Mike Dean’s Dirty South

original content kenji yanagawa's case study house frames city and luxury cars

http://www.designboom.com/architecture/kenji-yanagawas-case-study-house-frames-city-and-luxury-cars/

Making the Cut – A Cut Above on Building a Brand and Belgian Style

Visit the Belgian city of Antwerp and you’ll find yourself in one of the world’s top — and most overlooked — fashion destinations. Growing up in an environment where, on any given day, one could rub shoulders with Raf Simons or the Antwerp Six fostered a passion and sensibility that prompted Robin De Flô to open A Cut Above in 2008. The retailer quickly became one of the city’s go-to spots for high-end streetwear and a meeting place for creative types from diverse fields and backgrounds. When, in 2012, the decision was made to shutter its doors, A Cut Above channeled its retail savvy into a first collection of pared-back, high-quality garments. We recently had the opportunity to sit down with De Flô for a chat on ACA’s beginnings and evolution, along with the Belgian fashion scene from which it sprung and the label’s plans for the future.

Be sure to visit A Cut Above’s website for more information, as well as our online store for a selection of the label’s goods.

Original article here. 

Why Is Japanese-Made Fashion So Expensive?

With a failing global economy and an increase on “fast retail” where the focus lies more on cost over quality, many fashion enthusiasts are questioning labels, their prices and ultimately their products. Japan has always been known for their high standards, but unfortunately is no exception to the aforementioned doubts. So does the country have justification for what they put out, or will we see an end to “high fashion” from the Far East? There are a few underlying factors and examples that may help shed some light to this matter.

Material

Artisans from yesteryear Japan were synonymous with handcrafted, exquisite detailing in their fashion and general lifestyle, and such aspects are commonly found in modern day apparel. The details are further supported by the use of rare and delicate materials, fusing function and fashion together for the end-consumer. Many are already familiar with the use of leather from cowhide, but the Japanese have consistently found the fabric from more unorthodox animals; luxury streetwear fashion brand visvim has often used the rigid texture from deer, elk and even antelope. Cattle leather may seem commonplace, but the treatment of such a raw material may differ in Japan from the rest of the world, utilizing exotic oils and chemicals to help set them apart from what people may initially perceive. Aside from the material and the process, one must also remember the before and after of leather use into the equation – it is often forgotten that such animals may be hard to find and acquire, the raw material must be maintained properly during the process, and afterwards must undergo intense testing to pass all quality control standards, of which may take more time and consideration for rare materials not often used due to their lack of documentation.

Production and Manufacturing

The workers within the production line may not be what most expect – a conveyor belt of uninterested, mindless drones whose goal is to execute one single task over and over again until their shift ends. Americana relic experts The Real McCoy’s production room is comprised of young, energetic, knowledgeable workers, free to think on their own and indifferent to the desperation of a minimum wage salary. They work under a direct connection to the company, either as generation clothiers or simply fans of the brand. It may seem trivial, but a 26-year-old Japanese native with a respect for local brands will always have a sharper image of what they are doing in fashion over an immigrant in their 40s or 50s perhaps sending paychecks home for their child’s schooling. A younger eye and unweathered hand working at their own pace will be able to notice a missed stitched or misaligned eyelet long before a factory worker ever could. And while this methodology may produce a smaller amount of units per season, the quality surely makes up for it and, ironically, may end up selling a higher percentage of the product in the end.

Wholesaling and Pricing

Most are unaware of the wholesale system in Japan and how it actually differs from other markets. An inside source gives insight into how, for starters, conventionally it is the buyers that set the retail price margins on their own prior to purchasing. Japanese fashion brands however set their own retail prices under guidelines found in fear marketing. This skews the profit margins greatly and cannot be compared with international finance. For instance, wholesale prices of 50%-60% of retail pricing is considered common, with certain discounts naturally depending on order amount or sheer quantity. Most brands however delve even lower, with wholesale prices reaching as low as 25%-35% of the item’s “in-store to the customer” price. This would ultimately break down to approximately 30% of the sale going to cost of the garment, 30% to the brand, and 40% to the store. Furthermore, the production affects pricing as well – traditionally the big brands’ method of production is purely in-house, while Japanese independent brands hire outside agents to aid in aspects such as pattern-making, production management and so on. Outside hire not only benefits the brand with unique styling that may differ season to season, but also requires independent salaries and a higher overall budget. Material procurement is also a factor, where Japanese brands produce zippers, cloth and buttons originally rather than source from other countries. A relative lack of trade show attendance solidifies this point; most Western brands visit such events as Premiere Vision in Paris on an annual basis to assemble their collections. Finally, one must keep in mind that the wages for workers in Japan is incomparable to those of Chinese or Indian workers, which in the end again goes into cost.

Customer Service

While Western patrons may not take notice of the shop they’re in, consumers in Japan tend to take their shopping experience a little more seriously. You’ll often find features in a boutique available that may not seem obvious or conventional, but are certainly appreciated. One retail outlet of considerable mention is A Bathing Ape, notoriously known for their finite details in their products but also in their retail locations. Exclusively constructed by famed design firm Wonderwall, their use of aluminum and concrete is only the tip of the iceberg in the appeal of the BAPE STORE chain. Keen eyes will notice the camo-embossed leather sofas, Ape Heads seared into the hangers, custom-made amenities like receipt holders and credit card trays, jaw-dropping displays of excess, etc. While all of this may seem unnecessary, customers find themselves visiting, returning and even traveling to new shops simply to experience the atmosphere. To further support the shopping, customers are treated with services not available outside of Japan, such as loyalty cards, item transfers from store to store, and on occasion even free delivery. Subscribers to BAPE MANIA, an exclusive annual membership loyalty program, are given special deals and exclusive gifts sent to them in the mail, plus a select number of “Premium Days” in the year where they can enjoy discounts on a large number of items.

It’s impossible to calculate exactly what goes into the cost of each and every brands’ premium products released, but consumers must remember there are multiple factors that must be considered. Companies like Uniqlo and H&M are certainly disrupting the natural order of things in fashion and style previously dominated by runway traditionalists and exotic clothiers. The future of fashion will not be as clear cut as many feel — either a defined path towards fast retail or a return to handmade craftsmanship and quality. What the future fashion scene will see is more collaborative efforts between these two options and hopefully a balance between the two will emerge, offering yet another alternative to choose from.

 images and article source.

Big Sean - Family

 

In the this installment of his vlog series, Big Sean reflects on his family while he travels from Detroit to Paris and everywhere in-between.

Paris Is Burning

Paris Is Burning is a 1990 documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African American, Latino, gay and transgender communities involved in it. Many members of the ball culture community consider Paris Is Burning to be an invaluable documentary of the end of the "Golden Age" of New York City drag balls, as well as a thoughtful exploration of race, class, and gender in America.

Take My Picture

TAKE MY PICTURE from GARAGE Magazine on Vimeo.

When we set out to make this short, our intention simply was to observe the phenomenon of fashion bloggers and street style stars. As we started to review the footage, two salient trends became apparent: fashion editors frustrated by the ensuing commotion outside of shows, and the rise of "peacocking" street style stars as a result of the proliferation of blogs. This film examines these themes from both perspectives.

Jon Phonics - FX With The Life Feat. It'sNate (nsfw)

eley kishimoto

currently feeling - eley kishimoto patterns

SI's 100 Best Michael Jordan Photos

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/photos/1302/sports-illustrated-100-best-pictures-of-michael-jordan/37/

http://nba.si.com/2013/02/13/nba-slam-dunk-contest-michael-jordan-vince-carter-dwight-howard/?sct=hp_t12_a2&eref=sihp#

The Rise of Fashionable Technology

I’ve always been fascinated by the next big thing. I still slap myself for missing the boat in a major way three years ago.

“There’s an app for that.” With those five words, Apple launched what is now known as the app economy. It’s not an exaggeration – the app economy has created nearly 500,000 jobs according to The Miami Herald, and it has birthed fast-growing companies such as Rovio and Zynga (albeit it has seen better times). It is also projected to be worth $55 billion by 2015.

It was the BlackBerry and the iPod that initially ushered in the age of mobile devices. As hardware gets smaller and grows more powerful, the devices are now bred in another form. These new devices are sleeker, better-designed and offer more practical methods of improving our lives. They can help us track our habits, improve the way we feel, and offer more control in our lives.

The most bizarre part is a lot of the new technology take the form of accessories. Let’s look at some products that are bringing about the rise of fashionable, wearable technology, firstly by examining the most practical of fashion functions: clothing.

Improving Clothing Function

The essence of clothes, in addition to fashion, is to protect wearers from the elements. Japanese company Fast Retailing has focused on using technology to improve their garments functionally. In comparison to typical fast fashion companies (Zara and H&M), which manufacture small batches of items to follow trends extremely quickly, Fast Retailing’s primary subsidiary UNIQLO maintains its low prices by manufacturing large batches of clothes up to a year in advance.

Because UNIQLO is known for its basics, demand for its items are forecastable and stable, and UNIQLO is able to continue manufacturing in large batches. UNIQLO’s offerings resonate well with consumers because it weaves technology into its items. This includes technology like HEATTECH, a technology used to generate and retain heat in its fabric, and AIRism – the counterpart of HEATTECH – UNIQLO’s cooling fabric. This technology allows UNIQLO to create basic articles of clothing that stand the test of time.

Fashion and technology are starting to converge. While fashion companies like UNIQLO are making it happen, there are even stronger catalysts coming from the other side of the field: technology companies are churning about gadgets disguised as fashionable accessories. How will these changes improve our lives?

Altering the Real World

Google’s Project Glass has made a strong statement in 2012. This concept device connects to your smartphone via a set of glasses, and displays information on a screen built into the lens. You can have your text messages, emails and media beamed into your field of vision, or summon them via voice command. Google Glass also has a built-in camera, which means you can snap photos and video clips hands-free (and inconspicuously).

Project Glass is one of the harbingers of augmented reality; as this video demonstrates, in addition to integrated communication, it can overlay your world with maps, reminders and all sorts of neat additions. Glass holds some serious implications for the way we communicate with others, the way we interact with our environment, and the accessibility of information.

Despite riding the cutting edge of technology, Google Glass has been embraced by the fashion world. Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg armed her models with several pairs for a fashion show that took place a few months ago. “It’s a very important component of making technology desirable and compelling,” said Google co-founder Sergey Brin in an interview. “It’s got to be stylish and fashionable.”

It’s Brin’s, and Google’s hope that its integration into fashion will remove some social risks and accelerate mainstream adoption of this technology (or prevent it from ending up on this list).

Tracking Biometrics

While a device like the Google Glass is capable of adding on a layer to our visual reality, other devices are dedicated to bringing more clarity to a less visible aspect of reality. Wearable technology and audio device manufacturer Jawbone recently launched the second version (after a disastrous first) of its biometric bracelet, UP. The Jawbone UP’s premise is built on the principle of changing habits: the first step to improving your life, and building better habits, is tracking and dissecting your current habits.

The Jawbone UP primarily tracks three types of information: activity (such as steps throughout the day, which then measures calories burned), sleep (hours spent, and how much of it was deep sleep), and the types of food you eat (either through scanning a barcode, or manual input via UP’s food glossary feature).

The Jawbone UP syncs to users’ iPhones via a headphone jack, and the measurements are then compared to the goals they had set for themselves. This gives users insight into where they can improve most in their health, and how much they must adjust their daily routine in order to reach their personal goals.

In addition to its tracking ability, the Jawbone UP also has an outstanding built-in alarm clock function. Built on its abilities to measure user sleeping patterns, the UP also has the ability to wake users up with a gentle nudge while they’re in a lighter form of sleep. A review on The Verge claims that this function makes waking up a lot easier.

Giving Watches Superpowers

In addition to telling the time, watches have doubled as a fashion statement. The Pebble e-paper watch goes beyond these two functions by connecting wirelessly via Bluetooth to users’ iPhones or Android smartphones.

The Pebble is built using a high-resolution e-paper display (similar to a Kindle), which makes its image readable even outdoors. The use of a digital display means that the watch face can be customized according to user preference; it can display time digitally or as a traditional analog watch face.

The killer feature of the Pebble is its ability to run apps. The Pebble watch is connected to your phone, which means that it can act as its remote control and display (i.e. change music while you’re on a run, measure speed with its accelerometer if you’re a cyclist, or display text messages and alerts). Pebble’s team makes its product expandable by allowing third parties to develop apps, and so the watch comes with an open SDK.

The possibilities for Pebble apps are incredible. For example, its built-in vibrating motor (I unsuccessfully tried to find another way to say that) combined with its connectivity to users’ phone means that it can serve up reminders based on user locations. If a user needs to buy milk today, it could display a reminder when he’s near a grocery store. The concept of the Pebble is simple enough; it builds on the power of current mobile devices. This next piece of fashionable technology builds on the power of something everyone already uses every moment of their lives: the brain.

Opening up the Mind

The InteraXon Muse is a headband that measures brain waves. It has four sensors: two in the front, and two behind the ears. InteraXon founder Trevor Coleman likens it to a pulse reader for the mind. “The same way taking your pulse will tell you how your body’s doing during physical exercise, this’ll tell you how your brain’s doing during mental exercise,” explains Coleman in an online fundraising campaign video.

Its initial application is based on tracking brainwaves. Users will be able to look into how certain activities are affecting their minds. Is the yoga class truly relaxing? Is the new promotion too stressful? Is the memory-training class they’re taking working?

Within 10 years, InteraXon believes that Muse will be able to control other computing devices and toys, match users up with other individuals of similar brainwaves, and stay alert on long drives. This is huge – it could potentially extend to other connected devices, which holds enormous implications not only from a science-fiction telekinetic standpoint, but an extremely practical one for the bedridden or the paralyzed.

InteraXon is connecting the mind with the physical world. It has already created campaigns to demonstrate how the mind can control many things (ranging from a thought-controlled beer tap to mentally controlling lights several provinces away on the CN Tower). In contrast, Nike is looking to build upon people’s current physical capabilities by using technology to improve the way they perform in their lives.

Breeding Further Change

Nike has consistently been on the forefront of technological change. They were one of the first to leverage the power of mobile technology with the original Nike+iPod equipment, which connected with earlier variants of the Apple iPod and iPhone to measure exercise performance.

The Nike+ service evolved to take the form of a bracelet, similar to the Jawbone UP. Dubbed the Nike+ FuelBand, this product similarly measures physical performance (without the sleep or diet aspects that the UP tracks). While its feature set is more focused in scope, it is connected to devices via Bluetooth and served as a much more reliable product than Jawbone’s first variant of the UP (which received complaints as UP bracelets randomly stopped working).

Recently, Nike announced a collaboration with TechStars to launch their own accelerator and help entrepreneurs bring their ideas to reality. It is focused on companies that plan to build software on the Nike+ platform.

The benefits of having entrepreneurs join the Nike+ accelerator is access to the extremely impressive TechStars network, which ranges from powerful investors to experienced mentors. The accelerator also helps with funds – in exchange for supporting each company with $20,000, TechStars will be taking 6% of each company entering the Nike+ accelerator.

Data has been huge when it comes to making decisions in corporations, and has been crucial to improving bottom lines. Now, these devices, platforms and applications mean that data can be accessed by consumers to improve their health, well-being and quality of life.

While the main function of technology has always been to make life easier, the importance of design used to be overlooked by most companies. Now, the fact that technology is becoming more fashionable simply means an even quicker permeation into mainstream culture.

While apps have made a huge dent on our world in an extremely short amount of time, their effects will pale in comparison to what fashionable, wearable technology has in store.

Herbert Lui is passionate about entrepreneurship, art, and technology. In his spare time, he covers technology and startup news for Techvibes. If you want to connect (or heckle), please feel free to reach out on Twitter.

Original post here

ILL-FITS: The Trend of Performance Sneakers & Suits

As Hypebeast’s readership continues to grow, so does the size of our inbox. From props and complaints, to line sheets, aspiring brands and PR companies, we are constantly getting hit up by many of our loyal readers for various reasons. We’re making a conscious effort to respond to all of you guys and with the help of our contributing editor and native New Yorker, Robert Marshall, we’re creating a new op-ed installment titled ‘ILL-FITS.’ Primarily intended to answer the messages from all of you style advice seekers, Robert Marshall will tackle one of your questions and we’ll post it up here for you to contribute to the discussion.

Call me old-fashioned, but I have trouble understanding why men pair a finely tailored suit with sneakers intended for superior athletic output. Can you explain its purpose and do you think it’s a trend that’s here to stay?
Its purpose is twofold, both in style and function. What must be said however is this coupling of a suit and a pair of technically-sound sneakers is really just a contemporary reproduction of an ongoing trend. Although its inception is difficult to pinpoint, its emergence can likely be traced to the casual revolution of the mid 20th century where men could be seen sporting a suit atop iconic silhouettes like the Chuck Taylor All Star. Many see this relaxed choice of dress as quirky, facetious or even immature, and it’s generally reserved for those that carry a disdain for the bureaucracies and insecurities of fashion. What’s more is that although it playfully tones down the formality of a suit, this clashing of dress-codes also serves as a benefit for those that travel by foot dressed throughout the day in a stifling jacket and pair of trousers. Typically speaking, opting for your tennis shoes will prove to be much more comfortable on your tired dogs than a pair of dress shoes when trekking through a sprawling metropolis. As far as the recent transition to innovative athletic sneakers like Nike’s Flyknit model is concern, it’s just a natural progression of a decades-old trend. With a new wave of lighter, more comfortable models being produced, each release offers a modern alternative to this bold style statement.
In regards to its future existence, it’s truly difficult to say whether a trend or style of dress will fade to obscurity or continue to grow engulfing a number of similarly positioned fashion choices. I do however think its prevalence depends on the footwear industry’s ability to craft products based on the needs of the contemporary man rather than recycled silhouettes with outdated materials. What I mean by that is this outfit selection is not only one of exploration, but also a purposeful cry for utilitarian designs that compliment our expanding lifestyles. If one were to put its ears to the runway you’d find that men still possess an innate, no-frills attitude when it comes to clothing – a trait often neglected in women. So until shoemakers begin to understand that men don’t just want to look great, they want to feel great as well; I think the notion to pair innovative sneakers with a bespoke suit will continue to be a common occurrence especially during the forthcoming warmer months. Despite that, brands like Cole Haan represents a growing market segment that not only creates with style in mind but versatility as well. So what are your thoughts Hypebeasts: will this trendy pairing continue on or will shoemakers take notice and look to curve its existence?

Author:Robert Marshall

Nike Basketball | Kobe Bryant: #COUNTONKOBE

Count on the sun to shine. Count on the rain to fall. Count on snakes to bite. Count on grass to grow. Count your blessings. Count on Kobe.

 

Inside the Saudi Kingdom (BBC Documentary)

B.Dot On NY Times Popcast

http://rapradar.com/2013/01/12/b-dot-on-ny-times-popcast/#comments