Editors: gestalten & Kari Molvar
Features: full color, hardcover, stitch bound, 256 pages
Format: 21 x 26 cm, 8 1/4 x 10 1/4 inches
Together with gestalten, Kari Molvar, an American beauty editor and regular contributor to T: The New York Times Style Magazine, created Be Well, an exploration of the aims of twenty-first-century wellbeing. The book explores the current culture and architecture, portraying the protagonists and their ideas, as well as treatments. Be Well spans from historic insights that link ancient practices with contemporary innovations to a current look into the momentum behind wellness’ increasing presence in the hospitality, travel, beauty, and fashion industries. Profiles of thoughtful influencers guiding the wellness conversation today are compiled into chapters by topic, such as “Taking Beauty Back to its Roots”, “Mind and Body Balance”, and “Food for Thought”. Extraordinary destinations for yoga, meditation, Eastern philosophy, and more, are included throughout the chapters as well.
”Beyond the sensorial adventure, millennia-old rituals preserve techniques that have worked for centuries to ground the mind and body—whether you reach for Ayurvedic spices to align your dosha or activate your qi with a Chinese gua-sha facial.” – Kari Molvar in Be Well
Going to a spa is not merely pampering—it is healing. To be sure, having your muscles kneaded and your skin bathed in herbaceous oils feels quite nice, but there is something deeper and more alchemic happening in your cells. The roots of spa culture go back centuries, to the ancient Greeks and Romans who realized the therapeutic benefits of soaking in water, slathering on mud, and flexing their quadriceps on a daily basis. Such vintage wellness practices served a practical and metaphysical purpose: to restore the body and make one feel alive. Today, this same type of healing could not be more relevant for our times.
ABOUT THE CO-EDITOR
Kari Molvar is a writer and editor focusing on wellness as seen through the lens of design, culture, and style. She is a regular contributor to T: The New York Times Style Magazine and Vogue among other publications, and studied art history and architecture at Brown University. She started out with T as a backstage reporter covering beauty trends at fashion week, and then expanded into writing longer pieces on perfumers, bathing culture, superfood and skincare routines. Today, she is also the founder of Rutine Matters, a platform inspired by an appreciation for modern beauty rituals and self-care spaces. Kari Molvar is available for interviews upon request.