fashion junkie

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thom browne

i can't say that i follow thom browne's line religiously, but i'm in the know of his new collections when they come out. the collections are typically pristine, clean-cut looks, and sometimes a little bit of attitude, but definitely a classy look for many.

his recent print ad campaign is just that...clean-cut, simple, and classy. all with a little bit of intriguing style mixed in.

i find it mysteriously creative.


credits: selectism

kanye + lv

courtesy of kanye west...here's another sneaker for louis vuitton. out june 2009.

credits: kanye

air yeezy's announced!

finally, they have arrived.

this has probably been one of the most anticipated pair of nike shoes in a while. with kanye being the only one wearing them for months, and dj a.m. featuring them in a kobe commercial, the shoes have finally been formally announced.

kanye announced on his blog, tuesday, that they will be available this spring. the first colorway, zen grey & light charcoal will be available in april. may will bring the release of a black on black with pink accent color way, and finally, the net on net colorway will be released in june.

here's the press release.

"Nike Sportswear and Grammy award winning recording artist Kanye West present the highly anticipated Nike Air Yeezy sneaker in Spring 2009.

The shoe, which takes West’s nickname Yeezy, draws upon the innovations from Nike’s rich sporting history and fuses them with original lines, materials, and design elements that reflect West’s unique style.

The Air Yeezy was developed from a strong relationship between West and Nike. Partnering with Nike Creative Director, Mark Smith, Kanye was taken through the product creation process, the same way athletes have with Nike Design for the past 37 years. This creative partnership of Smith and West’s talents as designers yielded a unique Nike Sportswear sneaker worth the wait. “Kanye is a truly creative talent,” said Smith. “He’s a natural designer—partnerships like this always enhance the creative experience and the end product.” West agrees that the partnership with Nike has been exciting. “Nike is such an important brand to me,” said West. “Whether you are on the court, in the street, in the club, at school, Nike represents excellence, the standard in design. Growing up, we looked forward to the release of new Nike’s the way we would an album by our favorite artist. So the opportunity to collaborate on a design with Mark Smith and Nike Design has been a dream come true, and a great experience.”

From the start, West and Nike’s shared vision was clear: to create a modern classic. An original Nike footwear style, that reflects elements of Nike’s sporting past, and remixes them with Nike innovation to deliver a unique shoe.

The creative process of the Air Yeezy began with the discussion around ideas and inspirations. The shoe began to take shape through a series of drawings and samples, each pulling inspiration and reference from some of Nike’s iconic innovations and rich design history, across both Basketball and Sportswear styles.

A careful balance was sought, each time new elements were added, with existing elements being taken away - a design process Smith refers to as “reductionism”. “Nike shoes need to function and always be innovative,” said Smith. “So the first thing we did was to make sure the design process that Kanye and Nike Design went through, mirrored that of our athletes.” “I’ve been designing Nike’s in my sketch pad since the fourth grade,” said West. “So to say I’ve been prepared for this would be an understatement. The really fun and challenging part for me was learning about Nike’s design process, learning more about fabrics and functions and colorways, and all of the details that go into designing a shoe of this quality.”

Following the fabled tradition of Nike’s design process, West and Smith went through a series of one-on-one design sessions. At Nike the ultimate test is one of performance, where the design meets the athlete’s movements. “Kanye could wear and perform in these shoes and really identify how we could make the shoes perform better.” Supplanting center court with center stage, West provided critical feedback on how the shoe performed throughout the course of his 2-3 hour performance sets, where the first prototypes of the Nike Air Yeezy were seen outside of Nike’s World Headquarters in Beaverton, OR.

*THE NIKE AIR YEEZY: NEW SCHOOL OF COMFORT.*

Born from Kanye West’s creative passion, built with Nike design and performance innovation, The Air Yeezy was fine-tuned on stages around the globe, challenging convention by remixing the past to create something uniquely new, as only Nike Sportswear can.

West is known for his non-stop energy both on the stage and off so the Air Yeezy had to support and sustain West from start to finish. An almost obsessive focus was put on delivering supreme comfort throughout the development of the shoe. Equipped with debossed ankle collar pods for added support and protection, extra-thick sock liners, a forefoot support strap, original functional tension lace loops, and Phylon tooling taken from the 1987 Nike Air Assault for added performance and comfort—all developed and integrated with one goal in mind: to keep Kanye on lock down in cushioned comfort during his performances during his many notoriously strenuous artistic live performances.

These performance attributes have been meticulously wrapped in premium full grain leather uppers and adorned with original design details that are uniquely Kanye and identifiably Nike. The remastered Nike Air Assault outsole is treated to glow-in-the-dark properties and will illuminate when the light is low. The forefoot support strap is premium grade patent leather and is of no-stitch construction. Clean seams are used throughout except for a premium suede toe wrap feature with visible stitch detail. Emblazoned across the Air Yeezy is an exclusive “Y” repeat pattern, as either a debossed or lasered detail, which takes inspiration from the Jordan brands iconic Elephant print material. This graphic treatment was developed by West and Smith to pay tribute not only to the name of the shoe and it’s co-creator, but also to the various moments in history that spurred West’s initial inspiration for the Nike Air Yeezy."



credits: kanye

ten most stylish men

in gq's march issue, they do an interesting piece on the top 10 most stylish men in america. the list...intrigues.

1. justin timberlake, entertainer -The man who helped bring fedoras—and sweater vests, and beards, and three-piece suits, and skinny ties—back - see image
2. mark ronson, dj/producer - see image
3. alexi lubomirski, photographer - see image
4. andré balazs, hotelier/scene magnet - see image
5. kanye west, musician/aspiring designer - see image
6. sid mashburn (and staff), haberdasher - see image
7. t.i., rapper - see image
8. glenn o'brien, gq style guy - see image
9. jason schwartzman, actor - see image
10. ed ruscha and son, eddie, artist - see image

for the full article, check out gq.

ryan leslie

with his self titled debut album hitting stores this past week, it was only right that i shed some light on this man's creative genius.

ryan attended harvard at the age of 16 on a full scholorship, finished studying and gave up law school after graduating to pursue his dreams of being a musician and making his career as a hit maker and entrepeneur. utilizing viral media outlets such as myspace and youtube and the web at large - his previoulsy thought of as "unorthadox marketing strategy" paid off when he broke a smash number 1 single for his artist cassie. the single "me and u" went to sell over 3 million digital downloads after tearing up the radio charts and her debut album finished with a soundscan of over 500K world wide. fans are not just attracted to ryan's voice and his production style, but the way he shares his creativity and his journey as well as his insights for others chasing a dream. his viewers and subscribers have access to his studio sessions, music videos (he is known to shoot up to 2 or more videos per single all with independent directors and budgets), short films, radio visits and show performances. The success of cassie's first project and the growing attention by fans online has only created more production opportunities for ryan, allowing him to produce for a long list of major artists both domestically and internationally, most recently jim jones, slim of 112, ll cool j and kid cudi. ryan has shaped his own destiny by his constant hustle and passion for putting forth his best work for all to enjoy. with out any major label push he has created his own lane in the music business. as the music industry takes hit after hit due to piracy and in my personal opinion: fans just falling out of artists who just push single after single instead of a great album; ryan has delivered exactly that - a great album (and because of it - his album is officially my first music purchase of the year =D). even with controversy surrounding his artist cassie last year, she has now over 22 million plays on her myspace for her first single "official girl" off of her upcoming project - proof that ryan's upcoming record company and creative group "Next Selection" is seeing more success and love then most artists still making noise these days. ryan's hustle sets a platform for upcoming talent and what i think should be the standard for what it takes to be a breakout entertainer these days. his hardwork has earned him my money, and i hope this blog has at least earned him some new devouted listeners and fans. check the videos and links below to see just exactly what the ryan leslie experience is all about.

ryan leslie blog/official site
ryan leslie @ myspace - listen to his debut in its entirety!
ryan leslie @ youtube - see all of his studio sessions, music videos, and video diary posts of becoming a breakthrough artist and producer








on a fashion tip: ryan self or custom tailors most of his wardrobe, including most of his kicks. and his aviator game is pretty up there

nike air elan pinnacle qs

the nike sportswear division is taking a new refined approach to their most recent sneaker release, the air elan QS. designed specifically for the nike sportswear pinnacle collection, the shoe has a full-grain leather with concise details to make it a simple yet elegant pair of low-top sneakers. the perferated nike swoosh on both the brown and black adds a sleek touch and the shoe is finished off with a crocodile based tongue behind the laces.

the shoes will go on sale february 16 in hong kong. going price for these in us dollars is relatively inexpensive, going for just under $130.

credits: hypebeast

new chucks by undftd

it seems to be the move these days to put out a special edition of chuck taylor/converse all-stars, but these special kicks by undefeated (undftd) is absolutely sick.

these kicks areinspired by the classic military bomber jacket.it has a black nylon shoe with some pretty clean details, and actually a removable velcro converse signature patch that says "war is big business."

pretty fresh kick. no word on how many are being made...but definitely a pair of chucks to appreciate.

kanye & lv - part 5

you've already seen the red...here's two more colorways. they're pretty clean.




credits: selectism

kanye & lv - part 4

this is a more visually based post. here's kanye's first shoe for louis vuitton designed for women. you have two colorways here, a grey suede as well as a pink suede.




but as mentioned in the previous post, here's some shots of the grey and pink sneaker kanye mentioned over the weekend.






credits: kanye

kanye & lv - part 3

last night, kanye put up a pic of his third louis kick on his blog, saying he's about to go clubbing with them. interesting high top, with a huge huge velcro strap, and a pink midsole. yeezy said he'd put up more pics when he gets back, so keep a look out for a few more pics in the next few days.

credits: kanye

kanye & lv - part 2

kanye's second pair of kicks for louis vuitton is up and around the web... it's an all red sneaker, a fresh look...and it comes with a special quilted flap on the back made specifically for your jeans.

“The inspiration came from a jacket with a huge collar in the movie ‘Dune,’ ” West says. “Most sneakers focus on the tongue, so I wanted to do something different.”

the "LV-meets-kanye kicks" collection will feature 5 pairs of shoes designed by kanye. on the topic of shoes, kanye said he has no idea how many pairs he owns, but does find himself sending shipments of shoes off for storage frequently.

look for the monochromatic kicks with no frills to come to lv stores in june.

credits: nytimes

lebron in gq

check out lebron on the cover. read his interview on GQ.com

kanye & lv

he did once say "i'm kan, the louis vuitton don..."

it was already unofficially understood that kanye was focusing on fashion in 2009. and with a lot of people questioning if it would even happen because he couldn't get his own clothing line off the ground... it looks like he found somebody to kick it with him for the time being.

kanye is working with louis vuitton to design a collection of sneakers, a total of 6.

this is his first, a white loafer that has some pretty fresh detail to it. no word on the price, but just on this first pair, looks like kanye is going for a clean-cut, hip-hop feel of sophistication.

credits: kanye

3sixteen - spring 2009 collection

3sixteen, a line out of nyc has been around for a little bit, but before, they were known for having some pretty distinctive graphic tees, and a couple cool urban designs here and there. for some time now, they slowly have been taking steps at re-inventing themselves, and in their spring 2009 collection video... looks like that process is complete.

the video takes on a life of it's own, and has a high aesthetic value as a video itself. mix that in with some some original apparel design, and you have a whole new brand. the detail put into each shot is incredible.

not to mention, you have to love the line at the end of the video..."redestined for greatness."

3sixteen

precize

precize is an up and coming producer, and is making some pretty fresh beats.

and he's making a little bit of headway over there in nyc with his beats getting put on the most recent ralph lauren ad. not only is the music behind the ad pretty incredible, the video itself is shot remarkably.


Rugby Ralph Lauren Holiday 2008 Collection Video from GFCnewyork on Vimeo.

credits: hypebeast

pastelle clothing

since 2006, kanye west has been talking about a clothing line he wanted to drop. but he hasn't found the right partners...word is in early 2009, the first past tell store will open up in chi-town. then stores in new york, la, and san fran will follow.

in all his recent performances for 808s & heartbreaks, you can see yeezy in crazy colorful varsity jackets with "pastelle" on the back. he's called it pastelle, past tell, and up until recently, it's now being called the past tell museum.

the logo up on the site is interesting...and nobody really knows what to expect from kanye anymore.

nike is also working with kanye for those air yeezy's, so maybe 09 is a non-musical year for kanye...

credits: kanye live