Ala Champ
 
00:00/

MUNI

A Leading Dining Destination In Adelaide's Rural Township of Willunga

LE CORBUSIER

Visit The Great Swiss-French Architect's Studio-Apartment, Restored And Open To The Public

AMAN KYOTO

In An Untouched & Secluded Private Garden in Kyoto, Find One Of The World's Best Hotels

Invisible Possibilities

Under The Theme of 'In the Presence of Absence', Desert X AlUla 2024 Enquires ‘What Cannot Be Seen?’

URBAN ZEN AT AMAN TOKYO

A Tranquil Sanctuary to Stay, High Amongst The Tokyo Skyline

Igniting Flavour by Fire

Adelaide’s First Open-Flame Restaurant Is One of The Top Dining Destinations in the Country

A Culinary Journey Through Taiwan & Beyond

Owner-Chef Richie Lin's Taipei Restaurant Remains Highly Acclaimed — And For Good Reason

Mt Fuji Dreaming

This Glamping Resort is Bringing Guests Closer to Nature

ISSEY MIYAKE SS24

Grasping The Formless: Satoshi Kondo's Spring Summer 2024 Collection

Imagination, Taste and Emotion

In Bali’s Creative Heart, Find a Poetic and Enriching Dessert Restaurant where the Menu Stems from their Own Garden

SHIROIYA HOTEL

24 Hours In One of Japan’s Best Art & Design Hotel Destinations

Terunobu Fujimori’s La Collina

Connecting To Its Surrounding Landscape in in Omihachiman, Shiga

SUBSPACE 2023

The 4-Day Event in Sydney Celebrates the Theme 'ON TRANSIT'

WHERE TO EAT IN PARIS

Seven Best Places & Spaces To Wine & Dine

Architecture Deeply Interconnected With Nature

SANAA's Ryue Nishizawa Weaves Architectural Flow At This Retreat in Karuizawa

Fine Dining at an Altitude of 2000m

Sustainably Championing Ingredients from the Alpine Region

About

Ala CHAMP; is an international arts and design website and print magazine, based in London and Tokyo, with a key focus on curiosity and investigations into creativity and cultural insight.

Online

We are an online resource for global art and design news – a new form of curated communication amongst the over-abundance of information we receive today. What is necessary? Is it truly innovative, bringing something new to progress the conversation and actions thereafter? Each of our carefully composed articles inform and inspire with modern journalism and in-depth interviews with industry leaders, artists and engineers alike.

Our creative disciplines are transcending boundaries to now influence and inspire the other. The result; a new progression for the future.

At Ala CHAMP, we aim to connect art and design as a new global language and understanding to lead the way for new views on society. Democractic and non-hierarchal, our content curation is simplified to what we think Champ readers can positively benefit from knowing. Through psycheography, the dynamics between each are explored through critical thought and original imagery by correspondents worldwide in Tokyo, London, Seoul, Melbourne, Shenzhen, Berlin, New York, Stockholm, Miami, Gdansk, Sydney, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Paris, Los Angeles, Moscow, Seoul, Singapore, Milan and Hong Kong.

∆ Website design by digital coder; Thomas Tkatchenko.

Print

Ala CHAMP Magazine print is created with four key principles: purpose (create a document which archives and reflects the current zeitgeist, showcasing it for years to come), responsibility (print a considered format and size, ensuring there is a minimum amount of paper wastage during production and select papers for their lightweight qualities for a readers ease when travelling or transporting the magazine), longevity (ensure the print process is to the highest standard, with strong perfect binding) and originality (non-conformist to graphic design ‘rules’, complimenting uncompromising content and innovative features only).

The magazine is printed in Hong Kong and distributed worldwide to numerous hand-picked stockists through our boutique distributors: New Distribution House (USA and Canada), Antenne Books (Europe), MagNation (Australia and NZ) and Champ (Asia).

Since issue 1, we have bi-lingual languages published. From French and English, to Japanese and English, the magazine encouraged a global inclusivity regardless of your nationality. We’re still working on a global language that is inclusive for all!

Exploring the possibilities of print, issue 10 was made with a variation of four paper stocks, embossed gold foil text and two cover options with additional gloss cover. The magazine is a perfect travel companion, to be re-read and collected, capturing key movements in contemporary culture worldwide. With an emphasis on considered production, no other publication is as diverse in content or rebellious in design.

ALA CHAMP ISSUE 10

ALA CHAMP ISSUE 9

ALA CHAMP ISSUE 8

ALA CHAMP ISSUE 7

ALA CHAMP ISSUE 6

ALA CHAMP ISSUE 5

CLUB NIGHTS

Connecting with others, and connecting others to others is what we enjoy most. Our club night, CHAMP SOCIAL, happened organically and would pop up in various cities worldwide. CHAMP SOCIAL connected our network from architecture, design and science fields with friends in fashion, art and creative industries. Each night you’d meet someone new!

LONDON

CHAMP SOCIAL stemmed from a conversation to combine music, nightlife and the Champ community. The best things often happen after midnight! Through the suggestion of Champ fam Tremaine, a monthly club night was established by Champ writer Hadarrah and London editor Monique. The Champ network would DJ and it would always be an introduction to new people – early sets from NTS Radio’s founder Femi, to then-Boiler Room’s Skinny, Virgil aka Flat White… Acyde would be a constant, and he was always the hands-down favourite…

In London we would hold gallery opening after-parties and FRIEZE Art Week after-parties, and the venues would swing from upstairs at The Box, to downstairs at La Bodega NegraLe Baron at Scotch, then just Scotch after Le Baron closed, and Momo’s downstairs. Shout-out to Chris (Burrows), Albert and Lauren (MomxDad) who were the magicians behind-the-scenes at the venues, their skills are totally underrated and so pivotal to nightlife culture.

PARIS

During Paris Fashion Week each season we would team up with Charaf and Stephane’s Le Pompon. It was always a family affair, and each fashion week we would all get the Champ fam from London, Tokyo and Paris together at Hotel Amour for dinner beforehand, since Stephane’s store Pigalle was just around the corner. We had a few parties at Le Baron there, but Le Pompon was the best for Champ Magazine, it had soul.

TOKYO

In Tokyo, a hidden gem was Mama Luli’s Hotel Pearl [the top floor of a Naka spot which only her international club family knew about], whereby we’d arrange a club night to follow after a family dinner. For the dinners and parties, again we would connect our Champ fam from fashion, architecture, music and design fields, ensuring the cross-pollination of interests and fields could occur over insightful dinner conversations before the dancing began. Genuine connections have been made to this day, and the Champ fam continue to flourish in their fields of work.

As with our earliest ventures which always began organically, we never archived anything – it was about doing. Here’s some of the club night fliers we could find, capturing the growth of Champ Magazine and it’s wonderful global family.

The Box, London, 2012
Le Pompon, Paris, 2013
Scotch, London, 2014
Le Baron, London, 2013
La Bodega de Casa Negra, London, 2013

EVENTS

Our events were always for unconventional reasons held in unconventional locations. The first was in a warehouse off of Brick Lane in East London, where we had chef Douglas McMaster create vegetarian salads served in cabbage ‘bowls’. Later we would hold dinner parties at remarkable places like the Wapping Project Bankside in London and Hotel Pearl in Tokyo.

We’d also arrange private viewings and curator walk-throughs of key exhibitions such as Lee Ufan’s ‘From Point, From Line, From Wind’ exhibition at Pace Gallery in London, or Louise Bourgeois’ incredible ‘Cells’ series presented at everyone’s favourite Louisiana in Copenhagen.

Panel talks at Zaha Hadid Gallery and Shoreditch House featured the Champ network sharing insight and experiences, where we’d always ensure everyone was welcome. Sometimes the invites would be in the form of group emails, text messages or proper fliers as seen below!

Shoreditch House, London, 2015
Pace Gallery, London, 2015
Colette, Paris, 2015
Louisiana, Copenhagen, 2017
So Gallery, Tokyo, 2015
Shoreditch, London, 2015
Zaha Hadid Gallery, London, 2017
Zaha Hadid Gallery, London, 2015