Being a t-shirt fanatic, I am kinda ashamed of myself for not being up on T-World until earlier today (after finding this video on the homie Tim Nolan’s Tumblr).  T-World prides itself in being “the only journal dedicated to T-shirt culture globally.” And for their lucky seventh edition, which will be 200 pages deep bound into a fancy hardcover, they decided to focus on the cultural epicenter of the world. Grimy, gritty, gorgeous New York City.

Peep the visual book preview above with cameos by innovators such as Jeff Staple, Claw Money, Greg Mishka, Scott Sasso and plenty more. Make some space on the coffee table, folks.

Creativity is always running wild. It’s like kinetic energy. And it’s easy to snare if you have the mind power and time to apply.  NYC’s own No Mas seems to have perfected the art of showing these skills off at break neck speed.  And Nike has taken notice. 

The independent juggernaut and the corporate giant have got together to re-open the  255 Studio down in SoHo and introduce a new kind of experience for those who go ga-ga over limited edition and nouevau-vintage items.  I’ll be visiting this place ASAP.  Such a dope idea.  A little more info (via The Fader)…

“Hogar y Visitantes” or Home and Visitors is like an oasis of baseball design and memorabilia in downtown New York, and a place where athletic experts will assemble the bespoke sportswear of your wildest dreams. No Mas head honchos Chris Isenberg and Kimou Meyer walked us through the space, and helped one staffer realize a childhood dream uniform of her very own.

I’m so glad I stumbled on this one.  Freshness Mag continues to be an ongoing inspiration for this blog and that’s where I found the clip above.  I’m not a super duper high fashion geek or anything.  Simple because I can’t afford it.  But I do give a sh*t about my appearance.  Louis Vuitton has always been at the forefront of cutting edge and refined wardrobe.  There’s no denying their outlook on fashion and how closely it relates to art and lifestyle.  Here’s where The Selby comes in.  A beautiful relationship was birthed between the colossal brand and a man with a camera.  And the no-brainer end product?  Read on…

The Selby as a project, is an exploration of creative types and a photographic biographical account of who these people are beyond interviews and words and hearsay, and letting the audience define these people through their possessions. With the Louis Vuitton collaboration, The Selby muses on how people with distinctly different styles wear and use the same Louis Vuitton collections into their lives. Check out the behind-the-scenes video, and do visit The Journey of A Man’s Wardrobe microsite which has the complete look of the campaign.

You wouldn’t think so at first, but this is a freakin’ SNEAKER commercial (shouts to Freshness Mag, where I found this).  I tend to geek out at anything anime-like.  Nike Japan put in a call to request the incredible work of the folks over at the incredible ilovedust design / animation house.  A new line of Nike footwear was set to drop and the creative juices were set to flow.  And those juices were oh-so-potent.  The actual creators can break down the story alot better than I can…

We worked with AKQA in San Francisco to create an animation as part of a campaign for the new Sister One range from Nike for the South East Asia market. Once we finished the spot we decided to tweak it here and there for our own portfolio and what was once a 45 second piece featuring a girl dancing turned into a 1:20 epic about a girl-turned-superhero outsmarting an enraged robot through the centre of a Tokyo-inspired Metropolis.

We used the spot as an excuse to try out a bunch of ideas we’d been playing with around client work for the past few months along with some new techniques we’d been eager to try out.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE ALL GONE SITE

Since 2006, a tight-knit collective of French street culture afficionados and enthusiasts known as La MJC has published what has become sort of an “everything cool Bible” on an annual basis.  The book is called All Gone and it basically gives a detailed summary on everything that was released in the previous year in the realm of sneakers, gear, toys and more in full color.  And in true, exclusive fashion, these books are produced on a very limted run.  So quite literally, once they’re sold out…they’re all gone.  However, not all is lost.

The La MJC folks are kind enough to re-produce their books digitally for perusal online for free.  Shouts to Freshness Mag for the heads up.  I’d literally go broke trying to collect even a quarter of some of the dope items in these pages.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE ALL GONE SITE

If you’ve never been to wejetset before (dubbed as a “modern travel site”), you’re doing yourself a grave disservice.  Especially if you’re the kind of person that likes to see the world and discover new territory. 

In addition to selling an array of fantastic product, the wejetset staff also finds time to produce some quality web content as well.  Here’s a little something from their Travel Chronicle series – a peek into one of their favorite vintage shops, Sugarcube, located in their hometown of Philly.  As they so eloquently state…

Curating a timeless mix of vintage and contemporary clothing seems impossible, but founders Elisa Burrato and Edward Dormer do it with sophistication and ease. Through a casual conversation they discuss their history, their committment to Philadelphia, and a few other intangible ingredients that make their retail operation special. Whether it’s the interior buildout constructed entirely from reclaimed wood, or their amazing customer service – you quickly realize that a visit to Sugarcube isn’t just about shopping, it’s much more experiential.

Wow so this ended kinda early.  I was kind of hoping that The Sway Kids series would be ongoing.  However TONE has chosen to end it (for now) at three episodes.  A nice, little mini-series / trilogy sort of thing for The New Pop catalog.  You can catch episode 1 here and episode 2 here if you’d like to watch in order.  Just another crazy Monday night in lower Manhattan with a bunch of cats celebrating youth, vibing off music and evolving NYC nightlife.  Make sure to keep watching after the credits for a fresh freestyle.

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLEX’S 50 BEST DUNKS OF ALL TIME

I was tending to the tedious task of going through a bunch of unread emails a little while ago.  Many of the untouched blasts coming from one of my favorite sites (and one of the biggest inspirations for this blog), Freshness Mag.  I came across this little bit that highlights a feature that Complex.com did earlier this month highlighting their pics for the top 50 Nike Dunks of all-time.  Every sneakerhead / fiend / collector starts off with Dunks.  I know I did. 

I bought my first pair on eBay years ago for like $50.  The white joints w/ the navy blue swoosh and the tan toebox.  There was nothing really special about them but they were the spark.  Since then I’ve slowed down considerably on Dunks and moved on to other brands and styles due to oversaturation in the marketplace.  However alot of GREAT  limited edition Dunks have come out over the years.  Complex pretty much nailed it with this list.  Peep the link right below the image.

A little over a week ago, TONE debuted the first episode of The Sway Kids.  And look what we have here, episode 2 is alive and well.  Meet some more of the regulars of Sway nightclub on Monday nights here in the Rotten Apple.  Live and in living gray scale.  Big ups to The New Pop fam as always.   They never stop pushing boundaries in multimedia and that’s the kind of ambition that I respect.

One of my favorite people in these nitty gritty NYC streets is my man TONE.  For a long time now, he’s been one of the city’s go-to photographers, capturing everything and anything that makes our nightlife so rich, vibrant and chaotic.  His work is second to none. TONE has also made his foray into moving pictures w/ undying love and assistance from The New Pop. 

One of his homes-away-from-home is downtown nightclub Sway on Monday nights. For a few years now, Sway Mondays has been a benchmark for what’s hip and cutting edge in young NYC culture and music.  Every now and then, TONE puts down the still camera, grabs the video camera and documents the club regulars. Here’s the first episode.

CLICK HERE TO PEEP THE SUMMER 2009 LOOKBOOK

There’s nothing like a dope summer.  Outdoor concerts, BBQs, rooftops, the beach, girls wearing less clothing, buying cases of Corona for no other reason other than the fact that it’s nice outside…stuff like that.  And everyone tends to get a little fresher when the sun is out.  10.Deep knows this all too well and is produly presenting their brand new Summer 2009 line right on time.  Peep the funky stop-motion lookbook, study carefully and feel free to get your closet game up.

During one of my recent strolls through Frank’s Rappers I Know, I happened upon this cool little stop-motion number and had to bring over here as well.  Big up to LeRoy Jenkins.  Some of you may know them from helping in the collaboration of the artwork for J Dilla’s The Shining.  The LeRoy Jenkins brand is finding new and innovative ways to embellish on classic couture.   They’re usually a great marriage in eye-catching boldness and simplicity (which isn’t easy to come by).  Here’s what LJ has to offer the consuming masses for the summer of ’09.

It’s been a long time since I’ve sat and stared at a picture of a pair of sneakers.  Then these came along.  The aesthetics and design are just so simple and clean (grey jersey mesh material).  Definitely for those who like a classy shoe.  Let me wipe the drool off my keyboard and finish this post up.  What you’re looking at above is the adidas 3Way Consortium Nizza Hi.  This is a sneaker that adidas dropped on us in collaboration with very well-known and repsected North America sneaker boutiques – HUF (San Fran), Dave’s Quality Meat (NY), Goodfoot (Canada) and Undefeated (LA).  And like any other really fly sneaker, quantities are scarce.  Click here if you’re ready to do some quick currency conversion and drop  a buck and some change.

CLICK HERE TO READ KNUTS ABOUT KNOTS

This is an article for those of you with a ton of sneakers and even more time on your hands.  If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to get a little crazy with the way you lace your kicks up, look no further than Ian Fieggen (aka Professor Shoelace…yeah, I know LOL).  He recently teamed up with one of my favorite overseas sneaker culture sites Sneaker Freaker to launch a quick microsite on the methods behind the madness and even spotlights fifteen of his favorite styles.  And if you STILL can’t enough, he has a book out too.  Personally, I’m just gonna stick to the general over-under that I’ve been doing since I was a kid.  But who knows when creativity may strike.

The inspiration for this post stems simply from the fact that I just purchased an iPhone earlier this week and in turn, ordered the limited edition incase x Arkitip x Parra slider case for it.  That iPhone slider introduced me to this entire collaborative series that Arkitip has been doing with incase since mid-2008.  It’s great to see such well thought-out and strategic team-ups.  A perfect marriage of art and style. 

Above are three companion videos for each of the items in the series featuring graffiti game-changer / trendsetter KR, the aformentioned Dutch artist Parra (one of my favorites) as well as the always innovative Steve Harrington.

CLICK HERE TO PEEP THE LOOKBOOK

The ingenious gang over at 10.Deep just released their Spring 2009 edition of their lookbook featuring all of the new threads that are hitting  retailers and online outlets on Friday, March 20th (oh snap, that’s today).  They went with this cool high school yearbook type theme for the shoot.  I’m really feeling the large uses of the number “10″ and the roman numeral “X.”  I’m all about skilled typography.  When done right, it can make your piece incredibly tight.  Props as usual to their design team.

You can also peep a quick behind-the-scene video of the shoot here.

I’m definitely an admirer of the work of Mr. Ralph Lauren myself, but not to the extent of some folks.  Take producer / emcee 88-Keys for instance.  He claims to have not rocked any other gear besides Polo since 1993.  And after watching this, I pretty much believe him.  Snagged from the good folks over at Decon.

Snagged this from Complex.com, which is a great online supplement to their great print magazine.  Here’s a quick profile on the NYC-based Public School brand. 

Apparently they made some silent-but-deadly moves in 2008 (Barney’s New York can’t keep their stuff on the racks long enough before they are out the door) and are poised to shake things up even further in 2009.  Good to see two cats with a good head on their shoulders attack the game with such a slick, clean and classy aesthetic.  That Baldwin jacket about halfway in is MURDER.

I don’t own any Lemar & Dauley threads, but I’ve always had an appreciation for their style and direction.  In this video, Kareem from L&D gives a brief breakdown of the brand and procees to give a sneak peek at the new buttas coming out for Fall 2008 and Spring 2009.  This was filmed by Hip Hop Official at this year’s MAGIC convention in Las Vegas. 

Big ups to any New Yorkers who can identify the inspiration for their logo.  It may take you a minute or so.  The way they freaked that was very slick, I must say.

One of my favorite artists that I stumbled upon this year is Swedish songstress Kissey Asplund.  If you can find her album Plethora, pick it up without hesitation.  She also has an older EP called Fuss N Fight as well as a slew of random songs floating around.  I like when it’s hard for me to describe the style and sound of an artist.  It’s a good thing.  I really can’t classify her.  All I know is I can zone out to her vocals.

Peep this quick Nike I Am 90 Sound Series clip (via Current).  The series focuses on European musicians who share the Nike Air Max 90 attitude (whatever that means).  The AM90 is one of my favorite Nike models of all-time. 

Kissey Asplund illustrates the lifestyle of a singer in Stockholm.  I like how this was shot.  Nice marriage of style, imagery and music.  The song is called “Silverlake” and it’s produced by Dorian Concept (someone I’ve blogged about before).  Oh, you want the MP3 too?  *sigh*  Fiiiiiiiiine.  Look below.

p.s. Big ups to DJ Scribe.

DOWNLOAD | Kissey Asplund – “Silverlake”
(re-upped Dec 11, 2008)

I’m posting this for a number of reasons.  First off, I think 10.Deep is the shit and they do things correctly.  The last 10.Deep post I did was a spam magnet, but whatever.  It’s worth it.  Secondly, “Good Love” by Sheek Louch is a dope song.  Simple and plain.  It somehow fits nicely with the above footage.  D-BLOCK! 

And lastly, I’ve always liked skateboarding since I was young.  I even went through a brief phase when I thought I wanted to skate for a living.  I blame Christian Hosoi for that.  But it took me forever to learn how to do a simple ollie so I gave up.  So I have tons of respect for pro skaters like these (specifically Daniel Kim, Nate Fantasia, Tommy Wisdom and Tony Montgomery in this video) who risk life and limb to pursue what they love.  Here’s the 10.Deep Skate Team tearing Canada the eff up.

Sometimes folks like to use my MySpace comments table as advertising space.  It’s all good I suppose.  Everybody has to get their hustle on.  That’s where I found this little golden nugget.  I gotta give props to Patta as I have been to Amsterdam twice, their store is dope and the staff there is cool as hell.  adidas teamed up with the aformentioned Dutch sneaker boutique for a special collabo on the AZX 7000 model.  Very cool and different colorway.  Can’t front on that.  So if you’re in the Netherlands on September 20th…you already know.  Otherwise, it’s eBay time.

Credit goes to Antoine for putting me on to this via MySpace bulletin.  I actually snickered.  Many of you are probably familiar with the insanely popular Shephard Fairley “HOPE” graphic that came to life during the Democratic primaries.  It has become the semi-official badge of support for Barack Obama. 

So why not drive the point home even further?  The good folks over at Ropeadope have come together to create this hilarious and self-explanatory spoof tee.  You can cop one over at Digital Gravel.  Prepare to give dap or defend yourself, depending on where you live.  I hope they have a nice chunk tucked away just in case McCain actually wins (*throws up in mouth a little bit*).

CLICK HERE TO VISIT BURDEN’S OFFICIAL SITE

I just wanted to give some quick shine to my man Omar.  He’s co-owner of a GREAT clothing line called Burden.  Being someone who is of both West Indian and Spanish decent (even if it is in small quantities), it’s so ill to see a brand out there that represents and celebrates those cultures to the fullest. 

I support this movement to the fullest.  And I challenge any of you reading this to do research on any of the subjects that they pay homage to if you’re not familiar.  It’s cool to look fresh but it’s even cooler to look fresh and spark some thought as well.  I want that Roberto Clemente tee YESTERDAY.

Here are some press release details:

Founded by Omar Ellis and Dom Gautier during the summer of 2006, Burden Clothing is a brand with a message. With a focus on Afro-Caribbean culture, Burden creates pieces based on people, places and things that have not only impacted their own cultures but the world as a whole.

The company’s name is a play on the Rudyard Kipling poem “White Man’s Burden,” which became a theme for those out to “civilize” indigenous people all over the world, including Africans, during the time of colonialism. Burden’s aim is to show that “…through great heroes, Caribbean people can stand up and be accounted for. They are proof that from desolate, desperate situations can come dominance, excellence and glory.”

The first run of tees showcase such figures as Peter Tosh, Walter Rodney, The Mighty Sparrow, Roberto Clemente and more.

Karmaloop has a quick sit-down with the co-founders of the insanely popular and independent as f*ck Crooks & Castles clothing brand. 

It’s a break down of the clever meaning behind the name and how it grew to what it is today.  It’s personally one of my favorite lines out there.  I still rock the revolver (front) / crown (back) tee that I got @ Workmen’s in LA a couple of years ago like it’s going out of style.  Thank God it’s not.