Ill Mugs

These things are hilarious. Cop one from Peter Ibruegger

Via: Cornology

Heady Stuff

Blu x David Ellis

Via: Cool Hunting (Twitter)

MTV To Air "Darius Goes West" (!!!)

In celebration of Darius Weem’s 20th birthday MTV has finally agreed to air Darius Goes West! If you have the opportunity to tune into this film (airing on MTV2 and MTVU at 12pm EST on September 27th) please, by all means do so! If you cannot, the film is available to watch for free in its entirety here.

The film is an uplifting and simultaneously heart wrenching story about a young group of friends and their incredible journey across the United States in an effort to raise awareness about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (the number one genetic killer of children) and in an effort to get Darius’ wheelchair pimped on MTV’s “Pimp My Ride”.

If you can’t tune in on MTV definitely watch the film online, and buy a copy of the DVD to share the message.

Spread the word. KNOW ABOUT IT!

KTZ Catwalk

The show was absolutely breathtaking from start to finish.

While I might have done without some of the members of the audience (particularly the women whom I was crammed next to while waiting to get into the catwalk) the show itself was wonderful and the staff pulled everything together without a hiccup. The audience was definitely full of young independent designers, Hackney socialites, Hoxton-square-hipsters and beautiful models alike.

My View of it All

The music selection was excellent, real deep cuts and hard-hitting bass. The build up to the first model was huge: a bit of a super-hero meets motorcycle gang build up leading towards a big bass line. Admittedly, the first piece could have hit a little harder, but everything was looking up from there. Combining intricate details and incredible tailoring KTZ hit the nail on the head. With some pieces delicately crocheted with lace, others held together with massive stitching and corset-style lacing the range was certainly eclectic and covered most interests. KTZ did very well with their choice of shapes and managed to create pieces using polygons that still seemed to flow (an achievement that I have never seen before). The contrast between rigidity and fluidity was incredible throughout.

The menswear was well done, some great patterns/palettes were used and the show was well varied. Many of the pieces looked somewhat like the bastard love-child of street-fighter (the Sega Genesis version obviously) and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air while other pieces looked a bit more like an Oakland Raiders trip to Miami Beach during pride week. The menswear was largely a great accomplishment. I cannot say that I am excited for the return of mesh tops for men (I thought these died after the filming of The Birdcage) but the Skeletor tops were absolutely filthy—I would probably travel all the way to Castle Gray Skull just to have one. The only real failing in terms of menswear was the attempt to take a feminine shoe and make it masculine. While the idea seemed to work quite well on the women’s shoes, the attempt at foot-bondage was a large shortcoming in my book. Thankfully, there were some more traditional and colorful vans-style slip-ons with some great colorways and the aerosol skull tee and the accompanying trousers were the new hotness.

The womenswear was almost perfectly flawless. Varying between colorful rigid shapes, and tastefully scandalous usage of lace, accented by futuristic eyewear and the single freshest looking (though likely unpractical) handbags I have ever seen KTZ really cleaned up on the womenswear and even managed to upstage the gorgeous woman in the front row wearing the white j-lo style dress with biker gloves. With pieces ranging from “Fantasy” t-shirts reminiscent of a Lupe Fiasco album cover, big ol’ pointy shoulder pads on tops and the finest tailoring I have ever seen on my life on the last pair of trousers KTZ absolutely killed it on the womens collection.

The close of the show left me hungry for more and truly pumped up. All in all, the show was a great success and KTZ’s forthcoming line is a force to be reckoned with.

Full pictorial available now via http://www.onoff.tv/ with video to follow (will embed once it is available).

Images Via: On/Off

Digital Wallpaper

Hirzberger Events - Digital Wallpaper from Gregor Hofbauer on Vimeo.

While this is probably not the best thing for the environment and carbon reductions... it is pretty darn cool.

 Via: Kanye

Crockstar Preview of the Preview

The super limited one-piece "preview of the preview" is officially printed and ready to go. I will be picking them up from Stu today, doing some invoicing and shipping them out mid-week! Pictures will obviously be available on the blog once I've got product in hand.

There are a couple left for anyone who is interested!

London Fashion Week Recap

I will be rolling out a number of featurettes this week on some of my favorite brands from fashion week. There will be at least one catwalk recap and a number of features on some of the brands who were on display in the exhibition. These will be rolled out over the course of the week as I get my hands on more of the press materials (photos, etc)... though in the meantime I am happy to share what I have.

First of all, it is worth noting that the British Fashion Council has done a wonderful job with fashion week this year with their move to Somerset House and 180 Strand. Somerset house is a wonderful place for the main catwalk area and provides some nice historical tones to a trendy to-do full of hipsters and artist types. Meanwhile, 180 Strand has been made into a venue perhaps more fitted for a warehouse-style rave (complete with a number of djs and on-site breakfast!) than for an industry event, yet the BFC have done great things with the space and it definitely has a younger, trendier feel. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

Keep your eyes fixed on the blog as features over the course of the week will include: Puma X Mihara 10th anniversary set, SUPER forthcoming S/S collection, Madras, House of Holland, Linda Farrow (and her work with Matthew Williamson, Jeremy Scott, HOH and others), live coverage from the KOKON TO ZAI catwalk show, and much more!

Image: Matthew Williamson Show LFW Coverage

I'm sorry

Dearest blog... I'm sorry for neglecting you. I promise to work on you this weekend.
-Crock*

New Cudi Dropped Yesterday

 

The new Kid Cudi album dropped yesterday and it does not disappoint. I'm not convinced how much more I like this new album than some of the mixtapes (particularly "A Kid Named Cudi"), but it is definitely a solid release. I have only had the chance to listen through it once thus far but am definitely big on the colabo with Ratatat called "Alive (Nightmare)". The beat is vintage Ratatat and the tune/lyrics are both catchy and good.

"Pursuit of Happiness" featuring Ratatat and MGMT is also another of my favorites.

Available now on Itunes, enjoy!

Image and Mixed Review Available Via: LA Times

Great Minds Think Alike

Bahhhh! Unfortunately it looks like Levi's 505 and Japanese brand Atmos have beat me to the punch. I have been playing a lot lately with paisleys, bandannas and denim and have got to say that these jeans are quite similar to a few of the designs I had knocked out.

However, as I obviously have not released any of this information I have got to say... congratulations! I give my unequivocal stamp of approval and am digging them.

Thoughts?

Via: High Snobiety

BBC/Ice Cream New Era

Billionaire Boy's Club released this new piece of headwear at their recent "Fashion Night Out" event (which apparently turned to mayhem and was shut down by police). The "heart and mind" piece may pop up soon on the BBC store so keep your eyes peeled!

New "Trousers" From Huf

Huf has released their bottoms for the year and feature primarily denim and canvas. The pants are available in all Huf locations and despite the irony in the above photo I am assured that these items are all handcrafted in the US and A and thus there was hopefully little blood shed in their construction.

The canvas trousers are available in: black, brown and khaki. While the denim is available in: raw indigo, rinsed indigo, raw black and rigid gray colorways.

For more images of the trousers, pop over to HUF's blog

Bape Vinyl Figure and Jacket

Bape have finally released a vinyl toy to go with one of their pieces (a much anticipated event). Thus far, the toy has only dropped in Japan and comes with the Shark jacket. In a bit of a flashback to "my buddy" (a catchy commercial from back when) you can now have your very own vinyl toy (right in above photo) that has the SAME outfit as you!

Though I make fun, it's a pretty cool idea and the Jacket is aces.

Via: High Snobiety

PHLI Fresh 5-Panel

This excellent piece from forthcoming "PHLI worldwide" will undoubtedly catch the eye of every sneakerhead and streetwear fiend. Utilizing images of a number of different "must-have" sneaker boxes PHLI has gotten off to a very strong start. Available at PHLI for $35 (US) and comes with free shipping.

Via: Weekly Drop

New Jay Album...

is absolutely disgusting. I know critics have been quite mixed on their assessment but it is one of the most complete albums he has put out in quite some time. Jay somehow manages to stay true to himself, incorporate some new up and comers (Drake, Cudi, Mr. Hudson) praise some of the game's finest in "A Star is Born" (Dre, Em, Mase, Puff, Biggie, etc.) rip on some of the recent trends in rap (the most memorable lyric probably being: "get back to rap you T-Pain'in too much" in Death of Auto-Tune), take on the Reublican party: "This ain't black vs white my... we off that, please tell Bill O'Reilly to fall back, tell Rush Limbaugh to get off my balls, it's 2010 not 1864" in "We Off That" and produce a few chart bangers as well.

Image Via: Sohh

In my opinion (humble as it may be) this is easily Jay's best album since The Black Album and nothing short of a masterpiece given the sort of stuff that's been coming out lately.

Apple Keynote Round-up

The outcome of the big Apple Keynote titled "It's just Rock 'n Roll..." was a bit of a dissappointment for those looking for a new tablet or a completely new ipod, but that said, Itunes 9 is considerably better than older versions of the program... and the things they have accomplished with the new Nano are pretty incredible: video camera (without a still camera-- interesting), recording abilities, FM radio, built in pedometer, and a speaker. When you consider that the thing measures

8GB will retail for $150 while 16GB will retail for $180 stateside. There will also be a 4GB version without nearly as many rad features but at $79 you cannot complain too much!

Via: Gizmodo

Apple Keynote

So far, the releases have been limited to an update of Itunes (9) with some new features. A few digs at their competitors annnnnd... ?

Filarious.

Originally From College Humor, Via: Today's Big Thing

God bless the internet for providing a forum for ignorant and anonymous hatred. At least every now and again it is willing to make light of itself.

Jay-Z Drops BP3 Early (but not on Itunes)

 

Image Via: Rolling Stone/Mazur/Wireimage

After the album leaked last week Jay-Z decided to release the much anticipated The Blueprint 3 early (on a Tuesday as one normally does) rather than on September 11, eight years after he released the Blueprint. Available at most major record stores now, but Itunes seems to be hanging on dearly to the originally announced date (Friday) for the release.

For more on Jay-Z and his upcoming fall tour hop over to Rolling Stone.

Play Cloths x Wish x New Era

So, this may well be one of the freshest New Eras to drop in quite some time. Clipse's brand Play Cloths has teamed up with Atlanta based Wish for their very first New Era. The cap will come in Black and in Blue and will be available from September 25th only at Wish's shop in ATL.

Clipse will be on hand for the release. For more details check out the Wish blog.

Via: High Snobiety

adidas x CLOT

An absolutely huge collaboration. CLOT has been one of the biggest names in custom footwear (Collaborations with both Nike and adidas among others) and his most recent work with adidas is bound to be huge. Pay close attention to the laser-etched details, the snake-skin inspired upper and the highlighting/new take on the adidas logo. Absolute class.

There are no details (yet) on a release but I will definitely try to keep you posted. To have a look at more of the collection pop over to High Snobiety

Fresh Grizzly Bear Fan Video

Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.
"Two Weeks" has definitely been my favorite track off the latest Grizzly Bear album Veckatimest released back in May. This video is incredible though. Made almost entirely with cardboard cut-outs by artist Gabe Askew as a "fan video" it is garnering a good deal of buzz around the wonderweb (especially for a fan video).

Check out an interview with Gabe here.

Via: Kanye

Comme des Garcons

I'm definitely feeling these new shirts from CdG. In general I have been a big fan of the trend (a trend on which Comme des Garcons have really led the way) towards flannels and combination prints, especially on the dress shirt front, but this is by far one of the nicest pieces I have seen so far.

The argyle-style pattern on the mash-up-cum-dress shirt is fantastic. Ever attentive to the smaller details, CdG has hit it out of the park with this one.

Available online at Ark and fine retailers already carrying the Comme des Garcons line (Dover Street Market for those of you in London).

Via: High Snobiety

Charlie Murphy as Leroy Smith

So, apparently, Nike is a little too good for the likes of NBA.com (or they wrote this piece as a joke but I'm inclined to think otherwise as nowhere in the "interview" does it acknowledge this as a joke).

Charlie Murphy has taken on the role of "Leroy Smith", or the man who motivated Michael Jordan by taking his spot on the varsity basketball team the year Michael got cut. EITHER NBA.COM needs to hire some new interviewers or they are playing along. Either way it's good to see charlie is back to work!

How anyone who had ever watched Chapelle's Show wouldn't recognize Charlie Murphy right away is beyond me, but great stuff anyways!

Classic.

Crazy Art Instalation at Burning Man

Image By: Frederic Larson (SF Chronicle)

So... I can't exactly make sense of Burning Man. They apparently host this "festival" (for lack of a better word) yearly at an ancient lakebed known as "La Playa" in the Black Rock Desert. It sounds a little bit like our favorite pagan festival at Stonehenge (i.e. the worst/best night of my life). At any rate, for a proper understanding of what Burning Man is it sounds as though it must be experienced first hand--given that there are "no rules" except those required to protect the health of participants and each person may decide how to contribute (yes they honestly say this on their website). For those of us who don't really want to journey out to the desert we can read about it here, others can check out more photos here, and for the truly lazy we can just enjoy the photo above and call it a day.

Sounds wild.

Image Via: SF Chronicle

Hot Fire... Bape (Baby Milo) x Kid Cudi

Image Via: High Snobiety

Dirrrrrty. Cudi has teamed up with Nigo and the Bape squad for this release (said to be dropping exclusively in Bape's NYC store) set to drop on September 10 at 6pm... don't sleep!

Nice looking tee and doesn't hurt as a bit of advertising for Cudi's new album "Man on the Moon" set to drop on September 15... gonna be a big week with Blueprint 3 coming out on the 11th.

Have a look at the tracklist Cudi released on his website back in August. Take particular note of the new Ratatat and MGMT tracks... I haven't heard these tracks leaked yet but they are guaranteed to be even hotter than the t-shirt.

Who Says Print is Dead???

The Hundreds... in a seemingly crazy move... have launched a print magazine. According to High Snobiety this has been a long term goal of the brand "since day one". It is interesting to see the lines blurring between producer and consumer within the streetwear game (myself as another clear example). The Hundreds definitely have both the credibility and history to make a decent go of this and it certainly won't do them any harm on an advertising front either. Verrrrrry interesting.

For more on the magazine click here

The magazine will be available from Tuesday online as well as at their retail stores.

Via: High Snobiety

Incredible Sand Animation

I saw this film at the London Animation Festival (on through Sunday at the Renoir Cinema in Bloomsbury). This is meant to be one of the best examples of animation using sand. Carmen Torero (1996) was made by Aleksandra Korejwo and I can't imagine anyone with a soft spot for Spain not loving it. Enjoy!

Classic Advert

So solid.

Barneby Gates Wallpaper

Absolutely stunning. The latest batch of Barneby Gates wallpaper makes life easier: who needs to pay for art when your wallpaper is this nice?

Though I'm a little bit depressed that I'm getting this excited about wallpaper (and am not looking to buy a home anytime soon) I definitely like the concept.

Prices range from 65-75 pounds (I wish I were joking)and are available through the Barneby Gates website

Via: Cool Hunting

Rolex x Colette

While I've never been much of a Rolex guy (always more a fan of Monsieur Philippe and Nooka), I must say that they have really outdone themselves with this latest release. London's own Bamford & Sons teamed up with Rolex to make this fine piece for colette.

The beautiful watch (note the lightning bolt second-hand that I have to assume sweeps) will be available through colette on September 9th. Haven't seen any prices quoted yet but I can't imagine it will be cheap.

Via: Hypebeast

Sony Has Lost Their Collective Mind

"Welcome to the future." Though we've probably been expecting technological developments like this for ages (since the Jetsons really) Sony confirmed yesterday that they are working on a 3D Bravia television to be released in the near(ish) future. They also confirmed that they will be working to support the Playstation 3 via this new platform (virtual reality in your living room? Wooooot).

Can you say: Denno Senshi Porygon? Me neither... but I don't want any seizures.

Via: Gizmodo

New Jay Featuring Drake (We Off That)

Image Via: The Umbilical Chord

The Blueprint III is shaping up really nicely. Between this latest track, "Empire State of Mind" (feat Alicia Keys) and "Run this Town" (feat Rihanna & Kanye) this is quickly shaping up to be the album of the year (that is, of course, assuming that Dre isn't going to drop Detox). This doesn't come as a complete shock but after mixed-reviews for Kingdom Come it's good to see that the "Frank Sinatra of rap" has brought his A game for this most recent album.

The full album drops on September 11, grab it on itunes or your local music store.

For now, you can grab a few tracks via Itunes or at Get Right.

Me Likey...

Cassette Tape MP3 Player. Available for U$22 from usb.brando.com, I can't comment on the sound quality but the idea gets my seal of approval. The device can also be used as a memory card reader when connected to your computer.

Via: Weekly Drop

New Drake

Well... the Drake part/beat isn't actually new but the official track is. This is absolutely deadly... Drake feat. Eminem, Kanye and Lil Wayne. Cop it on Itunes or via Get Right

True Clothing x New Era "Sharpie"

True Clothing has teamed up with New Era Fitted on this hat. The design (which has also been used on some graphic tees) was made with a Sharpie Chisel Tip (hence the name) and definitely has a marker-tag look about it. Credit to the designer (though I'm not huge on marker tagging usually).

Details are a little bit hazy on this one. Sources suggest it was meant to drop on Friday at midnight, though there is no sign of it on their website and no updates via their Twitter.

Via: Weekly Drop

The Mash-Up World Loses A Legend

Image Via: DJ AM

It is with deep and sincere sadness that I have learned of the death of DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) over the long weekend. DJ AM was part of the two-man tour-de-force (along with Travis Barker) that is known as TRV$DJAM. While TRV$DJAM took mash-up to new levels, incorporating AM's incredible skills with Barker's live drumming laid over top, AM will also be remembered for he and Barker's unlikely survival of a plane crash last year in which they lost a member of their security staff and another close friend.

AM, 36, was reportedly sober for the last 11 years following drug problems in his 20s... though drug paraphernalia and pill bottles were reportedly found around his body in his apartment. Thankfully, the death is reportedly "not a suicide" (MTV).

In trying to keep the mood a little lighthearted, mad props for his use of the term "bababooey" in reference to his recent opening pitch at the Mets game.

For the MTV News article on his recent death click here.

And to get your hands on TRV$DJAM music (for free because they're good people) click here.

Via: Various

Jokes...

Image Via: The Telegraph

After reading an article in the Guardian on Banksy/Street Art at the breakfast table this morning I thought I would do a little research into one of their "artists to watch"... and must say I am pretty impressed. Homegirl is 10 years old and has been called "the female Banksy" by the Telegraph and "the young Picasso of street art". The young lady from Brighton also did this tattoo (below with her art).

Image Via: JimiMoto