Crep Collection | Part One

So I thought I'd take you all through a little look of my kick collection, as, with it mounting up and all, I haven't got much time to really appreciate them these days - so I thought I'd may as well let them loose on the web instead. This is Part One - I'm not yet sure of how many parts there will be, but judging by the current size I'm sure there will be a fair few...

Sydney Awesome Challenge | Task Two | Completed

So the second task of the Sydney Awesome Tour is done and dusted and, with huge help from some of my peoples [thanks - you know who you are], I think I've again gone for something a little different in approach. I'm aware that this challenge could have either catered for a huge amount of creativity, or the extreme opposite, with very little - I had the path of either finding clothes online and building something via that, or designing something myself. In the end I went for neither and instead found an existing [extremely eccentric] ensemble through my various contacts. I wanted an outfit that screamed Sydney, and very few outfits, in my opinion, can shout Sydney as loud as having the Opera House itself on your shoulders...

Yup I went for that route [somewhat predictably] - hell Sydney has every right to be a global fashion capital, they can't stick to flip flops and short shorts forever now can they...

Take a peek at my presentation below, hope you like it...

Nice. Spread the word. Send me to Sydney.

Image robbed at gunpoint from here. Safe.

The ugly side of Camden

East London based brand the Ugly Kids Club have set up temporary a home in the hub of creativity known as Camden Stables. Selling limited edition clothing and assorted other bits and pieces, in a heavily spray painted backdrop, the pop up store demonstrates the brands ability to perform well, standing away from the various other competitor UK labels who have yet to engineer such a bold mood [with the exception of Second Son].

Congratulations, and the best of luck to the Ugly team.

Image taken from the site.

Sydney Awesome Challenge | Task Two | Brief

Right so the second brief is up and this one's a toughie. Focusing on fashion, the challenge requires the creation of a Sydney inspired outfit, moving away from the archaic look of khaki and corks to a much more modern look at Sydney.

'Week 2 is all about fashion. We want your take on Sydney as a style mecca, rather than the age old cliche of cork-hanging hats and drizabones. Basically, we're asking you to create an outfit that screams 'I'm all about Sydney'. Whether it's inspired by Collette Dinnigan frick, or some particularly eye-catching Hot Tuna beachwear, mock it up in whatever way you fancy... Hand-stitched, elegantly sketched or charity shop purchased - it's up to you!'

I've already got more than enough of an idea of where to take this, as I've long been a follower of Sydney fashion [thank you Sneaker Freaker!] but I'll need help refining the ideas and working on my final outcome. Get involved, I want to give you the bloody tickets for f*cks sake!

Good times.

Image taken from the Yeezy Sydney launch.

Head Hunting...

Maharishi's MHI continues on into 2010 despite the issues surrounding it's apparent dip in to administration and the take over by [f*cking] JD Sports. Implimenting serial stylist, and Cassette Playa designer Carri Munden, to style the brand's spring/summer 'Head Hunter' collection - nice title and hopefully they will stay true to their word by 'head hunting' and working with young, up and coming creative stars. This already seems the case. As well as working with Mundane, the young model featured in the lookbook is a young, talented musician named Kase. Nice.

With a strong graphic element, expect MHI to return to the UK streetwear consciousness with huge aplomb over the next few months. The impending relaunch of Maharishi has got me bubbling with excitement once again, as the British fashion aficionados look to cement themselves back into the mindset of the fashion aware consumer. Having recently been invited to their London studio I was hugely impressed with their new product range, as the trademark brilliant design elements, alongside quality tailoring, is an ever present throughout the brand.

Expect to see more soon...

NSW hits the nail on the head.

I recently came across images of Nike's Autumn/Winter NSW range and quickly concluded that it is genuinely the best collection I have ever seen emerge bleary eyes and fresh, from the Sportswear camp. With a selection of what appears to be impressively tailored jackets, coats and assorted cold weather wear, the Nike team have hit the nail on the head in terms of simple aesthetics – keeping much of the collection clean, bold and simple there is as much as 90% of all the product [seen here] that I would actively wear. Impressive, also, is the clever use of form, as there is a several pieces that take influence from the Varsity and military inspired M65 jacket. Very impressive, and impressed.

Thanks Hypebeast!

Today was a good day...

Just came across this brilliant ad from Nike SB in conjunction with the third release of the Paul Rodriguez Nike SB skate shoe. Combining picturesque scenery, fantastic tricks from P.Rod himself and the 'Today was a Good Day' soundtrack, alongside a cameo from Ice Cube himself, the video is a brilliant minute of ad that I wished I saw more of. Straight out of Nike's Innovation Kitchen, take a look at the video here.

Pretty pic huh?

Twelve Bar

If you hadn't heard of Twelve Bar before, you sure will in the coming months. Created by ex Londoners Nick Jackson [ex-Maharishi] and Damien Webster [of Clique n’ Move], Twelve Bar has had an excellent lease of life since it’s emergence on to the streetwear scene a few years back. Mixing casual workwear with leisurely streetwear, Twelve Bar has both some great stand out pieces and some excellent wardrobe fillers. Now based in LA since their move from London, the brand has benefited and excelled by mixing up the different style influences from these separate surroundings, blending these cultural styles both efficiently and effectively. Built upon the creation of things that they love [hence where the heart logo and the tagline ‘It’s All Love’ has come from], both founders are heavily influenced by their joint adoration of music – something that is extremely important in their apparel design and outlook on life [their website is also reflective of this, whilst their ties to some of the best emerging and established artists displays their authentic love of music].

Good quality, well made and fairly priced, Twelve Bar is definitely worth a prolonged look, with some of their pieces being truly stand out, a reflection as to why the brand is so popular stateside. Being the excellent blokes that they are, Nick and Damien have sorted me out with a discount code for anything on the online site - a promotion which I plan to extend to my friends and assorted readers.

Take a look at the amazing website here and please do get in touch if you’d be interested in taking advantage of the code.

It’s all love. Image taken from the website.

T.Magic x Nike iD

To celebrate the success of artist and entrepreneur extraordinaire T.Magic has twinned with Nike iD to collaborate officially for the first time. With a tee/trainer pack for the ever popular ‘success is my destiny’ pack, and another for the ‘hope for the best prepare for the worst’, T.Magic has again cemented himself as a luminary of the UK’s creative scene.

Check out the packs, and more from the man, here.

Image taken from the site.

The return of Crossover

Crossover finally returns to the streets today as a new range of product have been dropped via We Are HQ. Taking a break from the game, Crossover, HQ and Slammin Kicks mastermind Magdi Fernandes has decided it’s time to bring back the brand so famously endorsed by the likes of Jay Z and Lupe. Not only that but the tees are only a glimpse of what is to come as Fernandes promises big things for the future of the underground streetwear label.

Check out the newly renovated HQ site too – expect big things from both the site and Crossover. Take a look at the tees here.

Image taken from here - thanks.

Art Is My Hustle: Summer 09 Pack

The wait for a release from the T.Magic camp is now over as, building on the unparalleled success of the recent Leicester invasion, T and the team have released the ‘Art Is My Hustle’ Summer 09 pack. Reminding the world of the successful ethos of the brand, the pack includes a tee and a jumper - both limited to 25 pieces each. With the pack only being released a matter of hours ago some sizes have already sold out, so be sure to be quick if you wish to procure one of these extremely limited pieces. There is every possibility that all they could potentially be sold out by this time tomorrow.

The pack can be purchased from here.

Excitingly, there is also talk of an extremely limited edition collaboration with Nike on the horizon – more info to come, so stay tuned.

Image taken from the blog.

Trinotron's new site

Trinotron has bagged itself a brand new website with enough games, toys and fun graphics to keep a kid entertained for hours on end. One of the most animated sites I've seen in recent time, Trinity Ellis, the man behind the brand, has continued the perpetual futuristic theme, with the website offering a digital home for the brands ever expanding collection.

Check it out here. Nice, nice.

Brand new second hand?

Hitting the South of London this Sunday, is 'Brand New Second Hand' brought to us by a bunch of our favourite streetwear luminaries, including MVP and the WAH crew. Housing some great pieces from bands such as Stussy, Nike and Visvim, this is one for the streetwear connoisseur, important, also, as the UK scene, with the exception of Trapstar, has remained a tad quite since the fantastic momentum of the Reset just over a month ago. Brand New Second Hand will be a welcome relief for bargain hunters, streetwear lovers, and clothing hoarders alike.

Good times.

Meeting Rio...

I had the great pleasure of being offered the opportunity to meet Rio Ferdinand last Saturday as a crew of hand picked individuals, Nike employees, and die hard football fans, congregated at the 1948 NSW store in Shoreditch. Held in conjunction with Ferdinand's Air Force 1 Launch, he came across as both personable and intelligent in a very open question and answer time, a stark contrast to the media portrayal of many modern day proffessional players. He spoke of his love for the game, joked and laughed, signed various bits and pieces, smiled and was consistently polite - I even got him to give my little brother a call and I marvelled as I watched him converse with my delighted 9 year old sibling.

Rio Ferdinand is clearly a bit more than an average footballer, exemplified by the fact that he has been given a shoe by Nike to work with. His shoe is cleanly constructed and uncluttered, the quality of this shoe falling within the detailing - a poignant message on the insole, clean white lines, whilst gold stictching, alongside the golden swoosh, gives the shoe a premium feel. His online magazine '5' also displays the enterprising nature of the man, clearly transferring a powerful winning mentality that he so strongly champions on pitch, to all other areas of his life.

A fantastic opportunity and one that I shall long remember. Thank you to Nike, AKQA and, of course, Mr Ferdinand...

Image taken from here.

The Air Yeezy hits London for the third, and final, time...

The hype around the third, and final, installment of the Air Yeezy has already been intense - the huge amount of interest the super-publicized sneaker has garnished is a clear and true reflection of the strength of the Yeezy brand. With news that Size are again receiving a limited run, and that the Yeezys will once again be available from both Niketown and 1948, trainer fiends will undoubtedly be queuing for days beforehand with the hope of laying their grubby mitts on the super limited pieces of footwear.

Having myself just had a close inspection of the final pair earlier this week, I'm impressed by the pure construction of the shoe. The lack of the 'Y' embossed pattern across the strap, alongside the glow in the dark swoosh, and the focal Tan colourway are reasons to get excited alone, whilst the clean white outsole adds a nice finishing touch to the masterpiece.

Available as of this Saturday the 6th of June, expect full blown Yeezy-mania.

Image taken from here. Thanks. Sorry.

Where there's a will, there's a way...

I'm working my way towards getting a pair of these bad boys... It'll happen, I'll find a way!

Image taken from here.

The grey Force 1

For all those that have visited any Nike iD studio, it is common knowledge that the most will know sought after, and valuable, kicks are the plain grey inspiration shoes. In fact they are so sought after, I have often unsuccessfully offered a lesser limb in return for a pair but, as is common knowledge, they have never been available to buy, give away or swap for an arm. Until now apparently. As part of the 10th anniversary celebration of Nike iD, Nike are making 105 pairs [worldwide] of the grey Air Force 1 Supreme try-ons available to buy.

The allocation is split three ways, 35 pairs in three locations at 21 Mercer Street New York, the Nike iD Studio London and NSW Tokyo, available as of tomorrow, the 23rd of May.

Image taken from here - thanks.

The pop up store with a difference

Open for two weeks in the trendy Newburgh area of central London, is the 143 pop up store in Carnaby Street. Full of beautiful bits and pieces, the space is brought to us by the fantastic collaboration of the creative maestros Silver Spoon Attire and Kate Moross. I’ve done a write up on PSFK so I’ll let you check it out there for further details.

Check out the article here.

Image taken from the 143 site. Thanks guys...

Jordan Raging Bull pack...

I picked up these bad boys a few days back having originally fallen in love with the whole ‘Toro Bravo’, or 'Raging Bull' pack via Hypebeast. The use of 3M on the upper is what really makes this shoe such a fantastic purchase, and the material, combined with the classic Jordan 5 shape, is what made the shoe a necessary addition to my ever expanding kick collection. The second half of the pack boasts a similarly fantastic material range, the classical deep red of the bulls this time detailed in a red suede that have whipped trainer lovers worldwide into an absolute frenzy - I wait and anticipate.

Get the whole pack here. Nice.

The Trapstar x A.In.T party

United again through their most recent collaboration, Trapstar and A.IN.T are throwing a party to display their appreciation of the impressive support they both received at the recent Reset event. Not only did they both sell their wares extremely well over the bank holiday weekend, but they were also inundated with the kind of support that makes what both brands are doing, such a meaningful endeavor. With a DJ line up including Acyde, No Bizzi and Seb Chew, and a venue located in the heart of London's west end, the party looks like it will be a huge success and one that will justly sound the brands appreciation - it's good that they're giving something back to those that have supported both the brands throughout the years. Nice.

More info here.