision of Craft and Culture

For over 175 years, Moynat has been synonymous with understated elegance trunks, leather goods, and travel pieces rooted in tradition. But in this new drop, the maison hands the keys to Kasing Lung, the mind behind the globally adored characters Labubu, Zimomo, and King Mon. His creations, once confined to art books and collectible figures, now crash headfirst into Moynat’s iconic M Canvas.

The result? Bags and accessories that feel like they walked out of a gallery and onto the streets part Paris atelier, part toy convention heat.

What’s in the Capsule

Expect reimagined staples like the Moynat Tote in PM, MM, and GM sizes, a revamped Mini 48h, the everyday Hobo, plus ultra rare Mignon bags. Smaller lifestyle pieces cardholders, passport covers, charms round out the drop, all stamped with Lung’s irreverent Monsters.

This isn’t just merch. Each piece feels like a collectible one foot in high fashion, one foot in street culture, and both planted firmly in the now.

Why Now

The collab marks the 10th anniversary of The Monsters, with the first wave launching in October 2025. Availability is tight the pieces will be sold exclusively in Moynat boutiques where the exhibition lands. Translation: blink, and you’ll miss it.

Kasing Lung’s Moment

Since debuting The Monsters in 2015, Lung’s universe has exploded, turning his characters into icons of the collectible scene, from Asia to the global stage. He’s not just drawing creatures; he’s building worlds. And with Moynat, those worlds get stitched into leather, making luxury a little less serious and a lot more fun.

September 14, 2025
Pearls in Motion : Redefining Sneaker Culture with the Pearl Vans

In an industry where sneakers often chase hype through collaborations and colorways, the Pearl Vans arrived as something else entirely, a disruption with elegance. What began as an experiment quickly spiraled into a cultural artifact. Pearls, long a symbol of luxury, purity, and eternity, were suddenly reimagined not in jewelry boxes or runways, but on the canvas of everyday footwear.

Italian designer Mattias Gollin who has cultivated a visual narrative through his Instagram describes the spark as a question that wouldn’t let go: “How can I take something timeless, precious, almost sacred and place it into a cultural icon?” That tension the sacred versus the everyday, the eternal versus the street gave birth to one of the most talked-about sneaker drops in recent memory.

For Gollin, pearls aren’t just decoration. They’re personal mythology. “An oyster turns an intruder into something precious,” he explains. “I connect with that. I use emotional factors as fuel, transforming them into creativity. Pearls feel like amulets, symbols of eternity and protection.” By embedding them into sneakers, he wasn’t just redesigning footwear; he was fusing two worlds that rarely meet.

The first drop of the Pearl Vans was less a collection than a ripple in the culture. It wasn’t designed to fit the fashion system’s seasonal rhythms. “I don’t really make collections,” Gollin admits. “My creativity moves with my own flow. When the energy feels right, that’s when I create.” That refusal to play by industry rules became part of the story, fueling both the mystique and the demand.

Still, there’s always a balance between the personal and the cultural. “I start with something deeply personal symbols, memories, vibrations and then I project it outward, imagining how culture will absorb it and remix it,” he says. “If it’s only personal, it risks being self-indulgent. If it’s only cultural, it feels hollow. The magic happens when my story becomes a mirror for someone else’s.”

As the Pearl Vans move into their second chapter, Gollin is clear but reserved. “The story has just begun. No spoilers.” What’s clear is that this isn’t just about sneakers anymore. It’s about rewriting how objects can carry memory, symbolism, and story, one pearl at a time.

At Studio by Pines, stories like the Pearl Vans remind us that culture isn’t just built through trends it’s shaped by symbols that carry weight, history, and emotion. What began as an experiment has become a movement, a reimagining of how personal mythology can slip into the everyday. And like the pearls themselves, this story will only grow more luminous with time.

September 5, 2025
J BALVIN BRINGS MEDELLÍN HEAT TO TOKYO: SUMMER SONIC 2025 | A Pines Studio Feature

Tokyo, Japan. Summer Sonic 2025.

The air was thick with heat and anticipation as J Balvin turned Tokyo’s Marine Stage into a reggaeton takeover. From the first drop, the Colombian superstar pushed the festival into overdrive, folding Latin rhythm into the city’s summer chaos.

photo by @gabydeimeke

The crowd was a collision of cultures, Colombian and Japanese flags waved shoulder to shoulder, fans shouting “Latinos en Japón” as Balvin delivered hit after hit. Midway through the set, he welcomed fellow paisa and global rising force Feid onto the stage, sending the arena into a frenzy. Together, they delivered a performance that felt less like a guest appearance and more like a cultural statement, Medellín energy transported directly into Tokyo’s heart.

photo by @gabydeimeke

The official press team captured the spectacle in full color with fireworks, LED explosions, and Balvin commanding the stage in larger-than-life form. PINES STUDIOS documented a different side. Our black and white lens moved backstage, where Balvin was stripped of spotlight and pyrotechnics. Here, the energy shifted with calm focus before the storm, tattoos speaking their own stories, laughter exchanged with friends. Among them was Bajowoo of 99%IS-, the cult Tokyo designer whose presence underscored the creative bridge between reggaeton’s global rise and Japan’s underground fashion world.

photo by badboi

Together, these dual perspectives tell the full story. The press captured the chaos and color while PINES STUDIOS revealed the grit and intimacy. What emerged at Summer Sonic 2025 was not just a set but J Balvin continuing to redefine how Latin culture moves across borders, sweating it out in Tokyo and taking everyone with him.

Words by PINES STUDIOS

August 24, 2025
All The New Music From Roddy Ricch, Tate McRae, BLACKPINK’s LISA and More

February marks the official kick-off to new music this year. Headlining this month’s most anticipated album drops are Roddy Ricch’s “THE NAVY ALBUM,” Tate McRae’s “So Close To What,” and Lisa of Blacpink’s “Alter Egos.” Ricch, who hasn’t released an album in nearly three years, has kept his “next in rap” crown intact through star-studded collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Gunna, and Future. Meanwhile, McRae’s new era is a bit more possessive of her previous bodacious and bratty radio juggernauts first seen on 2023’s “THINK LATER.” For her solo debut, Blackpink’s Lisa polishes her Korean hip-hop swagger and killer choreography for a more Western pop appeal, perfectly executed on her Tokyo Drift-esque single “Rockstar.”

February also welcomes long-awaited comebacks from a diverse roster of talent. Oklou, the French avant-garde visionary, returns with the icy pop textures of “choke hold” after five years. Mallrat delivers touching hyperpop-tinged indie with “Light hit my face like a straight right,” and The Lumineers embrace a more outward expression of their Americana-inspired alternative sound with “Automatic.” Other notable releases include Inhaler’s daring “Open Wide,” The War and Treaty’s heartfelt “Plus One,” and Sam Fender’s reflective indie-rock offering “People Watching.”

On the horizon, Blackpink’s Jisoo will release her solo mini-album, “Amortage,” on February 14. The news coincides with her starring role in Prime Video’s “Newtopia” series, set to premiere a week prior on February 7. Fans can also look forward to a powerhouse collaboration between Blackpink’s Lisa, Doja Cat, and Raye, dropping February 6. Meanwhile, Lady Gaga is expected to surprise her Little Monsters with an official announcement of LG7 later this month, currently championed by the masterful electroclash single “Disease.”

Ahead, check out the most anticipated music releases of February.

“Open Wide” by Inhaler

Releases on February 7

“‘Open Wide’ was originally a short electronic house demo that was lying around in our graveyard. We loved the bass line and the ‘four-to-the-floor’ kick on it,” vocalist-guitarist Elijah Hewson says about the eponymous album track, an excerpt from the Irish quartet’s daring new era– a driving indie-rock epic mixing yearning hooks, expansive guitar lines, and Balearic-style percussion. “Open Wide” was largely produced by the legendary Kid Harpoon, who’s worked with Harry Styles, Florence & The Machine, Shakira, HAIM, Shawn Mendes and more.

“choke enough” by Oklou

Releases on February 7

PC Music disciple Oklou returns after five years with another trance-heavy tale.“‘Choke enough’ is a very intense album for me,” the French artist reveals. “It’s filled with directions, tentatives, and irregularities, reflecting on my last years on this planet as my heart and conscience have really decentered from myself.” Past singles like “family and friends,” “obvious” and the Bladee-guested “take my hand” feather Oklou’s new soundscape in dreamy minimalism with pockets of electronic-powered futuristic ambiance.

“Love & Hyperbole” by Alessia Cara

Releases on February 14

“I’m so happy to finally share this with you, and I can’t wait for you to hear the rest of what I feel is my best work to date—or at least my personal favourite,” the Grammy winner shared on Instagram, announcing her fourth studio album under Def Jam Recordings. From the crisp trumpets of “Dead Man,” painting an already-over relationship to the sunny, jazz-influenced meditation of “Slow Motion,” all the singles hint at a back-to-basics pop-R&B, blending the ingenuity of 2016’s “Know-It-All” with notes of heartache and resilience, and musical maturity.

“Automatic” by The Lumineers

Releases on February 14

In celebration of founding members Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites’s 20-year partnership, the alternative Colorado-based band will release their fifth album, which “explores some of the absurdities of the modern world,” according to their official announcement. Featuring standout tracks like “Same Old Song” and “Asshole,” the album merges personal struggles, humor, and a hearty, radio-friendly Americana sound– a decade-old signature of The Lumineers. “People who think they have our number, they’ll be surprised,” says Fraites, hinting at the band’s ongoing artistic evolution.

“Light hit my face like a straight right” by Mallrat

Releases on February 14

The princess of Brisbane is back with her sophomore album, a glowing salute to indie pop and dewy hyperpop tendencies, following star-making performances alongside Post Malone, Maggie Rogers, and Conan Gray. While her whimsical ballad “Horses” reflects on tender memories with her younger sister, the album’s release was ultimately delayed due to her sudden passing. The 26-year-old told The Guardian that her music always “possessed unprecedented wisdom” like “a scrapbook of life, [it’s] about everything and nothing.” Seven months later, the completed project, including poignant singles like “Ray of Light” and “Pavement,” now take on a new resonance.

“Plus One” by The War and Treaty

Releases on February 14

After a year of touring with Chris Stapleton and Zach Bryan, the Grammy-nominated country duo is releasing 18 life-affirming tracks that highlight the married couple’s staple togetherness while embracing themes of hope, healing, and joy. “One of our main intentions with this album is to inspire people to share themselves with others and open themselves up to the possibility of being loved,” Michael Trotter Jr. shares. The album’s nexus points include “Love Like Whiskey,” a soul-soothing portrait of a love strong enough to overcome any obstacle, co-written by the Trotters and Miranda Lambert, and the wildly ecstatic “Called You By Your Name,” a breakneck-paced rallying cry influenced by the Black gospel tradition of shout music.

“THE NAVY ALBUM” by Roddy Ricch

Releases on February 21

“[Fans] They’re gonna get a real experience, almost like a soundtrack [or] movie experience of what my life is like,” the Compton rapper told Apple Music about his upcoming project. Following the milestone of hit single, “The Box,” finally surpassing 2 billion streams on Spotify and a highly-coveted collaboration with Kendrick Lamar on his critically acclaimed album, “GNX,” Ricch is ready to set new records with “THE NAVY ALBUM.” Blending melodic drill-trap and his signature groggy autotune, Ricch enlists producer Terrace Martin to lay some jazz influences on his latest single “Lonely Road” as he is set to deliver his most honest record yet.

“So Close To What” by Tate McRae

Releases on February 21

Ever since “greedy,” an aura of star power has washed over Tate McRae–from her glossy hairography and smoldering smizes to her baby-drooled voice and “love ‘em and leave ‘em” pop anthems. McRae isn’t quite Britney Spears level, but the sultry whisperings of “Sports car” are proof of another music supreme on the rise.

The first glimpses of her junior effort are heel-crushing perfection. Plunging deep into Hollywood’s music iconography of today, McRae enlists Grammy-winning producer Ryan Tedder and nominee IYLA to whip up modern-day classics that shed her “good girl” image even more– starting with the strip-teased, trip-hop-inspired “it’s ok i’m ok” to the sizzling R&B-pop of “2 hands.”

“People Watching” by Sam Fender

Releases on February 21

Still riding the high from his 2024 Noah Kahan collaboration folk-pop on “Homesick,” the English singer-songwriter readies for his first album in three years. The eponymous title track foreshadows the acoustic-driven rock direction of “People Watching,” as the lead single reflects his inner thoughts while watching a mother figure pass away.

In a press release, Fender promises the record will provide “colourful stories and observations of everyday characters living their everyday, but often extraordinary, lives.” Describing this latest single, “Arm’s Length,” Fender shares that the track “originally came from one of those magic moments where you’re just messing around, and a song literally falls out of the sky. It’s about being avoidant and flighty. But also, just a simple pop song, which I love.”

“Alter Ego” by LISA

Releases on February 28

The ex-Blackpink member first made solo headlines when the Rihanna-interpolated “Rockstar”’ dominated YouTube with an astounding 32.4 million views within a day, marking the biggest 24-hour debut for a K-pop soloist on the platform. Following this success, the Rosalía-assisted “New Woman” and the Sixpence None the Richer-sampled “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me)” shattered similar records of their own. Now, the “MONEY” singer unveiled her highly anticipated solo project, inspired by her five alter egos– Roxi, Kiki, Vixi, Sunni, and Speedi– whose tracks are said to channel the eclectic energy of M.I.A. and “Loose”-era Nelly Furtado.

“Club Shy Room 2” EP by Shygirl

Releases on February 28

For the surprise installment to last year’s club-ready extended play, the English DJ-producer enlists higher-caliber talent, including Saweetie (“Immaculate”), French rocker Yseult (“F*Me”) and PinkPantheress and Isabella Lovestory (“True Religion”), to outdo last year’s deep-house foray. Think of “Club Shy Room 2” as within the same timeline as Charli XCX’s “Brat” and the strobe-like “365” remix, but with an electronic sound that’s light years ahead.

February 19, 2025