(Nice Kicks x ASICS GEL LYTE III Trilogy Pack… note the lens distortion on the corners from the Canon S90, unfortunate but uncontrollable, you can fix it Photoshop though so no big deal)
Yeh, no point lying or down-playing this fact… you have the good fortune of a lot of cool and interesting product with this job. For some this post is nothing more than a glorified “look at the FREE shit I got and you didn’t” but in reality, I look a lot more (perhaps too much) deeply into the product itself, I mean it’s largely my job everyday to look at stuff… but mind you this is a lot more fruitful cause I actually get to handle the product.
Technically the Canadian Thanksgiving was last month, but to all my US-homies, Happy Thanksgiving… I should plan to spend American Thanksgiving in the US next year haaa.
Cards and printed matter for the most part is a rarity these days…
Throughout the fashion/streetwear/sneaker online media realm, I think we’re all a pretty tight-knit bunch. I’ve been in correspondence with Matt of Nice Kicks for a long time and it was great to see things materialize for him and the site via this collaboration with David Z. and Asics. To me personally, it’s something to pay attention to when somebody who’s close to you in terms of relevance takes a stab at something on a different level. Not to mention, I always like to see how others approach something they’re innately very close to but have traditionally viewed from a different standpoint. As it stands, the likes of Matt and myself are largely just people showing you shit, we don’t do the design or the marketing per-say… so this is a definite reversal of roles.
The colors are a bit off here, the red is probably a lot deeper, bad editing/white balance job on my part… but in addition to the shoes, it came with this dope packable mesh bag but I couldn’t wait so I used it right away for soccer/football.
Once again, congratulations to Matt and the Nice Kicks crew!
I saw Bebetan of Bedwin while in Japan a few weeks ago and he hooked up with this beanie/tuque, I don’t know whatever the fuck you call it in your part of the world. Personally I’ll still call it a tuque. Anyways… Bedwin has been killing it as of late, but this was sort of foreseeable based on all I had seen as of last year. The product is on-point and Bebetan himself has accrued a solid base of knowledge and network… the guy’s far from a rookie in this game. One needs not look very far to see the quality that runs through each stitch. This video itself is a good defining point of the lengths the brand goes to in hopes of conveying its message and vision.
Earlier this month, Johan and the Sneakersnstuff crew put together this magazine (viewable online as well) alongside their adidas Originals Consortium Stockholm release. On top of that SNS is celebrating its 10 anniversary this year and I think the brand has really embraced the notion of online with a number of cool and relevant initiatives and microsites. Even just recently I guess their shipment of the Reebok Pump 20 got derailed in shipment and they created a site that tracked the boat’s movements. But aside from that, the magazine was well done. These days, creating a personal link is quite difficult yet the magazine set to erase some of those barriers. The magazine highlights the SNS team and offers outsiders a look inside their world including what the city of Stockholm means to them and some of their favorite spots. In many ways, its a mini-city guide/team program.
Hori of Santastic sent over a few copies of their latest mixtape. Up until probably two months ago, every mixtape update I would simply passover or just ignore. I’ve made it a note to try and listen to whatever comes my way and onto my desk. Music to me has always just been a secondary thing, I appreciated it but never felt it was a necessity in my life. It still is that way, but perhaps if I open up a little more to it, I can form a better opinion. As it stands right now, I really have no opinion. It’s either I like it, or I don’t like it and more simply put I can’t really articulate why I like it aside from “I can sing along with it” haha.
A few familiar names but I’ll be honest, I don’t really know many.
I like how Santastic and what the brand represents has been able to group so many things together and make it their own ranging from the obvious in its illustrative/comic background to fashion, music and their take on Hip-Hop culture through a distinct Japanese lens.
When Nike Tech Pack dropped a few years back, I think Nike really set the precedence for technical outerwear on a more commercial level. No doubt other people were doing what they set out to do but it was a small bunch. Well… I guess the notion of a “more commercial level” is debatable because the stuff is still priced quite expensively but given the massive platform Nike has, its initiative was obviously going to be seen to that many more people. But hands-down from any big-brand, I think Nike Sportswear’s in-house apparel design team has really flexed their design muscles each season creating some solid pieces. We’re talking shit that on the outside is really quite classical with much of the details and performance not brought to the forefront. This is maybe counter-intuitive to Nike’s usual approaches to marketing. Along the way, their technology in their footwear has often marketed itself being integrated into the overall design such as visible Air, Flywire etc. But then again, I’m comparing performance footwear, to lifestyle apparel, moot point I guess. Anyways, I wonder how many were expecting to see a riri zipper on a Nike jacket? I do prefer the aesthetic of riri’s AQUAzip relative to conventional, shiny, plastic waterproof zips that are mostly un-branded. The waterproof zip is like the new… all-over print of 2007? Shit is everywhere, but the AQUAzip looks no different than a regular zip. Thanks to Jeanne and Jarrett for the hook-up, it definitely came at the right time when the temperatures are dipping in Hong Kong… which believe it or not does happen.
Outlier is perhaps a brand not on the radar of many. But in an approach of combining technical performance in a subdued aesthetics format (much like the Nike Sportwear NSW collection), they’re doing a really good job. This whole tech meets fashion is something that will probably get even bigger in the coming seasons… I’m not even sure how many different ways I’ll come up with to essentially say “technical shit that doesn’t look technical” haha. But Outlier got things done up proper, especially with their 4Season OG Pants. While the self-cleaning bit thanks to the nanosphere treatment is probably the most notable feature, the Schoeller Dryskin Extreme makes for some super comfortable wearings that repel water and dry quickly. I can see these being perfect for hot and sticky Hong Kong summers. Oh yeh, the four-way stretch is dope for head-kicking people in the face. Thanks to Tyler over at Outlier, these shits are legit.
