Alexander McQueen - Spring/Summer

The Vibe for Fall 2010: An entirely printed collection of suits, leather coats, bank-heist ski masks, even shoes. Some of the prints are on the dark side (wait, is that a pile of human skulls and bones?), some simply puzzling (what is that exactly, smeared paint?).

You could try to make sense of it all, or just accept it as McQueen being his usual subversive, brilliant, mischievous, visionary self.

 

Famous for his decadent runway shows and prodigious mastery of construction (he trained on Savile Row as a teenager and was tapped to design couture for Givenchy at 27), McQueen is variously inspired by the military, morbidity, and any number of far-flung tribes—often in the same collection.

The Molice

The Molice is a Japanese Rock'n Roll band formed in 2007. They're influenced by The Police, Pixies and The Doors. I saw them perform in Kokubunji and Shimokitazawa and they were pretty awesome. They also played at Summer Sonic, Japan's answer to the Reading Festival in the UK. Their last album DoctorRay is available from HMV online and a number of other MP3 websites. In February 2010 they plan to release their second album.

The Molice are currently un-signed but have received lots of interest from both Europe and America. Their music has been aired on US radio stations. The lead singer Rinko has an amazing stage presence. I met here after one of her shows and had a few drinks with the band, a good group of guys.

The future of The Molice is uncertain but I'm guessing big things will happens. Check'em out at www.myspace.com/molice.music or www.themolice.com.

Back to Brum

After a while away I'm back in my hometown Birmingham in the UK. I forgot how cold it can get here. Its not as pretty as Tokyo but at night I managed to capture a few photo's of the city centre after a day of snow.

Above you can see Birmingham's famous Bullring shopping centre designed by Benoy. This part holds a Selfridges department store to a design by Future Systems. Its covered in shiny discs inspired by a Paco Rabanne sequinned dress and at night bright coloured lights are projected onto the walls. Also you can see St Martin's Church which was first built in 1263 AD. The current structure is a rebuilt version from 1873.

 

Here you can see the Rotunda (cylinder shaped building), the Symphony Hall and Birmingham's version of the London eye brought here from France.

Tokyo Rainbow

I always ask myself why do Japanese Hostesses wear sunglasses whether its day or night? Do these photo's have the answer? Tokyo is its own rainbow world filled with bright lights and colourful people. These photo's were taken throughout the day at Harajuku and Shibuya. I LOVE TOKYO!

Shibuya through GOD'S eyes

By using a Nikkor 85mm f/2.8 PC Micro Lens Shibuya has been captured in a unique way. These are real photo's taken from above making the buildings, people and cars look more like models.

Fujiwara's WABI SABI

Guiliano Fujiwara 2010 Fall/Winter collection definately my favourite collection so far... Layers of quality constructed garments, leathers, heavy knits and tailored garments made a supremely strong collection. The high tops sneakers look pretty interesting too, remind me of Rick Owens with the oversized detailed tongues. Check out the philosophy below:

In 1986 Giuliano Fujiwara made the debut in Milan. The initiator of the brand, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, made a large influence not only in Italy but also the fashion industry in the world as for a new concept "Minimalism".
The concept of Minimalism, the tradition, the technology and the spirits come down today and the successor, Masataka Matsumura starts new Giuliano Fujiwara.

The one that flows to the basis of Guiliano Fujiwara that expresses the present age and the future while making good use of the tailoring technology with the tradition of Italy is "WABI SABI".

The exquisite expression of the spirit of WABI SABI is a beauty of the shadow which is concealed on the other side of shining beauty and new shape invented from the style that seems unbalanced. Guiliano Fujiwara is the world of the new mode that Masataka Matsumura proposes.

WABI SABI Japanese aesthetic of impermanence characterised by asymmetry, asperity, simplicity, modesty, intimacy and natural processes. A Japanese culture of WABI SABI derived from ZEN to be re-created in modernised concept.

Hello Kitty Gaga

Just when you thought she couldn't get any stranger, Lady GaGa comes to Tokyo and ups the ante.
The famously eccentric songbird has posed for a bizarre series of pics for cult brand Hello Kitty, designed to celebrate the famous white cat's 35th birthday. And she keeps her eyes closed throughout.

In the first, GaGa donned a jewel-encrusted bra with a matching eye-piece, Marilyn Monroe-style locks, fishnet tights and a Hello Pussy purse strung around her waist.

In the second, meanwhile, she posed against a gold backdrop, with Hello Kitty's signature red bow in her hair, and manga cartoon eyes drawn over her lids.

She also donned a dress made entirely from Hello Kitty cuddly toys, and a sleeveless black leather biker jacket teamed with vertiginous Hello Kitty heels.

The images - by celebrated photographers Markus Klinko and Indrani  - will feature on the cover of  the special, limited-edition reissue of GaGa's hit album, The Fame.
The 23-year-old New Yorker - who is already renowned for her outrageous fashion choices - is reportedly giving away a lock of her hair with every sale of the box-set.
According to her website, it will also include a pair of 3D glasses to view 'forthcoming Gaga visuals' and the definitive 'book of Gaga'.
The Hello Kitty line, by Japanese company Sanrio, encompasses toys, stationery, clothes, stickers and home appliances.

Adidas x Star Wars

The collection for the first season is split into three packs -- The Characters Pack, the Vehicles Pack and the Direct Pack. The products in each pack take inspiration from the respective aspect of the Star Wars lexicon from legendary characters and crafts to classic scenes and fuse them with iconic adidas Originals silhouettes. The pieces will begin to hit all adidas Originals stores and other select retailers in January. Also, look out for a very special web application announcing the adidas and Star Wars collaboration which will hit the internet within the next couple of weeks. Below is an overview of the products within each pack.

Characters Pack
This pack takes the most iconic moments and characters from the Star Wars saga and brings them to life across five sneakers, two short sleeve T-shirts and the Superstar Track Top.

Vehicles Pack
For this pack, we have taken inspiration from the well known vehicles and crafts from the Star Wars saga and translated them to our five most iconic adidas Originals sneakers and two key adidas Originals apparel models. Across these models we have paid homage to the distinguished features of airborne crafts and land based vehicles from both sides of the Force and executed them to appeal to both adidas and Star Wars fans alike.

Direct Pack
Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers appear in this pack as well as in the Characters pack. Also, the Women's Game Mid silhouette that appears here is inspired by Princess Leia, featuring gold detailing paired with a modern high-top silhouette with matching apparel.

 A Storm Trooper in the window of Adidas Originals Shinjuku in Tokyo as part of the promotion for the Adidas x Star Wars sneakers & clothing collection.