JONATHAN CRAMER

Asked to describe his recent journey across the American Southwest, photographer Alexander Wagner simply responds, “It’s hard for me to encapsulate the experience.” Something about the names of his stops—particularly Monument Valley and Navajo Nation—strikes a chord, but any description beyond these descriptors themselves is simply too far out of reach.

When you walk into Irish nightlife mogul James Morrissey’s latest bar, the Late Late Bar and Spirit Grocer on Houston Street in New York, you might think you are in a speakeasy, a lounge, or some other understated, dimly lit place where you could probably find an experimental cocktail and some mellow jams. You will, in fact, find creative cocktails—even ones containing Guinness—and carefully selected tunes. What you will not find are shamrocks.

The location of Jean-Marc Houmard’s latest property—the heart of colonial Granada, Nicaragua, one of the oldest cities in South America—may surprise those who are familiar with its owner from his urbane New York City eateries, Indochine and Acme, but Tribal Hotel remains true to his taste. Whereas Houmard’s restaurants offer a tropical feel in a city environment, Tribal Hotel brings a curated beauty to a quiet place. Designed in the Mid-century Modern ӕsthetic with rural whims, Tribal has an unassuming façade, but is warm, and boasts simple elegance within. Truly a boutique hotel, Tribal offers five suites, each with a terrace and each different from the next, but all hand-designed in a signature style and replete with one-of-a-kind, Nicaraguan artisanal pieces.

In Marisha Pessl’s début novel, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, the narrator, the overeducated and metaphor-happy Blue van Meer, describes a fellow classmate’s eyes as “the color of a kiddy pool (blue, green, suspicious hints of yellow),” a strikingly precise approximation that applies equally well to Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, star of the new film I Origins. The Spanish actress’ unique pigmentation comes thanks to sectoral heterochromia, a rare genetic mutation that writer and director Mike Cahill, in a stunning coincidence, had already assigned to her character Sofi before ever meeting her.

David Rice’s short story “Egon’s Parents” offers a surreal take on guilt, responsibility, and identity. Read it here as part of our Last Word series of original fiction.

Belgian-born designer Annelies De Rouck understands the difficulties women face when it comes to what can be considered a stressful ordeal—shopping for the perfect swimsuit. She discovered that when she asked her friends about their favorite swimwear brands, great suits would be found and used until they fell apart. When it came time to find a new swimsuit, their favorite styles were often discontinued. “I realized that there is not that much consistency in fit at most brands and that women were really looking for that,” De Rouck explains. “As a result, women don’t seem to be loyal to one or two go-to brands. They spend a lot of time shopping around, often with disappointing results.”

The Fobe House in Marrakech, Morocco, is strikingly contemporary. At first glance, it’s all starkness and contrasts, a cascade of sharply-angled white structures speckled across an arid landscape. Infinity pools, floating terraces, and a mysterious neon glow are all present, each detail adding to the disparity between modernity and the home’s surroundings—really nothing, save the Atlas Mountains at the horizon.

It’s been nine years since Ilana Ben-Ari nearly lost her degree trying to design a toy that pushes children to think outside the box.

For Ben-Ari, play is one of our primal instincts. We like to solve problems, we like to be creative, and we like to solve problems in creative ways with each other. But collaborative learning and, more importantly, empathy aren’t just reserved for the playground. They are new hallmarks of the modern workplace.

For her latest exhibition, the photographer Cara Stricker has enlisted the help of some friends. “Make Love to the World,” which opens tomorrow night at The Hole Gallery in New York, will feature her personal photography alongside collaborations with musical talent such as Roger O’Donnell of the Cure), Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes, and Sebastien Tellier’s keyboardist, John Kirb.