Not visited the 2K by Gingham store for a while so it was good to see that the site has had a facelift and boiled down the content (as a the marketing bods would say). The site is all the better for it and I reckon 2K remain in the premier league of t-shirt design. One of my personal favourite’s is still available too. Designed by Mario Guay this is a rock-and-roll design and a classic in the flesh.
Chimps and t-shirts have history of course - A Bathing Ape/Very Ape, SSUR, Paul Frank, X-Large, Ben Davis and countless imitators. Simian design was done to death during the 90s and 00s so it’s good to see that there is fresh life in the old monkey yet!
Street-wear brand King Apparel are holding a sample sale at the end of Jan (running from the 29th till sunday 31st) at Dray Walk Gallery @ The Truman Brewery. King sponsor an array of musicians, artists and associated creatives including Joker who in this brilliantly art-directed picture is seen sporting a nifty purple number.
With the snow hopefully gone for another year we can look to throw out the thermals and winter boots and get on with some new kicks for 2010. One of the most inspired releases in some time sees Adidas resume its Star Wars project with a whole bunch of new footwear and apparel collaborations. The most interesting are the classic white and black Stormtrooper Superstars as well as the Darth Vader version of the classic shoe. If rocking the darkside isn’t your thing then there are other personalised efforts for Yoda, Skywalker and the gold bikini’d Princess Leia. Other styles include kicks inspired by specific scenes as well as the Death Star. Peep the vid below. …Read More.
Guerilla Pop-Up Store, Noise Lab, flings open its doors this January. Located in Manchester city centre, the lab deviates from the usual pop-up store concept (which basically equates to stealth branding using DIY tools) in that it’s built to showcase artistic talents and hopefully direct some cash into their back pockets. A good thing in this rather grey financial climate.
Backed by the arts charity Noise Festival, the local council and a number of other philanthropic partners, Noise Lab is billed a ‘living magazine’ with each month a ‘Guest Editor’ curating content, events, gigs, workshops and much more. Manchester street artist Doodlebug is the first Editor and has plucked a unknown art headz of the street to present their work alongside their work and talent next to recognised and established names such as Mr Scruff, Pete Fowler Monsterism and Mark Wigan. It looks ‘monster’, as Eric Hall used to say and well worth checking out.
Bonafide will be representing at Noise Lab with copies of the magazine available to fondle before purchase. Hopefully we’ll also be getting involved in putting on a special event or two. Watch this space.
The clock is ticking and, if like me, you leave it until Christmas Eve before buying presents (a sure fire way to both feel under pressure and get in the Christmas spirit) then you might be looking for purchase inspiration. First up 55DSL have hooked up with Adidas Originals and Barcelona designers Vasava to produce a new set of commemorative tees. Obviously with the snow falling this might not be a great time to a release a t-shirt series… but the toothpaste inspired one looks pretty fresh and will obviously keep until warmer weather arrives.
The second image is a shot of the Krylon spraypaint lamp. These beauties have been around for a while and I keep meaning to pick one up. They are a really innovative way of recycling packaging to create something useful and unusual.
With Christmas looming large, Jade, our Landhan fashion expert, decided it would be time to turn her hand to a fashion shoot that was more urbane than urban. The shoot was originally intended to be shot in the great outdoors but weather that was only fit for ducks diverted the action indoors. This set has been shot somewhat snugly inside alcoves, along landings, to a seasonally themed red backdrop. Take a look at some ideas for last minute stocking fillers for him and her. …Read More.
Adidas and in particular their Superstar shoe have had a tight relationship with rap and specifically Def Jam since the early 80s. With a long line of collaborations over the years their latest joint effort sees Redman, Method Man and Ghostface each serve a superstar as well as a Forum Mid and a Stan Smith. Personal favourites are Red’s “Funk Doc” Red Superstar and Meth’s Dark Blue and Turquoise Superstar which without a crazy amount of colours or something like horsehair and diamonds are both eye catching. With the line also including efforts by Young Jeezy the Def Jam collection is widely available now in places like Size? and Crooked Tongues.
Having served up uninspired, readily available dunks most of the year Nike SB have released the Brain Wreck, a joint effort with regular collaborator Todd Bratrud. An interesting effort which includes detailed stitching on the inside to resemble a human brain. These Dunks are likely to stay US only and your best bet to get hold of a pair is eBay for around $200 US. One dunk that will be hitting these shores is the now infamous Gucci Dunk High. Having been cancelled in 2005 these should now be with us next month. Also worth keeping an eye out for from Nike SB is the Stefan Janoski which is of the boating shoe style that is becoming increasingly popular. Samples with a possible release for next year include a Black Corduroy and a Peacock design.
On a psychedelic arty tip the legendary cartoonist Robert Crumb has got together with Vans on a line of sneakers which include a Fritz the Cat slip on and a Mr Natural Sk8 High. Along with two other models this line should be in the UK shortly and is a welcome addition to Crumb’s contribution to fashion having previously worked with Supreme.
For all the Landhan sartorialists. Street‐fashion brand WeSC, aka clothing label for the intellectual slacker - think Jason Lee, Mallrats/Chasing Amy era - are clearing out their sample cupboard and giving you the chance to pick up a bargain in the process.
The sale is being held at the WeSC showroom, 3 Little Portland Street, London, W1, and the bargain hunt/bun-fight starts at 10am sharp on Wednesday 21st and ceases on Saturday 24th.
As the grey shades of Autumn appear and the recession shows no sign of easing up for us hardworking folk - have you seen the price of chocolate bars these days (!?) - why not treat yourself and put a smile on your face.
We’ve spent the past week tracking down Major Lazer for an exclusive interview for Bonafide magazine issue 03. We chatted zombies, the A-Team and hot ghals.
The Major has quite a commercial mind and does a mean line in 80s revivalist chic t-shirts. Unfortunately this piece of kit is long gone, however, a quick exploration of the Mad Decent site informs us that remixed versions of the tee will be soon be available here.
Introducing ‘Kool Keith Tuesdays’! A regular-ish column that loosely celebrates the pomposity, curiousness and ingenuity of the man with a million monikers. Feel free to contribute with your own favourite links to clips of Underwear Pissy by emailing them to info@bonafidezine.com with ‘Kool Keith Tuesdays’ in the subject heading.
Of course Kool Keith isn’t really a Tuesday type of guy, but James pipped me to the congruously named ‘Friday Funk’ and my Saturdays are strictly reserved for sleeping and screaming motivational abuse at what currently passes for Arsenal’s midfield. Not producing copy on raps biggest weirdo. Besides, Kool Keith ‘Tuesdays’ is ironic, you can read more about irony in Vice magazine.
