Letter from the HTSI editor: in the Alaïa neighborhood

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Please allow us a little deviation when we break down this week’s number. Instead of defending the things we want to celebrate, let’s cheer on the things we hate. The publication of a new book, The Flavor Thesaurus: More Flavors, by Niki Segnit, has raised a question in the office. What are the foods we can’t stand?

In one of the funniest roundups, Ajesh Patalay (who hates milky skin and broad beans) has asked the food experts to know what flavors, tastes and textures they can’t stand. Smoked fish and anchovies don’t get much love among our panel; the poor mackerel appears twice. Others have an aversion to milk and tapioca, which seems perfectly normal, although I was surprised to see spaghetti and potatoes on the list. Then again, recalling the grotesque mash balls once served for primary school lunches, I realized that Meera Sodha is right.

Hating foods are an excellent source of bonding among staff

Hating foods are an excellent source of bonding anyway… Now I can list which foods HTSI the staff really dislike it: Carlo Apostoli, the art director, hates the parsnip; executive editor Tim Auld won’t touch a cockle, jam or porridge; and assistant editor Louis Wise won’t go anywhere near the guts. I refused to eat eggs until I was 20, although I have since gotten over that particular dislike. My dietary requirements now stipulate no kidney and no watermelon – I’ve never understood why anyone would enjoy food that tastes like soggy cotton. Add to the ongoing conversation in the comments online: we’d like to find the world’s least popular food.

As successor to the Alaïa house, where he was appointed creative director in 2021, Pieter Mulier has had to wear legendary shoes. His predecessor, Azzedine Alaïa, was one of the most revered names in fashion, and Mulier has had to walk an extraordinarily fine line between respecting established codes and signatures and introducing new ideas. In a reversal of the usual process, he had spent several hours in Pieter Mulier’s apartment before sit down to interview him for the cover of HTSI. In January I went to Antwerp to see his AW23 Alaïa collection, for which I had opened his house. As an act of generosity, it was surprising (some journalists were even sitting on her bed); he also reinforced the idea, nurtured by Azzedine, that Alaïa’s house is, in the strictest sense, a “house”. Mulier’s vision for Alaïa is ambitious and the market is really starting to feel the influence of him. I have fallen in love with her tailoring and denim; who knows, i can still wear a hood.

Ultimately, like many parents, I fell deeply in love with Sylvanian Families through my daughter, who played with them when she was little. The tiny clothed creatures of the forest were completely irresistible to both me and her. Like Rosanna Dodds, who writes about her enduring popularity, I, too, have a group of families that should now be rehoused. But, like her, I can’t bear to give them to someone more deserving: I feel too desperately sentimental to see them go. It’s reassuring to find that others feel the same way. Who could resist her quirky, idiosyncratic charms? I’ll probably stick with them a bit longer, especially now that I’ve discovered how enthusiastic collectors are about them too.

@jellison22