Swoll & Steezy

Why are relationships so hard today? Why do we fail at love every time, despite trying so hard? Why have humans suddenly become so inept at making relationships last? Have we forgotten how to love? Or worse, forgotten what love is?

We’re not prepared. We’re not prepared for the sacrifices, for the compromises, for the unconditional love. We’re not ready to invest all that it takes to make a relationship work. We want everything easy. We’re quitters. All it takes is a single hurdle to make us crumble to our feet. We don’t let our love grow, we let go before time.

For the past few years, my friends and I have noticed two trends when dining. First, seemingly every high-end menu rebukes factory farming with an essay about locally sourced pork belly, and second, just about every one of these restaurants looks so much like a factory — with exposed light bulbs, steel details and brick walls — that I’m constantly looking over my shoulder for the foreman.

I like the industrial-chic look, but still, I wondered: Why has it permeated so many restaurants, regardless of cuisine? Hoping for an answer that involved a secret society plot, I called a bunch of restaurateurs and designers to get the low-down on the stripped-down look.

The first rule of industrial chic: You do not talk about industrial chic.

“We don’t like the term ‘industrial chic,’ ” says Jeremy Levitt, co-owner of the New York City-based firm Parts and Labor Design. “The term ‘industrial’ is becoming overused,” he adds. “We certainly stay away from the word 'chic.’” If you must, try instead “modern industrial” or “deco industrial.”

Why Does Every New Restaurant Look Like A Factory?

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Chris Gibbs and Greg Dacyshyn low key twinning at Visvim show - Pitti Uomo