Currently viewing the tag: "fashion"
Your clothes may look great, but what are they doing for your golf swing? “Move,” a new high-tech compression top from Electricfoxy, has the ability to read your body’s posture and muscle movement and provide real-time feedback in the form of a gentle nudge to help you make necessary adjustments. The smart garment enables you to become your own instructor, coach or trainer by helping you set goals and adjust to meet them. The top is linked to a mobile app that you can use to manage and track your performance, and it’s part of a large cloud-based platform on which you can search and save several routines to help with sports, yoga or physical therapy.
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Post tags: active wear, cloud storage, Electricfoxy, Fashion, high-tech fashion, Jennifer Darmour, Move!, pilates, smart garment, yoga, yoga fashion
Photo by Shutterstock
“Covert fashion” — clothes that are made to hide firearms — are having a “moment,” according to the New York Times. Companies like Woolrich, whose new “Concealed Carry” collection features stretchable waistbands for securing handguns, knives, or ammo, are catering to people with permits to carry concealed weapons. Part of the reason for the trend is the rise in people who are packing heat in the US. From 2008 to 2011, the number of concealed-weapon permits rose from 5 million to 7 million because of changes to state laws. Head over to our fashion-obsessed sister site, Ecouterre, to see more examples of “concealed carry” clothes.
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Post tags: 5.11 Tactical, concealed carry, concealed carry clothes, covert fashion, Fashion, firearms, guns, Thompson, Under Armour, Woolrich
Ever wish you could access Google Maps without looking down at your phone? Or that you could snap a photo and send by just looking at something? The future might be closer than you think. This week, Google took the lid off “Project Glass,” the company’s long-rumored foray into augmented reality. A new first-person YouTube video demonstrates the glasses’ potential, showing a man using Google Maps, Google+, and Google Talk while walking down the street in Manhattan. View the video and catch a glimpse of the future at Ecouterre.
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Post tags: augmented reality, cyber vision, Fashion, Google, Google glasses, Google Goggles, Google maps, Google Talk, Project Glass, Technology
Do these ladies look a tad stiff? What you’re looking at is one of Swiss-Italian artist-photographer Christian Tagliavini‘s “cardboard ladies,” a series of portraits showing women’s fashion through the ages, made out of cardboard. From ruff-collared Elizabethan gowns to 1950s ensembles, Tagliavini’s portraits show the transient nature of fashion. Click through to Ecouterre to see all of the cardboard ladies.
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Post tags: Art, cardboard ladies, Christian Tagliavini, Fashion, Photography, portraits
For many of us, dressing ourselves in clothes that look good and fit our bodies comfortably is something we take for granted. For those dealing with severe arthritis, amputations, multiple sclerosis and other physical disabilities, shopping for clothes can be more of a challenge. Enter Xeni, a clothing line started by Ann Oliver, a former architect with MS. The line of clothing addresses some of the shortfalls of conventional garments, replacing buttons with magnets, for example, and accommodating prosthetic limbs and medical accoutrements.
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Post tags: Ann Oliver, arthritis, clothing, disabilities, Fashion, multiple sclerosis, Xeni Collection
A master of needlepoint designs exclusive belts for everyone's favorite Olympics-inspired retailer
Inspired since 2007 to bring color to corporate America with whimsical belts looped around the waists of businessmen, Washington, D.C. Tucker Blair is now teaming up with New York-based retailer, Opening Ceremony. Their collection of belts for men and women is a perfect marriage of Tucker Blair's artistry with embroidered leather belts and Opening Ceremony's emphasis on creativity.
Among the collection's five designs is a particularly fitting belt featuring various colorful flags. This international motif references Opening Ceremony's mission of celebrating the work of designers and artists abroad. The other designs include a standard leopard print, an eye-catching geometric pattern and perhaps the most adventurous, quirky white rabbits prancing across a black scene.
Beginning 15 July 2011, snag one of these snazzy, limited-edition needlepoint belts at Opening Ceremony's New York and Los Angeles locations or at Ace Hotel in NYC. Otherwise, visit Opening Ceremony's website to purchase one online for $110.
A designer, artist, marketer and cultural catalyst finds inspiration in sound and pattern
by Meghan Killeen
In a corporate world of sales and strategies, marketing maverick Ivy Ross opts instead to chart success with an approach that has pioneered paradigm shifts in advertising. From spearheading covert creative operations for Mattel to stirring up merchandising mojo for Gap's iconic 'Black Magic, Black Pants' ad campaign, Ross fuels concepts through 'mental grazing'; a term coined by Ross to describe a creative diet of inspiration and rumination. "I believe that, just like a computer doesn't give us output without input, we as creative people need to take new information in before we can generate something unique."
To innovate change in marketing methodology, Ross turned to her own experience as a jeweler. Influenced by her father—an industrial designer who worked for the famed Raymond Loewy—Ross began to notice geometric patterns in lighting fixtures; an acute awareness, which later translated into many of her custom, crafted pieces. "[My father] taught me to how look at things and see them for beyond what they appear to be."
Initially attracted to fashion, Ross attended the Fashion Institute of Technology where she majored in Art and minored in Psychology. "I loved studying where society and fashion was going and figuring out the materials and the details that would be right for the times," reflects Ross. Drawn to the versatility of accessories, Ross created eclectic jewelry designs that explored new ideas in jewelry-making, such as using interwoven threads of iridescent Tantalum to create a fabric-like effect. Ross' designs quickly garnished attention, including that of a Bergdorf Goodman jewelry buyer who presented Ross with a $60,000 purchase order on the spot for one of her designs, financing her burgeoning jewelry business and leading to the eventual placement of her work as a part of the permanent collections of 12 international museums, including London's Victoria and Albert Museum and the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City.
Ross' early entrepreneurial spirit and design savvy laid the foundation for her transition into the mass-market retail world as a brand development innovator spurning a fast-track career that included such formidable titles as Vice President of Design for Bausch & Lomb and President of Calvin Klein's Men's Accessories division. Channeling such diversified interests as sound vibration and quantum physics along with her own artistic leanings, Ross began to infuse her corporate roles with a creative sensibility and vision indicating that "often in companies we spend all of our time 'anniversary-ing' the realities versus thinking about the possibilities."
In 2001, Ross began to create a new toy as Senior VP of Product Design and Development for the Girls Division of Mattel. For the toy to be compelling, the creative team behind it had to be equally dynamic. Inspired by the clandestine Skunkworks project of Lockheed Martin fame, Ross created a new species of guerrilla ideation called 'Project Platypus'; a befitting moniker based on a creature that is described as "an uncommon mix of different species." Ross assembled a 12 member team with varying skill sets from different departments and brought in outside speakers such as an improv comedian and a Jungian analyst. The team met during off hours in a separate studio space. Ross also experimented with sound vibrations, by playing music that vibrated at a custom frequency to induce heightened states of creativity during the meetings. "I find that if we can all be on the same wavelength, you can spiral to new ideas together a lot quicker," states Ross.
Ross continues to turn corporate culture on its head as the current Creative Catalyst at Gap, Inc. following her position as the EVP of Marking for the Gap brand.
Ross will be speaking at Brand ManageCamp Conference in Las Vegas October 4-5.
The Audi Icons series, inspired by the all-new Audi A7, showcases 16 leading figures united by their dedication to innovation and design.
Flat-pack platforms, Playboy's archive for iPads, a sneaker encyclopedia and more in this week's look at the web
1. Inception Chair
Designer Vivian Chiu created this fascinating chair within a chair within a chair. The conceptual seating is so enchanting I almost can't remember whose dream I'm in.
2. Female Foosball
Showing up in NYC for ICFF, the first-ever female foosball player finally puts the ladies in power on the table.
3. Build Your Own Platform
Fashion-forward shoe designer United Nude teamed up with Spanish performance artist Alicia Framis for a carbon-fiber flat-pack shoe you build yourself, based on the belief "that humans will one day live in outer-space."
4. Lockitron
Between all the devices and accessories the modern human has to lug around, carrying (and not loosing) keys can be a pain. Enter Lockitron, a new mobile app that lets users lock and unlock doors from their phones.
5. Social Memories
For all our digital prowess, there's still nothing like a photo album for a leisurely stroll down memory lane. Enter Social Memories, Deutsche Post DHL's infographic-heavy book based on data and photos gleaned from your Facebook page.
6. Venice in Venice
Curated by Tim Nye and Jacqueline Miro, Venice in Venice bring Italy's most famous films to California, such as Federico Fellini’s Il Casanova and more.
7. Hermes and Vans
The blank canvases that are Vans sneakers have inspired many a masterpiece but none quite blend high and low fashion as ingeniously as this unofficial collaboration that customizes a pair with Hermes scarves.
8. Slew of Brooklyn Vendors Confirmed for Rockaway Boardwalk
In a win for urban revivification and low-key restaurant development, several of Brooklyn's finest restaurants—among them Roberta's, Caracas and Blue Bottle—are banding together to open up shop this summer nearby the popular Rockaway Taco.
9. This is My Dream
Full of insights like "I'm just interested in how to cut the clothing," the trailer for the forthcoming documentary on world-renowned designer Yohji Yamamoto promises a must-see film when it comes out this fall.
10. Richard Chai for Acura
Fashion designer Richard Chai created an elegant set of limited-edition driving gloves for Acura, inspired by the new film Thor made using the automaker's leather and based on the curves of the vehicle's interior.
11. Sneakerpedia
On the heels of an upswing, Foot Locker is launching Sneakerpedia on 17 May 2011. The encyclopedic sight will offer info on when the shoe hit the market, materials, style and pretty much anything else a sneaker freaker would want.
12. Playboy for iPad
The final element has fallen into place to make reading on the iPad a classy experience for any debonair gent with the release of Playboy for iPad. Hef and company have finally gone totally digital, offering ever issue since the magazines inception (1953) for mobile viewing.
Heritage seeds, the definitive Lee "Scratch" Perry film, Vimeo's app and more in our week in review
1. The Upsetter
Billed as "the definitive life story" of dub godfather, Bob Marley mentor, and living music legend Lee "Scratch" Perry, the trailer for The Upsetter hints at a film that explores reggae culture through the many sides of one of its greats.
2. Alphabet Series
Brooklyn-based graphic designer Mark McGinnis humors adults with his flash card-inspired Alphabet Series. Custom silkscreened, the 23" x 17" prints are a framable way to add a little levity to a wall.
3. Hart's Heritage Seeds
A family-run business founded Wethersfield, CT in 1892, Chas. C. Hart Seed Company recently culled their knowledge to create a seed collection of the most flavorful heirloom seeds, each featuring historical color lithograph artwork—an accurate reproduction of Hart's original packages from the turn of the century.
4. Teach 4 Amerika
A Creative Time project, NYC art collective Bruce High Quality Foundation recently set out on a national tour in a limo painted to look like school bus to cross "state lines and institutional boundaries to inspire and enable local art students to define the future of their own educational experience."
5. Vimeo iPhone App
Vimeo has just released their new iPhone app, which lets you manage your Vimeo account, watch vidoes, "like" other peoples work and easily share videos via email or social networks. In addition, the app lets you use your iPhone camera to makes videos and then edit them on the phone, adding titles, transitions and basic graphic effects. Check out the tutorial here.
6. Pinel & Pinel Trunks for Ricola
Pinel & Pinel customized one of their effortlessly classy trunks toforSwiss candy and lozenge purveyor Ricola, supplying 11 trunks for 11 Ricola flavors including Alpine Fresh Sea Buckthorn, Cassis, Lemon Balm, Cranberry, Eucalyptus & Plants, Flowers elderberry, Menthol, Orange Mint and Lemon Verbena.
7. Holocene
Matthew Davidson made this enchanting video using his Arc4 to demonstrate an app he created for the hardware. The app, tentatively called Dharma Wheels, lets you shift between harmonies with gestures.
8. Solar System Scope
Solar System Scope is a new web based interactive 3D model of our solar system. It lets you browse through the planets and surrounding stars in a super smooth and attractive interface. It's great for anyone interested in astronomy or for those of us who forgot Pluto is no longer a planet.
9. Supreme and Adam Kimmel Capsule Collection
Supreme tapped fellow NY menswear brand Adam Kimmel for a suit in Italian cotton twill just in time for wedding season. The unlined two-button suit jacket and custom fit pant has a contemporary cut and the breeziness to get you through summer formal occasions.
10. Victorian Dress Made From Insects
Covered in the naturally shed wings of the jewel beetle, the green gown worn by stage star Ellen Terry when she played Lady Macbeth at London's Lyceum Theatre in 1888 was recently restored, a project that took 1,300 hours to complete.
11. Folding Steel Grocery Bag
An experimental Tsteel grocery bag, developed by engineers Weina Wu and Zhong You, uses the principles of rigid origami to create a firm structure that folds completely flat.
12. Glenn O'Brien Reads Hilarious Passages from His New Book
In anticipation of his forthcoming behemoth book "How to Be a Man: A Guide to Style and Behavior for the Modern Man," Glenn O'Brien gives a sneak preview in the form of a video reading.
A collaboration of industry insiders making the closed off world of London Fashion Week more accessible
One of the main criticisms surrounding the world of fashion and its 'special weeks' is that it's too insular for the everyman to access, too preoccupied with itself and veiled in a snobbery rivaled only by that of a Royal Family peerage system.
Having experienced it from the inside for many years, London-based photographer Christopher Sims decided to play the antagoniser and look to provide an alternative view on fashion and its grand menagerie with a collaborative agency and film unit under the name 55Factory.
As with many such enterprises, 55Factory operates as a collaborative hotbed - housing photographers, stylists, editors and creatives. However, this week 55Factory showed up at London Fashion Week to interview celebrities, fashion icons and style savvy individuals. The avoidance of the snobbery of fashion is central to the appeal of the short films from London's Fashion Week. With no prior preparation Sims speaks frankly to his subjects about clothes, parties and explores the uniqueness of London's premier clothes horse. Sims is happy to point out that the quality of the production is what one might expect from a camera and mic operation but stresses that it's the subject matter which is important and the way it is approached.
The initial response from its short films have been promising with 55Factory looking to spread itself out to some more of the world's fashion weeks in a continuing effort to break down some of the barriers between those on the inside and those looking from the outside of an industry which is still mystifyingly cloaked to the general public.
More than meets the eye from ties handmade in an East Village living room
Working out of an East Village apartment, Curie Choi and Beverly Liang meticulously craft their collection of "man enhancing" ties under the label C. Chauchat. The name, borrowed from German novel "The Magic Mountain" and its otherworldly temptress Madame Chauchat, also translates to "hot cat" in French. Much like their ties, the well-considered choice is both playful and has depth.
By layering sheer fabric over opaque prints, the duo create a look that's subtly complex. A gauzy black tones down a vivid jungle print, but even there faint inflections, like a pale paint splotch or muted stripe, show through. Employing a "special insane hand collaging" technique, Choi and Liang even produced a tie that features four layers of fabric—silk chiffon, tulle and two different printed cottons.
When designing, the pair constantly think about what looks good on a man and how the tie fits into his world, but they use feminine fabrics and techniques from dressmaking. This "women's take on masculinity" is inspired by the stylish men in their lives. While they appreciate refined dressing, the ties are meant as an everyday accessory, not a showpiece.
Now in their third season, their latest collection was inspired by a "dandy on vacation," presenting an assortment of rakish styles that channel Op Art, magic eye posters and David Hockney paintings. Also look out for a collaborative collection of scarves, ties and bow ties in Rober Gellar's Fall/Winter 2011 season.
Each made by hand, the C. Chauchat ties and bow ties sell worldwide for $155-180 from Strasburgo in Japan, as well as from Creatures of Comfort, La Garçonne and Assembly in New York.
See more images after the jump.
Bold color remixes in an up-and-coming Japanese label's latest accessories
Underlining Masataka Matsumura's somber Autumn/Winter 2011 collection for GiulianoFujiwara, an assortment of colorful accessories adds a "rebellious kick" to the line's sleek styling and distinct minimalism. Leather shoes with wedged rubber soles and artisanal Italian finishing give the collection a slightly punk vibe, while illustrating the brand's fondness for smooth curves and sharp corners.
Matsumura's knack for experimenting with color (particularly noticeable in his Spring/Summer 2010 collection) affords him the freedom to experiment with bold details. The sunglasses' hint of visible color completely changes the mood, perfectly outlining the frames' retro shape for a PowderPuff-meets-steampunk effect. While some will see echos of recent Prada accessories, others might wonder if Miuccia has met her match.
Pot-infused pop, Ferrari's four-wheel drive, in-eye 3D displays and more in this week's online round-up
1. A Capsule Summary
From Riviera Club's grown-up surfer wear to Fair Isle and stripes by Norse Projects, The Moment styles a shoot with menswear picks from the recent Capsule show held in NYC.
2. Two Men, 25,000 Ping Pong Balls, and a Rabbit
Snarkitecture shows off their 2,500-square-foot live-work space, which the duo converted from a former sheet-metal factory in Greenpoint.
3. Kafka Redesign
Combining a deft use of color, a font based on Kafka's own handwriting and graphic eyes, art director Peter Mendelsund plays around with the author's covers.
4. Oak Street Bootmakers
This new shoe brand, launched last year and now available for pre-order, draws on the talents of experienced cobblers to handcraft subtly updated classics in the U.S. using premium Horween leather.
5. Drinkable Marijuana
The medical marijuana business expands to include a range of drinks that pack a serious punch, with a 12-ounce bottle containing 2.5 grams of bud.
6. Ferrari FF: Four Wheel Drive, Four Seats, One Fantastic Rear End
Ferrari launches their first four wheel drive, powered by a 12-cylinder engine and with room for four.
7. Hair Clip on Hair
Limited to an edition of 50, this hair clip by Stockholm-based design studio Humans Since 1982 makes a set of pretty eyes into an accessory and runs $90.
8. Smart Contact Lenses for Health and Head-Up Displays
New advances in tech-enabled contact lenses have big implications for applications like treating glaucoma and diabetes, as well as for creating in-eye displays.
LED eyelashes, wearable displays and biofeedback accessories in Dr. Sabine Seymour's latest book
Featuring a woven fabric cover embossed with a scannable QR code, Sabine Seymour's new book "Functional Aesthetics: Visions In Fashionable Technology" immediately offers a simple proof that textile can be interface. In Seymour's second book on the subject, the professor and innovator defines fashionable wearables as "designed garments, accessories or jewelry that combine aesthetics and style with functional technology."
Seymour takes a more analog approach to the discussion on fashionable technology with eight chapters that break down the various forms of functional aesthetics and major examples of each, spanning Soomi Park's LED Eyelashes (filed under The "Garment as Amplifier of Fantasy") to CuteCircuit's Galaxy Dress ("The Epidermis as Metaphor"). The chapter "Woven Interface" shows how innovations in textiles and the weaving process enable new practices or an extra layer of personalization, while "Scientific Couture" demonstrates how biological advances can lead to a more sustainable world.
From current fashions to exploratory prototypes, "Functional Aesthetics" covers every aspect of the subject in an easily digestible format. Additionally, Seymour offers the section "Kits & DIY" for those looking to experiment as well as "Inspirations"—a list of websites, blogs, books and creatives that best tackle the fashionable technology topic.
"Functional Aesthetics: Visions In Fashionable Technology" sells online from Amazon.
Limited edition slingshots, Matthew Marks' pop up, Rodarte for Lula and more in our survey of the past week online
1. Marc Then Marks: A New Art Book Boutique
Interview reports on the new pop up shop at Matthew Marks, where, other than rare art books, Phillipe Starck Santa stools and a Roy Lichtenstein-designed silk shirt are all from the gallery's archives and yours for the taking.
2. Marc Then Marks: A New Art Book Boutique
Singaporean designer Tan Lun Cheak of Little Thoughts Group dreamed up the Glowbelly Steamboat, a lamp that doubles as a hot pot. As showcased on Dezeen the fixture, based on a Singaporean tradition, houses a pot of boiling water for cooking food.
3. Christopher Jarrett's Handmade Slingshots for Moss
Made from forked wood collected from Epping forest in England and painted one of five colors, this collection of 30 slingshots sells from Moss for $75.
4. Peek the Fall/Winter 2010 Issue of Lula Magazine Guest Edited by Rodarte
Laura and Kate Mulleavy, the sisters behind the fashion label Rodarte (and Black Swan's gorgeous ballet costumes) also recently guest edited an upcoming issue of the fashion periodical Lula Magazine. Fashionologie gives us a sneak peak of the spread, which contains ethereal photos of actresses Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kirsten Dunst, Natalie Portman and Elle Fanning in head-to-toe Rodarte.
5. Actors Acting
The New York Times Magazine's interactive piece for their Hollywood Issue features fourteen Oscar frontrunners filmed in high drama scenes, all shot in stark black and white. The modern melodrama of each score by the young talent Owen Pallett underscore the Hitchcockian hyperbole. If you only have time for one, Javier Bardem's hits all the right marks.
6. Noun Project
Noun Project is an online archive of vectorized visual iconography and symbols “that can be understood by all cultures and people.” Their collection is extensive, minimal, and free for anyone to take and use.
7. Aedas Designs Receive International Acclaims
Architecture firm Aedas received several awards this year, including one for the nine-story, seeming Storm Trooper-inspired Integrated Civic, Cultural, Retail and Entertainment Hub in Singapore pictured above.
8. Vik & Fougere Bench Rack
A simple solution for urban apartments or collegiate life, Contemporary Standard offers a glimpse of the Bench Rack by Canadian design studio Vik & Fougere, which will debut at the IDS Prototype Exhibit in Toronto Canada in January 2011.
Our video on surfer-jeweler Jill Platner
As longtime fans of Jill Platner's nature-inspired jewelry, we waited a few years to find the right moment for documenting the artisan's creative process and studio. This video catches up with Jill at her Crosby Street space as she works on her current collection to learn more about how she started and what informs her work.
Woodworking scraps-turned-fashion in Navajo-inspired necklaces
The side project of CH contributor Mike Giles and his girlfriend Judy Lawrence, Miju jewelry is a peek into how the two mix Mike's furniture design with a creative Montreal-based partnership. For Fall/Winter the duo created "Manha"—an 11-piece assortment of laser-cut wood gems.
Of the Native American-inspired collection, one of our favorites is the "T-Bird necklace" (also available as a brooch). Taking the classic Thunderbird silhouette, the duo then added detailed etching for geometric texture and an overall appealing design. Painted either gold or a combination of red and blue, the necklace hangs at a perfectly situated place across the collarbone, allowing for full visibility that works with a variety of necklines.
Each piece in the collection is made from solid walnut—remnants from other designs Giles creates in his Montreal-based woodworking shop, Furni. The Manha collection sells online from the Miju Etsy site, with prices starting at $36.
Unicorn tears, Martha's iPad app and behind the windows at Bergdorf's in our survey of the past week online
1. Hook, Line & Dinner
Tha Lobstah Pushah Ben Sargent provides "aquatic infotainment" in his new Cooking Channel show, which tours the Eastern Seaboard with tips on how to catch, prepare and enjoy regional seafood.
2. Tron Legacy by Opening Ceremony
A logical follow-up to Opening Ceremony's fashion collection based on Spike Jonze's "Where The Wild Things Are," the much-hyped Disney sequel "Tron Legacy gets its own line with contributions from enduring NYC design collective threeasfour. Neoprene, laser cut details, and electric hues make the men's and women's collections an equally futuristic, though less expensive, alternative to the higher priced items featured here earlier this week.
3. Bergdorf's Holiday Windows
For those who can't witness the beautifully decorated window displays at Bergdorf Goodman's this holiday season in person, The Moment's slideshow allows for behin-the-scenes viewing of the David Hoey-designed installations in all their whimsical glory—fullscreen viewing recommended.
4. NYC Pop-Ups
While we have our personal favorite, pop-up shops have been popping up everywhere for the holidays and The Scout published a smattering of the others, among them CH favorites Wired and Project No. 8.
5. Martha Stewart Living iPad App
The homemaking mogul continues to develop the digital side of her publishing enterprise in true Martha style with the introduction earlier this month of her gorgeously-designed new iPad app, a special issue of her magazine that relays valuable tips on gardening, decorating, cooking and more in a glossy, multimedia-rich format.
6. Pinch
We may have only just discovered Pinch, but this British husband-and-wife furniture studio that began in 2004 successfully captures an elegantly timeless aesthetic that catches our eye every time.
7. 826DC
The latest from the team behind the retail-meets-tutoring center gems like San Francisco's Pirate Supply Co. and the Superhero Supply Co. in Brooklyn, The Museum of Unnatural History in D.C. features an excellent assortment of spoils and specimen designed by the talented Oliver Munday.
8. Solo
While still in pre-launch, the new project management software for freelancers, Solo has us hopeful that the promises of functionality lives up to the bold design and branding .
Our weekly online snapshot: Big Bang chandeliers, Daft Punk's new track, animated booty claps and more
1. Portfolio Review: Stop Motion Video Animator/Illustrator Kirsten Lepore
From her claymation "Booty Clap" to animated vintage board games, Kirsten Lepore's slightly twisted sense of humor and gift for storytelling make the young artist's portfolio a fun one to check out on a lazy weekend.
2. Yves Behar for Herman Miller Task Chair Creative Process
FastCo Design takes us behind the scenes of the laborious creative process that went into creating the much-hyped new Yves-Behar designed Sayl chair for Herman Miller, whose $399 price point came without sacrificing quality or good looks.
3. A To Do List For James Dyson
James Dyson, the British inventor with the uncommon ability turn fans and vacuums into highly-functional objects of desire, has been given a new list of trivial everyday technologies that need his help. Gadget Crave's list includes several products begging for refinement, including the dishwasher and wireless speakers.
4. Ensemble
Moxy Creative recently turned out another simple but sophisticated infographic for Everyguyed, this time depicting only the iconic outfits of 20 male musicians.
5. A Look Inside the Sketchbooks of 12 Top Designers
An inspirational slideshow on FastCo Design shows us personal sketchbook pages from the world's top illustrators and graphic designers, pulled from the new book Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World's Great Graphic Designers.
6. Daft Punk Track 'Derezzed' from Tron
Surely by now you've heard the buzz about the Daft Punk-scored Tron soundtrack, and now on Wired you can hear the first official song from the film.
7. Sprocket Rocket
Lomography's latest gives you creative control of the panorama in a retro body. The wide-angle film camera has manual controls for moving the full-bleed exposed film during exposure.
8. Jetta Paper
This spot by 1st Avenue Machine for the 2011 Jetta cleverly shows a papersketch car driving down the road, with wind blowing off pages to show layers of its earlier paper design iterations before revealing the car underneath.
Cosmological Sculptures
A residency award from OSU's Wexner Center for Arts allowed artist Josiah McElheny to create a series of astonishing chandeliers that incorporate accurate scientific knowledge about the Big Bang and the expanding universe—soon to be will be on display at London's Tate Modern.
10. Le Labo x Anthropologie
Revered artisinal perfumer Le Labo crafted five autumnal scents for Anthropologie, available as eau de parfum or more conveniently as a solid "concrete" scent, housed in a tin "inspired by turn-of-the-century measuring weights."
11. Fridgecouch
Architect Adrian Johnson was trying to find parts to build a custom couch for his wedding when he stumbled upon a cherry BMW back seat at the scrap yard. A visit to another junk yard turned up a 1970s refrigerator body and the idea clicked. The result are his series of super retro and stylish fridge couches, check out the designs section to see all three models.
12. Designed to Death
The work of his longtime friends and colleagues Peter Saville and Ben Kelly, Factory Records founder Tony Wilson's black granite headstone bears a quote about immortality chosen by Wilson's family—a stunningly moving tribute to a cultural great.
Utah natives' debut collection introduces their own twist to classic outerwear
If you've ever wondered what fashion critics mean exactly when they say clothes have "energy," the new menswear label Highland from a trio of Utah-raised family friends might give you some idea. Drawing on their shared outdoorsy past, designer Lizzie Owens explains they not only turned to Arcteryx, seventies Patagonia and their dads' closets but that "it involved ransacking my garage. I looked at a lot of backpacks and sleeping bags and tents—actual equipment."
The resulting debut collection (just hitting stores like Assembly, Steven Alan and No. 44) shows hints of such a resourceful process—climbing rope will be a trademark stand-in for pull-cords and emergency blankets feature prominently—without getting too weighed down by all the clever details. (See detail shots here.) While the light touch may seem unexpected from a designer best known for her work in costumes (she's known for outfitting MGMT, The Killers, Chairlift and others), her skillful blending of influences suggests Owens intimately knows both sides of how clothes can obscure, protect and express the wearer's personality. Of course formal training at RISD and years at TSE designing knitwear might have something to do with it; Highland at its core is what happens when artistic interpretation meets technical capabilities.
This balance between construction and inspiration not only helps keep the clothes functional and minimalist, but lends a playfulness rarely seen in menswear. Blue (inspired by '80s skiwear), red ("something I felt guys weren't afraid of") and mustard ("I'm obsessed with it. It's so beautiful.") punctuate an otherwise mostly black and grey palette and "pop on the inside is "for guys, like a little secret."
A boxier cut to shirting plays on an '80s silhouette that's recently been making a comeback. But simple plaids and checks in Japanese fabrics, cotton and wool neatly put a spin on cliched lumberjack references for a fresh look. Drop-crotch sweats in coveted loopwheeler fabric (made in Japan using an intensive process) are another example of Owens' knack for integrating technical details with modern silhouettes. And waxwear pants with reinforced legs reference Carhartt's classic carpenter pants, but with one key difference—the loop for a hammer is actually a non-functional piece of climbing rope.
Check the Highland site for a complete list of stores or just head to Bastille to find Highland online.
All images except for top photo by James Ryang
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