Icon Magazine April 2016 Vorige editie

In our latest issue we look at the past, present and future of travel, making the journey from London to outer space, via China
"A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” So wrote the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. His words may capture the idealised spirit of travel, Icon’s theme this month, but would no doubt ring hollow for the millions of Chinese citizens who return to their hometowns and villages in aging rail stock every Spring Festival.

However, there are signs that things are starting to shift, for a certain section of the populace at least, with the arrival of bullet trains and gargantuan new stations. We examine the impact of high-speed rail on a country undergoing seemingly continual change. Staying with China, we also shine a spotlight on OCT Loft in Shenzhen – a neighbourhood in which a curious alliance between developer and creative community has spawned a thriving cultural quarter. Closer to home, Icon foresees banana skins aplenty in Transport for London’s Transported by Design programme, whose admirably high ambitions could fall victim to economics and compromise.

Leaving Planet Earth, though only in a sartorial sense, Y-3 (a joint venture between Yohji Yamamoto and Adidas) has designed a space suit for Virgin Galactic’s astronauts who want to cut a dash in outer space.