Dossier: May 2026
A collection of records compiled around a particular subject.
Each month, Marle Dossier gathers the subjects that have recently piqued our curiosity and files them here as entries for deeper exploration. Each is presented with context and notes, open to further discovery.
Dossier: May 2026
A collection of records compiled around a particular subject.
Each month, Marle Dossier gathers the subjects that have recently piqued our curiosity and files them here as entries for deeper exploration. Each is presented with context and notes, open to further discovery.
I. PLACE —
Fondazione Dries Van Noten
Set within an 18th-century estate in Antwerp, Fondazione Dries Van Noten brings together fashion, contemporary art, gardens and archival objects across a series of restored buildings and surrounding grounds.
Originally the private home and studio of Dries Van Noten and Patrick Vangheluwe, the space offers an intimate insight into a way of living shaped through years of considered collecting and refinement.
Throughout the estate, rooms possess an understated richness. Floral arrangements sit alongside contemporary artworks, antique furniture and textiles, while the gardens feel both wild and carefully maintained. There is continuity between interior and exterior, where spaces feel deeply considered without appearing overly styled.
Opened to the public in 2022, the foundation offers a rare glimpse into the visual world that has informed Van Noten’s practice for decades, revealing how atmosphere can be shaped gradually through colour, material and the accumulation of objects over time.
Palazzo Pisani Moretta
San Polo, 2766
30125 Venice, Italy
I. PLACE — Fondazione Dries Van Noten
Set within an 18th-century estate in Antwerp, Fondazione Dries Van Noten brings together fashion, contemporary art, gardens and archival objects across a series of restored buildings and surrounding grounds. Originally the private home and studio of Dries Van Noten and Patrick Vangheluwe, the space offers an intimate insight into a way of living shaped through years of considered collecting and refinement.
Throughout the estate, rooms possess an understated richness. Floral arrangements sit alongside contemporary artworks, antique furniture and textiles, while the gardens feel both wild and carefully maintained. There is continuity between interior and exterior, where spaces feel deeply considered without appearing overly styled.
Opened to the public in 2022, the foundation offers a rare glimpse into the visual world that has informed Van Noten’s practice for decades, revealing how atmosphere can be shaped gradually through colour, material and the accumulation of objects over time.
Palazzo Pisani Moretta
San Polo, 2766
30125 Venice, Italy
II. PUBLICATION —
WERNER’S NOMENCLATURE OF COLOURS
First published in 1814, Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours was created by Scottish painter Patrick Syme as a guide for accurately documenting colour found within the natural world. Organising hues through references to animals, minerals and plants, the book became a tool for artists, scientists and naturalists throughout the nineteenth century.
Its pages pair descriptive colour names with observations drawn directly from nature. Shades such as “Bluish Pearl,” “Ash Grey,” and “Snow White” are connected to shells, feathers, flowers and stone, forming a visual language that feels both scientific and poetic. Charles Darwin is said to have carried a copy aboard the HMS Beagle during his voyages.
Despite being produced over two centuries ago, the publication feels contemporary in its restraint and sensitivity to tone. Rather than approaching colour as decorative, it considers subtle variation, atmosphere and the relationship between colour and materiality.
Despite being published in 1814, the book feels incredibly contemporary in its understanding of colour as something layered and constantly changing. It draws attention to the softer tones found in nature, where shades rarely appear singular or uniform.
Further Reading:
I. PUBLICATION — WERNER’S NOMENCLATURE OF COLOURS
First published in 1814, Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours was created by Scottish painter Patrick Syme as a guide for accurately documenting colour found within the natural world. Organising hues through references to animals, minerals and plants, the book became a tool for artists, scientists and naturalists throughout the nineteenth century.
Its pages pair descriptive colour names with observations drawn directly from nature. Shades such as “Bluish Pearl,” “Ash Grey,” and “Snow White” are connected to shells, feathers, flowers and stone, forming a visual language that feels both scientific and poetic. Charles Darwin is said to have carried a copy aboard the HMS Beagle during his voyages.
Despite being produced over two centuries ago, the publication feels contemporary in its restraint and sensitivity to tone. Rather than approaching colour as decorative, it considers subtle variation, atmosphere and the relationship between colour and materiality.
Despite being published in 1814, the book feels incredibly contemporary in its understanding of colour as something layered and constantly changing. It draws attention to the softer tones found in nature, where shades rarely appear singular or uniform.
Further Reading:
Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours
III. OBJECT —
JOAN DIDION’S PACKING LIST
Included within Joan Didion’s 1979 book The White Album was a handwritten packing list detailing the items she carried while travelling. Typed onto hotel stationery and later reproduced in print, the list has since become a record of personal ritual and practicality.
Alongside cigarettes, bourbon and notebooks sit pieces chosen with precision: two skirts, two jerseys, slippers, a robe, typewriter and mohair throw. The list moves between necessity and habit, offering a portrait of a life carefully edited down to what was needed to work and move through unfamiliar places.
What continues to resonate is the clarity of the document itself. There is no excess or performance to the list, only repetition, utility and a sense of familiarity. It reflects an approach to dressing and living shaped around returning to the same trusted pieces over time.
Further Reading:
The White Album by Joan Didion
III. OBJECT — JOAN DIDION’S PACKING LIST
Included within Joan Didion’s 1979 book The White Album was a handwritten packing list detailing the items she carried while travelling. Typed onto hotel stationery and later reproduced in print, the list has since become a record of personal ritual and practicality.
Alongside cigarettes, bourbon and notebooks sit pieces chosen with precision: two skirts, two jerseys, slippers, a robe, typewriter and mohair throw. The list moves between necessity and habit, offering a portrait of a life carefully edited down to what was needed to work and move through unfamiliar places.
What continues to resonate is the clarity of the document itself. There is no excess or performance to the list, only repetition, utility and a sense of familiarity. It reflects an approach to dressing and living shaped around returning to the same trusted pieces over time.
Further Reading:
The White Album by Joan Didion
IV. BOTANICAL —
KAWAKAWA PLANT
A native New Zealand shrub belonging to the pepper family, the Kawakawa plant is regarded as a taonga, closely associated with healing, protection, mourning, and kinship with the natural world.
In rongoā Māori, kawakawa is used in many forms, including herbal teas, skin balms, and digestive remedies. Used for generations to support physical healing, emotional balance, and spiritual wellbeing, the plant is understood not only as medicine, but as a living relation with mauri (life force).
Recognisable by it’s heart-shaped green leaves often with distinct holes from the looper caterpillar - in Māori knowledge and contemporary herbal practice, leaves with insect holes are often appreciated rather than rejected, representing a balanced ecosystem.
Kawakawa carries a warm, peppery aroma most noticeable after rainfall.
Imagery: Emily Cumming Harris c1841-1891 from the collection of Puke Ariki
Rob Lucas photograph extracted from Field Guide to New Zealand Native Trees by John Dawson
IV. BOTANICAL — Kawakawa Plant
A native New Zealand shrub belonging to the pepper family, the Kawakawa plant is regarded as a taonga, closely associated with healing, protection, mourning, and kinship with the natural world.
In rongoā Māori, kawakawa is used in many forms, including herbal teas, skin balms, and digestive remedies. Used for generations to support physical healing, emotional balance, and spiritual wellbeing, the plant is understood not only as medicine, but as a living relation with mauri (life force).
Recognisable by it’s heart-shaped green leaves often with distinct holes from the looper caterpillar - in Māori knowledge and contemporary herbal practice, leaves with insect holes are often appreciated rather than rejected, representing a balanced ecosystem.
Kawakawa carries a warm, peppery aroma most noticeable after rainfall.
Imagery: Emily Cumming Harris c1841-1891 from the collection of Puke Ariki
Rob Lucas photograph extracted from Field Guide to New Zealand Native Trees by John Dawson
V. ISLAND —
HYDRA BOOK CLUB
Founded by American writer and literary curator Josh Hickey, the Hydra Book Club began in 2021 at the Historical Archives Museum on the Greek island of Hydra. Operating as both exhibition space and bookstore, it functions as a living archive of the island's literary community - presenting works by the writers, poets and artists connected to Hydra across the last century, among them Henry Miller, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Leonard Cohen, Allen Ginsberg and Deborah Levy.
The island itself shapes the project in material ways. Hydra permits no cars, only donkeys and fishing boats, a circumstance that has long drawn those seeking distance from ordinary rhythms. The Book Club edits its selections around this history of sustained creative solitude, publishing an annual journal of fiction, poetry, essay and image alongside a carefully researched anthology of writing connected to the island over nearly a hundred years.
On June 1st, the Book Club opens its new port store within a historical building once used to store and repair boats - offering new, vintage and rare editions alongside visual artwork and a programme of readings and events. The project's founding intention remains unchanged: to trace the friendships between artists and writers, visitors and locals, that have gathered on the island across generations, and to collect the literature that grew from them.
Further Reading: Hydra Book Club
V. ISLAND —HYDRA BOOK CLUB
Founded by American writer and literary curator Josh Hickey, the Hydra Book Club began in 2021 at the Historical Archives Museum on the Greek island of Hydra. Operating as both exhibition space and bookstore, it functions as a living archive of the island's literary community - presenting works by the writers, poets and artists connected to Hydra across the last century, among them Henry Miller, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Leonard Cohen, Allen Ginsberg and Deborah Levy.
The island itself shapes the project in material ways. Hydra permits no cars, only donkeys and fishing boats, a circumstance that has long drawn those seeking distance from ordinary rhythms. The Book Club edits its selections around this history of sustained creative solitude, publishing an annual journal of fiction, poetry, essay and image alongside a carefully researched anthology of writing connected to the island over nearly a hundred years.
On June 1st, the Book Club opens its new port store within a historical building once used to store and repair boats - offering new, vintage and rare editions alongside visual artwork and a programme of readings and events. The project's founding intention remains unchanged: to trace the friendships between artists and writers, visitors and locals, that have gathered on the island across generations, and to collect the literature that grew from them.
Further Reading: Hydra Book Club
