UNDFTD

UNDFTD have ran a billboard campaign in L.A, supported by Nike, for a hot minute now. For some strange reason I've always been fascinated by the use of Art by brands, especially in streetwear, and the way its often used in a relatively vague and unpredictable way to compliment or promote the product. I suppose the link between forms of art and clothing is arguably stronger amongst some streetwear brands becuase of the influence they draw from the urban environment and its art forms such as graffiti.
I certainly would not naturally associate these billboards with UNDFTD or the products they sell in their shops, but i suppose once you have built the link mentally, it remains unnatural and thus stronger? Who knows...

Kaws

Haze?

Mr cartoon

A post for the more visual reader among us...

"Quik is the name"

Addicted to the lifestyle

"The Originators Series" from Addict was presented this week at Bread and Butter Barcelona. A set of collaborative t-shirts paying homage "to the significance and importance of Sean Stussy and three other Californian based brands who all played their part in defining the genre we live and work in today, namely Freshjive, X-Large, and Fuct."

All three shirts are based on re-imagined imagery from the early graphic work which helped in defining the brands involved.

I'm a big fan of these collaborations, there is probably too much collaborating a'gwaan at the moment despite the undoubtable fact that collaborations tend to be healthy for the scene and are a helpful way to help establish and publicise younger and less known brands.
Although brands evidently need to deviate and move on from the designs and things that initially established them, i think some brands stumble too far away from their initial identity and loose what it was we once loved. Either way, these tees show classic can infact be fused with innovation and produce a successful outcome.

Quality Control

Sneaker Freaker recently compiled a list of the best kicks of 07.

The list, which has been assembled online, includes summaries of the shoes and select pictures, as well as guest interviews and favorites. View the full list now at Sneaker Freaker.
For many of us 07 was the year of the infamous "quality sneaker drought", with brands insistent on pushing hybrids and shoe designs reminiscent of runny human feces...

All we can hope is that next year is more fruitful in the way of classic designs, and that one day we may infiltrate shoe brand offices and have some kind of positive influence over whats hitting the streets.

"I'm known to have a hottie open and keep the shottie spoken"

Word to God Son

Skate London

This is what once inspired me to Skate. Peep the London spots and the once non-anti-skateless Shell center.

Artform

Just watched the Documentary on www.whitedunk.com, some crazy models and sculptures inspired by the Nike brand and White Dunk. Only makes sense to follow it up with some Nike influenced artwork thats caught my eye over the past years.

Jordans Rock:Rock Jordans

Jarvis & Waterman

Whether it be their vinyl figures or comic books, the creative minds of Russel Waterman and James Jarvis of Amos Toys have created a brand that people from all walks of life find fascinating and enticing. Their products maintain more then just pleasant aesthetic properties but go far and beyond to entrench you into fun and creative storylines and concepts. In a recent interview with Amos Toys, Russell Waterman and James Jarvis outline the creation of Amos Toys and their brand philosophy which has yielded them a legion of fans.

HB: Please introduce yourself to the viewers and offer a bit of insight into how you both ended up forming Amos Toys.

JJ: Bloody hell. That's a large question. We started Amos as a way of taking toys away from the world of street fashion, but failed miserably...
RW: I'm Russell Waterman, co-founder of Silas and Maria with Sofia Prantera (although I am no longer a part of this group) and a co-founder and collaborator with James Jarvis on Amos. We ended up working with each other because we couldn't find anything better to do!
JJ: I started working with Russell and Sofia back in the mid-90s when they were working for Slam City Skates. I carried on working for them when they started Silas and we've been collaborating in one form or another ever since. We started Amos as I kind of sister company to Silas in 2003.

HB: What sort of role do you each have within Amos Toys?

JJ: With Amos I do all the artwork and graphics, the easy bit!
RW: I look after the business and help think up and develop ideas for new projects and products. I do a bit of editing with James and I co-write pieces such as Vortigern's Machine, The YODzine etc. Outside of the day to day running I guess my role is pretty conceptual.
JJ: The conceptual bit is the fun part...
RW: We both enjoy that part. The day to day running sucks but someone has to do it.
JJ: The interesting thing about Amos is that it acts as an umbrella for anything we might want to do.

HB: Do you both essentially fill in each others weakness' with the other's strengths?

JJ: I'm not sure about that. We probably enable each other's negative traits as well.
RW: Yeah I think that is fair to say. We know each other very well and we both compensate and compromise. We are both pretty cynical but I like to think we use that to approach things in a realistic manner.
JJ: I want to communicate to a wide audience and having Russell as a collaborator/editor/confidant/what-have-you helps avoid being self-indulgent.
RW: I think we both bring an extra bit of perspective and context to what each of us does.
JJ: That's it and I'm better at spelling!

HB: What sort of impact have toys had with your respective lives? Were you always toy enthusiasts?

RW: I have always bought toys and I have a loft full of cartons full of toys. I've slowed down now. It was hard, say 15 years ago as people would see me as a freak. Now it isn't a problem. I accept I am a freak.
JJ: I was never a toy enthusiast, but making toys seemed like a fun and interesting thing to do when the opportunity arose.
RW: I would also claim to be an enthusiast but not a collector. I only collect our figures. Then I buy whatever takes my fancy. More licensed figures than anything else.
JJ: I was obsessed with Lego as a kid. I think it's all about building realities... which is what I do now.
RW: Working with toys has been a cathartic process for me as I had a legitimate excuse to buy them. Although storing them in boxes in my loft is a bit scary. And I would never let my kids play with them which is downright cruel!
JJ: What I really like doing is drawing, but on their own drawings are a hard thing for people to consume. So I use the drawings to make toys, or illustrations or comic strips, which are more commercial.

HB: Is it safe to say each sub-brand represents a different theme and approach?

JJ: I think so, YOD is arty and weird, Vortigern's Machine was an attempt to make a more mainstream (but still a bit subversive) kid's entertainment property.
RW: In-Crowd was an experiment to go wider. Green Fuzz gives Will Sweeney some freedom to explore other areas and develop his world vision!
JJ: Amos' identity comes from ALL those sub-brands.
RW: We wanted Amos to work on many levels from mainstream to cult status. Very ambitious. Vortigern's Machine was actually supposed to be for 10 - 12 year olds!
JJ: ... and YOD is for philosophers.
RW: ...and revolutionaries.
JJ: ... and mathematicians.
RW: ... and drug lords.
JJ: No, that's Mr. Spoons.
RW: No, he is a drug lord... of sorts. Sorry...we digress

HB: That's an interesting method of keeping concepts clean and tidy by offering up different outlets.

JJ: I think we are both too interested in all sorts of things to only work on one kind of concept. YOD scratches one itch and Vortigern's Machine another.
RW: Also we did not want to put out product that was not extensively thought out. We are both thinking people and we expect our customers to be that way too. We needed to offer products with context.

HB: How important is that each of your products are concept driven? Does it complete the circle by having something that not only looks good but also maintains a good background regarding it?

JJ: Definitely. I think that is where Russell is very strong.
RW: For me it is really important. As soon as you turn an idea into a product and expect people to buy it then you have to offer something with some meaning. Or else you are no better than the other 99% of shit that is out there. You walk around the stores and they are full of rubbish and it makes you wonder what people would want these items. The other trap is self indulgence. Making art for yourself is one thing. Expecting people to buy it is another. It has to have some context as soon as you offer it up as a product.
JJ: I think that as soon as you mass-produce something you have a duty to try and make it have substance.

HB: I believe that concepts in all walks of life drive the design world, of course not everybody's interpretation is put to work correctly, not so the case with Amos.

JJ: I'm too much of a fascist to allow that (!).

HB: Can you attest to that Russell?

RW: I believe you are 100% correct. Good design has a basic idea and concept whatever it is. How people chose to view that and use it is up to them. Sometimes I like other peoples views and interpretations of what we do. And yes, James is pretty authoritarian in nature. I am and will always be his bitch!
JJ: That's the yin-yang dynamic in the office - the authoritarian/libertarian conflict.

HB: Do you guys have any last words you'd like to say?

JJ: Clean up after yourselves, put some brakes on your bike and always stop for a red light.
RW: Thank you for giving us a chance to spout our bullshit. And I guess I'd like to thank those that genuinely take an interest in what we do. We try, and we really do appreciate the support.

HB: I too must thank you guys for the opportunity as well. I don't want to keep you guys too long as I'm sure there's tons of shit for you guys to attend to.

RW: In James' case that is probably very literal!

Less is more

I recently stumbled over some old Bape designs from 1993-2003. Its sad to see how Bape have come along and progressed (used in its vaguest sense) as a brand. These old pieces lack the horrible, garish designs and colours that have become synonymous with Bape these days.

Images courtesy of stopbeggingmag

However the new Bape spring/summer 2008 collection shows there is still a wray of hope, despite the fact it may be dimmed by the countless garish camo prints suffocating it. Some of the pieces in their new collection suggest they might be verging towards their more classic and subtle older style.

Images courtesy of my bape blog

However flip a couple pages through their spring/summer collection and your back to what I've come to associate with Bape.... The concept of disgrace delivered through design and colour.


Either way, whether the designs come back to par, the image i have of Bape is so tainted by their extortionate prices, and more significantly their London shop and staff, that i couldnt bring myself to purchase anything Bape regardless of what i thought of it. Ill let the people over at stopbeggingmag do the talking.....

"Then you got the staff that are probably the single worst thing in terms of Bapes brand identity within London; they're simply not good enough. They bring no background product knowledge, no customer repour, no sales techniques and worst of all zero manners. Which results in you going there, asking them a question only to be greeted with a plain face and one worded answers. It's as if they secretly never wanted to work there but the Yakuza took their family as hostage and forced them to work to cover their imported Pokemon cards debt, ha"

Words of wisdom

"Protect Ya Neck"

Hit Doctors Orders, Tea rooms and the Old blue. A relatively low-quality, unproductive night. Old blue has a strictly Wu-tang music policy apparently, of which i can do nothing but support whole heartedly. Its ironic how gems are usually found in the most unpredictable places. Doctors orders decided to play nothing but female vocaled funk and soul whilst old blue served us with a much needed portion of "Protect Ya Neck".

Might catch me in some faded evisu's and w)taps chukkas

W)taps seem to have gained some kind of cult following. Everywhere i go i meet more W)taps wearers, all of which seem to be sternly serious about their w)taps appreciation and wearing. Understandable given id go as far as to argue these are the best Chukkas ever made! Yes, ever made! And thats a big statement considering the lifetime of the Chukka.

If i'm ever to escalate this blog into anything respectable ill have to cop myself a camera sooner or later. Until then enjoy the Sony-Ericson 5 megapixel mayhem.

"My other car's a VAN"

Ive been salivating over the purple half cabs for a while now, so when i noticed that some new purple and black accented half cabs have been released somewhere in the depths of Japan i was nothing short of the drama 'Ante Up' can cause in a club. I find that half cabs, in their naked entirety, are quite an ugly and misshaped kind of sneaker, kind of like Sloth from the Goonies.

But alas, when one has time to appreciate them and sport them alongside a nice item of demin wear they flourish, just as if one takes time to look past Sloths incredibly horrible and misshapen head they are likely to realise he is a lovely and kind character.

Second in my trail of thought is Nike's re-release of the Air Structure, originally released in 1992. As I've said before im usually a fan of all things Nike air and these are no exception. These are absolute butter and i cant wait to get my grubby mits on a pair or two.

Until next time. Adieu

Bag it up

Goodenough UK and Berlin based messenger bag specialist Bagjack have combined forces on a small collection of bags. The collection consists of backpacks, tote bags and mobile phone holsters. The bags are made out of nylon and feature some crazy floral detail on the outer leather. I'm a first rate advocate of all things detailed with subtlety so these bags are a micro penis (and thats really! small) away from perfection for me. My personal favorite is the lighter brown and white bag becuase i think the light brown really hits off against the clean white.

The collection has been released at the Hideout.

Until next time. Adieu

London Joyrider

Alife tee, Stussy London fitted and Gold casio.

Oh yea. And get your grill game right!

Until next time. Adieu