We’re delighted to have donated custom umbrellas for guests of The Paris Review 2024 Spring Revel Gala, an annual fundraiser for the magazine hosted at Cipriani in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in Paris in 1953, The Paris Review is America’s preeminent literary magazine, dedicated to publishing the best new voices in prose, poetry, and visual art.
The Paris Review contacted our team last year as our umbrellas share their philosophy of prioritising quality and beauty while not taking oneself too seriously.
We asked their team a few questions about what inspired them to get in touch with Original Duckhead to create customised umbrellas for their annual event.
Why did you work with Original Duckhead to create custom umbrellas?
(The Paris Review): We are both invested in craftsmanship, in quality and beauty, without taking ourselves too seriously. And many of our staff members were already fans of Original Duckhead umbrellas.
How did you decide on the design?
(The Paris Review): The Paris Review adopted a new visual identity in 2021, inspired in part by the minimalism of the magazine’s design in the sixties and seventies. We wanted to carry over this identity into the umbrella. With our three-panel black-and-white design, the branding is understated yet bold. The asymmetrical arrangement of the panels lends a touch of whimsy. Of course we also had to include our own feathered icon, the hadada ibis. We like to think of the hadada and the duck as companions.
What is the origin story of the Paris Review brand logo?
(The Paris Review): The hadada ibis was the favorite bird of our founding editor George Plimpton. William Pène du Bois, our first art editor, created the illustration of the bird in our logo, adding a cap and pen.
Photography by Scott Rossi.