When you’re alone and life is making you lonely
You can always go – downtown
When you’ve got worries, all the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know – downtown
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?

-This is the perfect anthem for Canada’s Lifetime Collective video featuring Calgarian skater Sean MacAllister.

With a fascination for stylish and imaginative concepts, Grégoire Alexandre has captured the best visible and invisible features of the Bugaboo Cameleon. The multi-terrain vehicle is surrounded by a tight white mise-en-scene setting, which refers to the different routes one can explore with the Bugaboo Cameleon.

Specially for the release of the versatile Bugaboo Cameleon, Bugaboo called upon leading photographer Grégoire Alexandre to capture the true essence of the Cameleon. The shoot shows the diverse forms the buggy can take according to the users taste and wishes.

The world over, Bugaboo is known for its distinctive & clean design solutions. Form and function are integrated from the start and thus create a valued product. It was then no surprise that they chose to work with French born, Grégoire Alexandre. He graduated in 1995, from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles. Since then he has settled in Paris, focusing on work that pushes his boundaries. Working in the fashion, music, advertising, he has had his work published in Wallpaper*, Esquire UK, Libérathion, Beaux Arts en Intersection.

Set for unveiling on November 2nd and release on November 23rd, 2010, H&M have now announced their collaboration with French fashion house Lanvin. Today the details were made official with Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz and menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijve designing a multi-faceted collection which will be seen over both men’s and women’s wear. We are over the moon to hear about this collaboration with one of our all-time favorite fashion house, that we are lining up in front of the H&M store as we post this!

The passionate creative director Michel Mallard (also works for Vogue Hommes International) shared some interesting ideas regarding this topic. He explained that solely the top photographers like Steven Meisel and Steven Klein have the exclusive privilege to combine fashion with art (strictly in the Italian Vogue). All other photographers are subdued to the unwritten beauty rules of main stream fashion media. And these rules include marketing before art. He also explains this used to be very different. For example the photographer Melvin Sokolsky did his first test shoot for Harpers bazaar in 1963. It was a high fashion picture of a female model in a bubble. The test became the “Bubble” series of photographs depicting fashion models “floating” in giant clear plastic bubbles suspended in midair above the River Seine in Paris. The entire series included fashion and applied art at its best.

Amie Dicke is famous for her Using an X-acto knife and performs a vivisection on fashion. She tells about a mural for New York’s Visionaire Gallery, located in the office foyer of V magazine. The collaboration with V-magazine continued with her self portrait photographed by Mario Serrenti. She cuts out tribal like shapes (she’ll probably hate us for using that comparison) and this work was published in V-magazine. This beautiful example where fashion meets art is also unfortunately her  last cut out. She chooses to expand her horizon, exploring new territories.

Aynouk Tan read one of her columns in English. She placed her opinion in the context of the new digital world, where anything should be possible. However, due to facebook, twitter and other social media, youngsters become too aware in their state of being. And therefore skipping the experimental phase. This ends up in copied styles and disappointing short term flat concepts; merely one liners.

Fashion and Art was sold out and filled with fashion, photography and art lovers. Even though the talk show was a bit chaotic and lacking focus, it was fun. Especially when Tom Trago and Faberyayo dropped the track ‘uniform’ live on stage. And they dropped it next level. Big up guys.

Article text & images by OntFront

The chance that you read about this subject on another site is very likely, but It’s Nice That are very special. As one of our favorite sites, these guys are now taking pre-orders for issue 4 bi-annually printed publication. The issue, which is set for release on October 1st, includes interviews with Nick Knight, Neville Brody, Miranda July, Trokia, RBG6, Noma Bar and Bompas & Parr, plus features by Sara De Bondt, Adam Buxton, Adrian Shaughnessy, Jez Burrows, Mike Lemanski, Peter Nencini and Micah Lidberg. A James Jarvis exclusive screen print will be included with all orders made before September 30th. Some say this is their best issue to date……

Wonderful work in underwater photography by American artist Wayne Levin.
This a small part of the extraordinary images of various sea creatures that you can find on his website.
Very divers and all made exclusively in black and white.
Check out the photo series and discover Wayne Levin after the jump.

Last year the BBC named the band as one of promises of 2010 and gave them a nomination in the list “BBC Sound of 2010.” Coming from Manchester, Hurts is an electro-pop duo consisting of Theo Craft Hutch (vocals) and Adam Anderson (electronics, guitar), who are musically inspired by eighties bands like Soft Cell, Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys. Hurts doesn’t grab your attention with just their music, but also their very visual so-called art house look. The British press has described the duo as: ‘This electro-pop duo look as though they’ve been styled by Helmut Newton, directed by Anton Corbijn and produced by Trevor Horn on a Martin Hannet tip.’

The sound is very reminiscent of those who inspire them, but yet know how to take that sound and bring it into the 21st Century. With there beautifully styled videos, the sound remains fresh. On the 6th of September, Hurts will be realeasing their new album “Happiness”, and we have 5 albums to give to the first people to leave a comment below about the band.If you want to see the band live, book your tickets for October 10th at Paradiso, Amsterdam.

After shooting Gant Rugger last spring for a photo-feature we did with the brand we became instant fans.
Now Gant Rugger released their Fall/Winter 2010 Lookbook video called “The Adventure To Cape Cod”.
Working together with two Triumph motorcycle enthusiasts and Washington based alternative rockband U.S. Royalty Gant Rugger made a great campaign. Highlighting the collection and embracing American heritage sportswear.
Key trends are striped sweaters, denim shirts and a hooded toggle coat.
Great campaign, great music by U.S. Royalty, Great clothing. After being a bit skeptic about Gant Rugger a definite eye-opener for me.

Evil is one of the primary instincts of the human heart.
We advised you that we were about to break through its very substance – here we are.

sets the tone for the story behind the collection. Read the rest of the story after the images.

Evil is one of the primary instincts of the human heart.
We advised you that we were about to break through its very substance – here we are.

The explorations of endless desert landscapes are behind us: here comes the time to sink into our deepest and darkest fantasies.
The loneliness of inner space as another form of vastness. An itinerary similar to the one of Rimbaud, but backwards.

Gloomy litterature, venomous poets and atrabilious writers, synesthesic hallucinations, “Murder considered as one of the Fine Arts”, “Against the Grain” Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Baudelaire, string of misanthropic dandies… Such is our current menu. The Nineteenth- Century spleen revisited.

We don’t intend to commit suicide in the gothic tradition, but we claim it’s time to draw a line under ease and superficiality.
To get rid of that self-indulgent regurgitation of the same obvious references, over and over again.
We’re tired of the predictable revivals, of the stale and unimaginative recycling.

Weariness of getting trapped in the same old subculture values, static and puerile in the pretext to challenge high Culture. The one with a capital C.

We’re sick of this arrogant self-assertion through cultural codes which build pointless barriers, in order to delimit a specific universe. Too limited.
We wanna jump out of this mundane merry-go-round. This is over, nothing is forbidden anymore.

Do not make a mistake. If we get all of a sudden sucked in by a beloved book about Literature and Evil, it doesn’t mean we’re suddenly showing off in a
highbrow outfit. That corresponds only to our need to expand our journey of the mind towards regions that most of people prevent strangely themselves to visit.
Because it’s not pop enough.

On the contrary, we do believe this spooky road to hellish landscapes is simultaneously an enlightning and an exciting direction. And it can be a lot of fun too.
Weren’t you ever tempted to pass on the other side, where it swarms and crackles, where the gargoyles snigger, where you get filled by the spirit of the Middle
Age and by the legacy of the Gnostics?

According to Siegfried Kracauer and Greil Marcus, this is a way to redraw the route of the collective unconscious, a process to link popular culture and contemporary
icons to timeless, archetypal structures.
From the foam of the waves to the deepest streams.

Heretical studies and fantastic realism.
Shifting from the profane to the sacred.
Transcending time.

We need to tear the reality to reach those potentials, hidden behind the curtain drawn by the most prudish and the most conventional imaginations.
The appearance and the latency.
Illumination and disillusion.
Nihilism and mysticism.

Ghosts and rebirth.

An echo to our intimate obsessions, which haunt our latest collections.

We trace back our thread.

Ten C offers the opposite, durable jackets made for life.
One kind of fabric, six classic styles like the fishtail parka and field jacket and in just 3 colors: Navy blue, Army green and black. Off course everything is made in Italy.
So you don’t have to throw away your jackets every season..or by new ones. You just buy a base jacket and when you feel cold this winter a separate inner lining.

All this comes at a price point off course.
Ten C jackets are available starting at €550,- which is not a bad deal for a jacket made to last 10 years.

Check out the full catalog here, presented by 14 Oz. Berlin.

On Thursday, August 26th 2010, the happiest of all socks, Happy Socks, opened their first concept store in Stockholm. Located on Mäster Samuelsgatan 9, it is situated in the most vibrant fashion shopping district of their beloved home city. They are perfectly situated close to brands like  Acne, Whyred, Louis Vuitton, Diesel, Filippa K, and Urban Outfitters, where you are able to get the rest of the outfit to fit the most colourful socks in Sweden!

The interior of the store is simple and clean, reminiscent of a beach-front house in the Hamptons. The white painted wood panels, leading to the swing doors by the cash resister, gives a warm homely feel, which is strengthened by the multi-buttoned couch. I can just see Don Draper pop by to get his colourful socks for under his black suit. A great brand all round…

Our favorite blue and yellow brand from Scandinavia will be doing something special in the Netherlands as from Wednesday. IKEA will be broadcasting a total of 365 commercials in one year. Yes, the Einsteins under us will notice that comes down to one commercial a day. The small commercials will be broadcasted only once and recorded in one of the IKEA stores.

The campaign was created by Lemz and will show daily life situations and solutions. It’s all about new products, different lifestyles and ecofriendlyness. IKEA wants to show it’s versatility by saying that “every day is a different day” with different solutions. It’s mission is to create a better living for as many as possible, by creating affordable and well designed products during the year.

There’s a ‘making of’ available from Wednesday on www.ikea.nl/elkedagisanders.

Here is a small preview:(unfortunately it’s in Dutch, sorry foreign readers)

MADE Berlin, a creative platform based in Berlin, did a new episode of their video interview serie “Visions Of Visionaries”. After names like Pharrel Williams and DJ Neil Armstrong now it’s Levi Maestro’s turn.
Levi Maestro is know for Maestro Knows an online show based around Levi Maestro’s day to day life. Taking place all around the world Maestro shows you his friends and experiences through his eyes.
Maestro has directed and produced content as well as consulted for corporate brands and music artists.
Get ready for a true inspirational talk.
Enjoy the video.

As the last couple of years H&M is collaborating with a fashion designer to get high-end fashion to the masses.
Like me, you probably can’t wait for the the amusing sight of screaming women queuing up for you local H&M at 8 in the morning and tearing the shop up.
However this might be an interesting one cause it seems to be the first collaboration that would be really interesting for men.
H&M made this little teaser video. Can you figure out who he is?
The collaborative designer will be announced September 9th.

The first line of this trailer is brilliant:” But as an artist you’re kinda like, you know: Fuck you, I ain’t gonna work for you. Why would I work for you, I’m gonna work for myself. I’m gonna draw some stuff, I’m gonna sell it… I don’t need you.” This sets the tone for this documentary about two artists, in two cities. Mike Giant and Mike Maxwell. San Francisco and San Diego.

Mike Giant and Mike Maxwell talk about religion, war, history, economy and of course their art. This, not only on a (inter)national level, but also in context of the cities they live. Both of them are celebrated artists in different fields: graffiti, photography, graphic design, fine art, illustration & tattoo.

No date on the release yet, though. Enjoy the trailer. And check out some of their work in the thumbnail section.

India is home to some of the biggest slums in the world. But socially conscious Rag Bag, seeks to change that by producing a line of great looking prodcuts that has been “upcycled” from plastic bags in India. It works with Conserve India to transform these bags into very beautiful bags, organizers, you name it! Not only eco-friendly, the organization employs and trains hundreds of people from Delhi’s most disadvantaged areas to lift them our of poverty!

Photography by: Xandra van Wijk

As we reach the end of another week, there’s often two immediate reactions on a Friday:“Woohoo! Weekend’s here!” or “Damn, I didn’t get to finish everything on my to-do list…”. While it might be tempting to start beating yourself up (metaphorically we hope) over that never-ending pile of work and errands, we say it’s time to take a deep breath and exhale.

Watching William Hoffman‘s “What is a moment?” will probably help as well. The strangely calming and hypnotic video strings together random familiar moments from both an individual and the collective’s point of view. From the sweetest things like stealing a kiss to tragically stepping in dog poop, you’re sure to smile and mumble with “Been there, done that.” At the end of the day, you probably won’t remember that report you had to re-write for your boss but definitely remember how the sunshine felt on your face as you kicked back and relaxed with friends in the last days of summer.

Bossa Nova & Samba are the two Brazilian music styles that will first spring into the mainstream music listener’s mind. Once you have been to Rio de Janeiro(or if you are an all round music blogger) you might discover the Baile Funk noise the Cariocas (Rio citizens) have been making in the last two decades. Just in case you are not familiar with this genre. Baile Funk (in Rio known as Funk Carioca) is a mixture of raw heavy old school miami bass and a music pattern that drums “Tchum tchack-tchack tchum-tchum tchack”. The lyrics are a little more sexually explicit than in miami bass ( i.e. 2 Live Crew & Salt-N-Peppa). Mad Decent’s all-rounder Diplo made a documentary on the lifestyle behind baile funk music and is now finally released on DVD.

In this documentary you’ll witness that real baile funk parties are held in the favelas(improved neighbourhoods ‘ghettos’ on the Rio mountains) and include live performances by MCs, DJs, Producers(i.e. Mr Catra, DJ Sany Pitbull, DJ Marlboro Funk) and hundreds of Cariocas shaking it down to the ground. Favela parties are not the safest places to be since lots of mafia drug gangs are in control of the favelas. Golden firework for instance is blasted to either celebrate the end of a party, a new cociane arrival or to warn that the police is coming to shut down the ‘Baile Funk’ party. Get to know and feel the closer details in Diplo’s documentary ‘Favela On Blast‘ now released on DVD for only $5,-, or Carioca up your appearance and get the DVD with an exclusive ‘Mad Decent x Brazil’ t-shirt for $25,- @ www.favelaonblast.com .

- Yes Timmy Fresh

Sixpack France present their Autumn-Winter 2010 Collection ”SYNESTHESIE”, in 3 short teasers. ill-studio has captured the true essence of the brand in their visualization. Check part 1 & 2 of the teasers after the jump… All available soon on sixpack.fr

Why isn’t it New Years Eve every weekend? The countdown, the non-stop flow of champagne, and the pure sense of ultimate happiness ,which all ultimately leads to the worst hangover of the year!. Count on Eastpak to deliver on this wish, at the height of summer (which in most cases is non-stop rain) and the beginning of a new year at University. In 20 European cities, the champagne bottle will pop louder than ever (thats because they are free!) at the Eastpak Happy New Year Party and this Friday, yes tomorrow, Amsterdam, Eindhoven and The Hague is up! And yes you guessed it, we got 2 tickets (The Hague party) and a limited edition Ed Banger Eastpak bag to give away.

The New Years Party tomorrow has absolute crazy line-up presented by HIGH VOLTAGE: Kavinsky, Breakbot (Ed Banger), The Juan MacLean, Shook, Compression, Listoman. The party will be at the Paard van Troje, on the Prinsegracht 12, Den Haag and costs just €6… But if you don’t want to fork up any cash for the party, just send us a email and you could win the 2 tickets, the limited edition Ed Banger Eastpak bag, or both! Send a email with you name to: win@ajanaku.com.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

One of my favorite clothing brands to have come out of The Netherlands is ONTOUR. This year they are celebrating their fifth anniversary and to celebrate this they have chosen the magic number 5 as the underlying theme of our new Autumn / Winter 2010 collection, named ‘The Magnificent Five’ Ontour. Inspired by the typical English style of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson they looked back through a magnifying glass at the 5 magnificent years behind them, and at the same time look ahead at the greater things to come…

With this new collection, the guys of ONTOUR have done me a favor! I love the old English Style, and some of their previous collections. They mix the classic-simplicity of Watson, with the quirkiness of Holmes. Take for example their gloves with ‘eyes’; I can just see Sherlock Holmes sporting those with his long trench coat. As I am a firm believer that picture speak louder than words, check out some of the collection below or for the complete collection visit their site. ONTOUR, you guys have done it again! Love it!

There is one thing which I miss when I download albums from iTunes and other means… The CD artwork! In times when you think you have seen it all, creatives find new and exciting ways to make the CD artwork and piece on its own. For the most recent Chillout Sessions: a compilation disc series put together by the Ministry of Sound Australia, Collider (design by Andrew van der Westhuyzen and cinematography by Brycen Horne) developed a diorama-like concept in which they created two mini worlds that ooze ‘Chillout Sessions’.

After four years of Chillout Sessions albums we decided it was definitely time for a change. The new Sessions concept involves miniature ‘worlds’ literally creating a package holiday that has both escapism and a sense of humour.

The concept is one of the best I have seen in a long time. Straying away from the graphics from a computer, Collider opted for a old technique to bring something new to the game. The great detail together with atmosphere, have been executed to perfection… I want to build my own and live in it! Where is Willy Wonka’s shrink machine when you need it!

Check out the the rest of the images and videos below:

Citroën has been promoting its innovative design at the world’s car shows over the last few years, and now it has used signature
architecture to create a permanent temple to the brand.
Located on the site of its original 1927 showroom in Paris, and dubbed simply C42 – after its address at 42 Champs Elysees, the new flagship is an imposing 100 ft tall glass tower, with striking colored and angled glazing that mimics Citroën’s double stripe logo.

Designed by Manuelle Gautrand, C42’s red and white tower has a core of eight rotating turntables, with giant diamond like mirrors, which
create a visual mosaic of each model. Each turntable displays a single car from Citroën’s past or present. A Traction Avant, on the top floor, is followed by the much loved 2CV and a DS21 sedan. Touch screens reveal each car’s features and history. The next three levels are devoted to Citroën’s latest models, which visitors can explore from the inside. The ground floor and basement are for Citroën’s concept cars, the C-AirPlay and C-Métisse; a diesel hybrid.
This amazing building is an avant garde sculpture in its own right, and represents an iconic evolution of the traditional car showroom.

There is a new installation at in town! Well actually in Hollywood at  The Standard, where mixed media artist Lady Aiko, who took up residence at hotel for one week during the opening of her new show, Vivid Fiction at Merry Karnowsky Gallery. While staying at the hotel as an ‘artist in residence’, she created a stairwell piece incorporating her signature mix of floral designs, girlish cartoons and street pop culture images. This is the second piece Lady Aiko has created for The Standard, following the installation at Le Bain in New York.

Born in Tokyo and having moved to New York in the late nineties, Lady Aiko has been discovering and recreating Americana-type pop imagery in innovative ways. She utilizes stencil, spray paint and silkscreen print techniques to create her vibrant large-scale works that often transform sugary-sweet images to playfully portray feminine sexuality and beauty.

Make sure to check out The Standards Facebook page or twitter to see all the fun things going on, such as artist Bill McMullen’s work featured in the lobby vitrine this month.

Hosted by Jesse Thorn and Adam Lisagor “Put This On” make video’s with the subtitle “A web series about dressing like a grownup”.
After the first episode “Denim” and the second “Shoes”, the third episode is named “Work”.
“Work” is about “Why do you wear what you wear for work?”. Interviewing Paul Feig, director of for example 30th Rock, and giving you tips how you can dress appropriate for work.
A nice web series that is definitely worth the watch.

It seems the world has lost one of it’s gems this week, thankfully his memory and vision are immortalized in his movies. Japanese anime director Satoshi Kon has been reported to have passed away on August 23rd, 2010 at the age of 47 years old.

Kon started his career as a manga artist and editor in Young Magazine, and then made his screenwriting debut with “Magnetic Rose“, a section of the anthology film Memories. Kon made his directorial debut film, Perfect Blue, in 1997, followed by Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika (which is said to be Nolan’s biggest inspiration for his recent “Inception”) and the television series Paranoia Agent. A fifth film, The Dream Machine, is also in production. All of his works as a director have been made by Studio Madhouse, where he was a staff director along with Rintaro and Yoshiaki Kawajiri.

Kon’s work often dealt with a vast range of themes, mostly emphasizing the psychological well-being of his characters. For instance, Tokyo Godfathers, his most comedic storyline, also explored lighter themes of personal guilt, loss and suicidal ideation.

Both Paprika and Millennium Actress drew great attention into addressing some of the aforementioned themes by stepping between the boundaries of reality and fantasy, i.e. breaking the fourth wall, having characters perform certain actions which are impossible in the real world, etc. This style can be comparable to the works of writers such as Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep, Minority Report), whose own novels challenge the nature of reality to that of the dream.

Satoshi Kon’s death of pancreatic cancer was reported on August 24, 2010. His death came less than two months before his 47th birthday.

Thank you for sharing your visions and inspirations with us.

Once the fourth-largest metropolis in America—some have called it the Death of the American Dream. Today, the young people of the Motor City are making it their own DIY paradise where rules are second to passion and creativity. They are creating the new Detroit on their own terms, against real adversity. We put our boots on and went exploring.

Swedish brand Velour is giving is a peek behind the scenes of their Fall/Winter 2010 photo shoot.

Congratulations is the fourth single to be released from MGMT’s latest album carrying the same name.
Filmed around the Las Vegas desert, featuring a “to be saved” monster created by Legacy.
A deeper meaning or not, the video is in the typical MGMT fashion.

Amsterdam sneakershop Patta collaborated with Canada’s Reigning Champ, the brand of CYC Design factory.
Patta and Reigning Champ created a set of heavyweight Canadian fleece items. A custom zip hood jacket and fleece sweatpants.
The jacket features details such as thermal lining, button overlay and detachable split zip hood. The sweatpants feature adjustable draw cord waist and bottom cuffs and side pockets/back welt pocket with zip closure. Both garments feature military inspired cross-brand labeling. The set will be available in two basic colorways, dark navy and heather grey.
We have to point out that the sets are limited to 75 pieces per color worldwide and scheduled to release at Patta on Saturday September 4th.
Besides Patta the set will drop at 24Kilates, Colette, Foot Patrol, Hanon, Norse Store and Soto on Saturday September 11th.
Price will be €250 per set.

The Polaroid is Dead! This is a sentence which most people would agree with; but with the rise of uber-sharp images in both video and pictures, creatives are dusting the dust off their parents Polaroid camera. This is made apparent with the revival of the Polaroid factory in Enschede, The Netherlands, by The Impossible Project, who provide specially made film for all users. But the question still remains, are Polaroid’s art? This discussion came about last year, when readers of The Moment argued about the artistic merit of Andy Warhol Polaroids. Artist & filmmaker Julian Schnabel, now adds fire to the discussion by realeasing his own series of Polaroids in his book “Julian Schnabel: Polaroids.” The book includes images of his Montauk, N.Y., studio, his family and a series called “Crazy People,” where Schnabel photographed Lou Reed, Placido Domingo, Christopher Walken, the Beastie Boys and Mickey Rourke. The book is set for release and can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com.

In my view Polaroids are a form of art when shot by a person who understands to portray emotions through the simple Polaroid. What do you think?

The Singapore design studio Asylum designed this very nice fast food restaurant.
The Salad Shop, with a slogan that reads ‘for herbivores, carnivores, and everything else in-between’ majors heavily in all things salad. Of course it’s not the food, nice as it may be, that’s caught our eye, but it’s the cool interior.
More info and images after the leap.

Oversized forks and spoons act as window masks, whilst an array of illustrated, bespoke designed stools add colour and character. The space itself is all streamlined industrial and the finishing touches to this interior are those hip ’scenic’ fabric lampshades.
Modern, vibrant and endearing, Asylum have created a playful, inviting space.
Now lets hope the food is any good. If you have been to The Salad Shop Let us know!
You can find The Salad Shop at:

80 Raffles Place,
#01-20, UOB Plaza 2
Singapore, Singapore, 048624

British Millerain waxed cotton, Primaloft insulation, Talon zippers, wrist gators and an embroidered Norse X Oi Polloi scout patch are here to say hello to Autumn. With the colder months ahead of us it’s time to look for some nice winter gear.
Manchester’s Oi Polloi shop collaborated with Norse Projects on this great item. As Oi Polloi owner Steve Sanderson says himself:
“For me, it’s all about rambling, walking and camping in mid to late seventies, it’s the kind of jacket the old guys would be wearing. At the time we thought they looked pretty cool.
The jacket we found and chose to use for inspiration is one my favorite outerwear pieces. It was in part designed by a legendary British mountaineer Chris Bonington… we love that it’s cotton, just using 2 layers. A superb simple design. Also, the hoods a great shape and the length a little longer than most jackets – but not so long as to make it a fully fledged mod parka.”
Check out The Norse Store to buy this item online.

source: SLAMXHYPE

“What once started as a small T-shirt/streetwear line for skateboarders, surfers and graffiti artist in 1989, has grown into a million dollar business.”
You all heard these stories before about brands, many became commercial and lost their aesthetics. The controversial streetwear brand Freshjive became one of those businesses. But Freshjive is hitting back with their anti-branding campaign this fall season.
Rick Klotz, founder of Freshjive, wants to go back to the pureness of his products. He wants the products to be sold for their design and quality, and because people think the product is nice, not because it’s a Freshjive product.
That’s why Klotz decided to say goodbye from the well known Freshjive logo after 21 years. Freshjive’s products will still be sold under the name Freshjive but the company removes their name and logo branding from all their products, websites and marketing activities.
What remains will be an empty black square with a white bording.
A lot of brands see branding as one of the their main resources. Consumers take a lot of value to a brand and spend a lot of money to buy something of the brand. That’s why a lot people think Freshjive is taking a big risk with their anti-branding campaign, but on the other side, it suits the rebel philosophy of the brand perfectly.

Now in its 21st annum, Freshjive’s creative voice has decided on a new direction for his young adult line, abandoning the category that it has so long been instrumental to. Bringing in creative director Mark Wiesmayr, who has worked with Tsubi, Urban Outfitters and Blue Blood, For spring 2011 Freshjive is stepping away from its street wear roots, in the direction of a more men’s, designer-contemporary line while maintaining its street culture sensibility and affordable price point.

Choosing to move forward without visible name branding, the new Freshjive has a focus on rustic modernism, in both texture and form, celebrating the masculine relationship between avant-garde design and heritage aesthetics. Enhanced by their signature fabrics and details, this new line is a landmark of Freshjive’s cultural metamorphosis. The design of the coming seasons will be themed around characters and stories, and will convey narrative messages on the canvas of fashion forward garments, with modern silhouettes.

“One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.”— Henry Miller
Mr Miller could have very well been describing the recently opened  Wanderlust Hotel in Singapore. A member of the Design Hotels, this experimental boutique hotel has been garnering its fair share of press with its interesting concept. Tapping into the 4 major local design agencies powerhouses, each agency was given creative freedom to deck out each floor. Originally an old school built in the 1920s, the 29 rooms are designed according to the following themes:

Lobby Level – Industrial Glam by Asylum
A juxtaposition of the surrounding’s setting and contemporary design.

Level 2 – Eccentricity by :phunk Studio
Colours everything from the walls to the neon lights and the rainbow corridor leads to a outdoor deck with a customised mosaic-tiled jacuzzi.

Level 3 – Is it just Black and White by DP Architects
Walk across the black corridor and enter into the contrasting white rooms to discover Origami and Pop-Art works.

Level 4 – Creature Comforts by fFurious
Get cosy with friendly monsters in each room that presents a different vibe and be assured of a fantasy-filled experience.

Rooms start at SGD180 a night, visit Wanderlust Hotel’s website for more info.

Anouk Wipprecht graduated this summer as a fashion designer at the HKU and made this sexy creation for ‘Summer Sessions V2′ in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
She is one of the four artists who were given time, money and a team of experts to realize their concept.

Intimacy is a series of fashion products by Daan Roosegaarde and V2_ with the goal to explore the relationship between technology and intimacy.
The first dress (Intimacy White) was designed by Maartje Dijkstra and later this month the first Intimacy bag will be presented.

Till 27th August the four designs will be shown at the’ International Symposium on Electronic Art’ on RUHR.2010 in Essen.
After that as from the 22th September Intimacy Black will be on display at the Central Museum in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Watch the movie here: Intimacy

The festival season is in full swing around the world, with Lowlands being one of the favorite in The Netherlands. I just have one tip for you, while you wade through plastic-overpriced beer glasses.. Make a Big Impression! And the best way to do this? Blow-up your head! No, I don’t mean with a shot gun, but with the cool Converse application above. Just follow the instruction and you will know what I am talking about… See your big head at Lowlands!

You’ve seen it at the Facebook Office, you’ve seen the official portrait, now it is time to listen to the remix. The wait is finally over! The official remix for Kanye West’s “Power” featuring heavyweights Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz has finally arrived. With new lyrics and a neat Snap-sample, it is time for you to start the Power-clap!

Our friends of Fashionminded just came up with a nice news fact.
Adam Levine, yes they guy from Maroon 5, is launching his own fashion line “222″ this week during the Project tradeshow in Las Vegas.
He is partnering in the venture with his father, Fred Levine, who has operated a chain of specialty boutiques in Los Angeles called M. Fredric for more than 30 years. Also part of the team is his longtime stylist, Aristotle Circa, and a cousin of his father’s, Sami Cooper, who owns an apparel manufacturing facility that will produce the line.
The collection is a minimalistic line of jeans, basic T-shirts and leather jackets. Levine’s current uniform of choice and the classic look of icons from James Dean to Marlon Brando. For women, there are also pared-down silk dresses, knit tops and wraps.
There are two styles of jeans for men, a skinny and a straight leg, and two styles for women. Besides that there will be t-shirts, dresses, wraps and jackets. In total, there are about 50 women’s styles and 25 men’s styles in the first collection.
Now I never been a fan of Justin Timberlakes William Rast denim line and I always get a bit sceptic when pop artist go fashion. So lets see what the future brings, the first images look promising.

MADE Berlin, a creative platform based in Berlin, did a new episode of their video interview serie “Visions Of Visionaries”. After names like Pharrel Williams and DJ Neil Armstrong now it’s Andrea Rosso’s turn.
Andrea Rosso is the son of Diesel founder Renzo Rosso, head of 55DSL and allround interesting person.
The interview is of course about 55DSL, but also gives a good view of Andrea’s personal insight in the brand and in his own life.

Today saw the unveiling of the six shortlisted proposals for the next art installation atop the Fourth Plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square. This again a great initiative by London, who are embracing the creative world more and more. The entries included a giant blue cockerel, golden rocking horse, and even a cash machine that operates an organ. The competing artists are Allora & Calzadilla, Elmgreen & Dragset, Katharina Fritsch, Brian Griffiths, Hew Locke and Mariele Neudecker are on show at St-Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square until 31 October. i don’t know why blue the blue cock is my favorite….

Katharina Fritsch presents Hahn / Cock, a giant cockerel in ultramarine blue, which in the setting of the square renders the situation surreal. The cockerel symbolises regeneration, awakening and strength and refers, in an ironic way, to male-defined British society and thoughts about biological determinism.

Hew Locke presents Sikandar, a replica of the equestrian statue of Field Marshal Sir George White from Portland Place transformed into a fetish object, decorated with horse-brasses, charms, medals, sabres, ex-votos, jewels, Bactrian treasure and Hellenistic masks.

Allora & Calzadilla present Untitled (ATM/Organ), a working ATM embedded within the Fourth Plinth, which when accessed, will trigger a functioning pipe organ, set on top of the plinth, producing sounds which will reverberate throughout the Square.

Elmgreen & Dragset present Powerless Structures, Fig.101, a brass sculpture of a boy astride his rocking horse, gently questioning the tradition for war monuments to celebrate either victory or defeat. Instead of acknowledging the heroism of the powerful, the work celebrates the heroism of growing up.

Mariele Neudecker presents It’s Never Too Late And You Can’t Go Back, a fictional mountainscape, that presents two images of Britain: the flipped and reversed shape of the peninsula when from seen above and its more familiar outline when viewed from below.

Brian Griffiths presents Battenberg, an outsized representation of the sponge cake, invented to commemorate the marriage of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Princess Victoria of Hesse to Prince Louis of Battenberg in 1884. The work will be made from hand crafted Victorian, Edwardian and contemporary household bricks along with other traditional building materials.

Weʼre taking a look at the 2010 t-shirt collection of the Korean brand Hybition Conspiracy.
The brand has a story that goes back to 1998. Founder of Hybition, Jay Kim, started off his brand in Seoul as “JayGear”. At that time, it was really hard to find a Korean street brand, but Jay wanted express himself in print and a new brand was born.
After the launch of JayGear Korean street culture was given a face.
A decade after, Jay Kim expanded JayGear carefully with another brand called “Hybition Conspiracy” to express himself in other ways. “Same mother, different son”, as Jay Kim says.
Images of the shirts and lookbook after the jump.

Hybition has been involved in BMX culture since the release of this 2010 collection look book.
Hybition supports two BMX flatland riders, “Kwon Dong Kyung” who could be seen in Nike commercials and Japanese BMX flatland Champion “Moto Sasaki”.
For the next collection Hybition is planning to release “Hybition Eyewear”. They will use environment-friendly materials like bamboo for their eyewear and another nice thing is that the eyewear is really reasonable priced.
We expect great things from the eyewear since the limited Hybition Sunglasses for Summer 2010 sold out very quickly.
And more good things will come in the future, Jay Kim is planning to do artwork with musicians and artists.
Hybition will express their style more and more and give Korean street culture a face.

AJANAKU is still looking for a new office space and I think this might be a good option.
Swedish fashion company Cheap Monday has a new headquarters and showroom in Stockholm, Sweden.
Behind the easy-stripped, but at the same time a bit surreal office space, we find interior architecture firm Uglycute. Uglycute worked with Cheap Monday before and designed their Copenhagen shop as well.
With materials as particle board and synthetic carpeting the materials used are relatively cheap, which is in the true spirit of Cheap Monday. It’s good to see what creative people can do with relatively small resources.
Check out more images after the jump.

If I were to say ‘Mad Men,’ you would probably answer with one word: Classic. Classic in style, classic in story line, a true classic. The great dialogue between all the characters, Don Draper, Pete Campbell, and Peggy Olson are probably the best tv show writings in a long time, but none of that would count if they didn’t have great set draw us all in. But now we can all pretend to be a character from Mad Men in our own home. Don’s desk, Pete’s credenza, or Peggy’s sofa are all up for grabs on ebay right now. The auction started last week and ends this Saturday. 10% of the proceeds will go to City of Hope.

There are are only two more days left before Lowlands gets going, and we can all go crazy at the Converse Compound. While our very own Jana Dankmeyer is enjoying the comforts of the Llowtel, the rest of us can strut around the grounds in our very own Converse x Lowlands All Star. The special iconic All Star now holds a print of the Llowbot, this years symbol for the theme of Lowlands:’Wanna play,’ on its side. If you are feeling a bit more daring, you can always get your converse shoes customized by the guys from Leyp, while dancing away at the silent disco. So see you all this weekend at the container compound of Converse!

Last week the Copenhagen Fashion Week was being held. Among all the events during the week Copenhagen’s own Wood Wood had their runway show.
An interesting detail in the presentation was, that all models came onto the runway entirely wet.
After the show the guys of Highsnobiety asked the Wood Wood designers what the idea behind the wet models was, the answer?… The hot summer…
More pics of the runway show after the jump.

The seventh installment of Curated by Arkitip is now available, featuring works by multimedia artist C.R. Stecyk III. From his early work on boards he painted for the Z-Boys from Dogtown to his iconic black and white photography of surf and skate legends, Stecyk is widely acknowledged as a major stylistic influence within graffiti and street art movements.

Stecyk’s work for Curated by Arkitip highlights iconic imagery and color combinations representative of the early days of modern skate and surf culture. The MacBook Sleeve features an early Stecyk photograph of Jay Adams, one of the original Z-Boys considered a progenitor of modern-day skateboarding. Stecyk’s skull design for the iPhone 3GS Snap Case recalls graffiti art that typified skateboarding in its early days, such as Stecyk’s infamous Pig and Crossbones graffiti piece that became a symbol for the nascent culture’s attitude and style.

The video element to accompany the release of the product line is now online. Similar to what we do with the Chronicles, the video will give the viewer a closer look at the process and inspirations of the artist.

Source: Arkitip

I’ve been listening to Matthew Dear‘s new album “Black City” (album released today) non stop for the last two days. I’m intrigued by this artist and I love his previous work (like Deserter and Don & Sherri). His latest album is a bit darker, grim even. It took me a couple of listens to really get into it, and to make up my mind whether I liked it or not. I had the same thing with Fever Ray, and it became one of my favorite albums of 2009. It’s not that I’m saying it’s the same type of music – but don’t expect an easy listen.

The track that really stands out, to me is, “You Put a Smell on Me”. An electro dance track that will most likely hypnotize you. “Monkey” is my second favorite track – a gritty primal and repetitive sounding track with the word Monkey in the lyrics! It doesn’t get any better than that.

I fail to find the words to describe this album to you, you just have to experience it. But let me give you some keywords: moody, dark, inspiring, david bowie-ish voice, fever ray, experimental. Mmmm maybe you should just have a look and listen at the teaser: