29 Jun 2012

BLOG: ROBERU WORKSHOP IN EIMEKU




Roberu will be holding a leather workshop on Sunday in Japanese select shop eimeku. The workshop project for the session will be this beautiful compact pouch, to be made of hand-selected high quality tanned leather, sourced by the experts of Roberu Leather Factory. And it only costs a mere ¥2500 to participate, with an aim to simply engage people into leathercraft and share the feeling of its regal quality. Sounds like a wicked opportunity, one that I'd really love to attend! Sometimes living in Japan has its advantages huh...

27 Jun 2012

MAG: LANA DEL REY NATIONAL ANTHEM VIDEO



Lana Del Rey's latest film in a series of vintage styled music videos is for her next confirmed single "National Anthem". The 8-minute long video features ASAP Rocky as President JFK and an all-too-real-looking family with Lana Del Rey's wife cum Marilyn Monroe character. I'm still buzzing from her set at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend and this drop is just adding to my hype for her.

MAG: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES BILLBOARD

From: Complex
How epic is this?! Easily the most anticipated film of the year, "The Dark Knight Rises" will finally arrive in cinemas this summer. This billboard is up somewhere in Hollywood and it's fucking cool! July 20 is the date. OMB (Oh my Batman, as my friend put it).

BLOG: MONOCLE CAFE LONDON


Issue 55 for July/August 2012 of Monocle magazine is out on newsstands now, I've finished reading through the beautiful publication already as it accompanied my travels last week. And somewhat hidden inside the pages of good words and illustrious photography that make up this packed issue, there was a bit of news I was excited to find. Having opened their first in Tokyo last year, London will soon be welcoming its very own Monocle Café! Now that's some fine news...

"Imagine a well appointed, cosy café that opens early, is stocked with the best international press and staffed by a polite and nattily dressed team eager to serve. Imagine if it was the first place to get this magazine fresh from the press and also chat with its editors, producers and presenters. Imagine if it was just on the doorstep of Midori House and was due to open very soon."

*26.3 UPDATE

DIARY: PITTI UOMO 82

So I was at Pitti Uomo last week during my trip to Florence. It was my first time and I was just excited to have a look round, soak up the atmosphere and learn some things about style. Everyone there was so well dressed, despite the discomfort of the scorching heat all day every day, these guys didn't look the slightest bit bothered, and I was so in awe of their effortless wardrobe successes. Effortless is a key point there, they honestly looked so good yet so relaxed. None more so than Sam Lambert and Shaka Maidoh who I saw turn the heads of every soul they passed, I've never seen anything like it. Mad respect.



















26 Jun 2012

MAG: THE MANY TALENTS OF KATE UPTON



She's been pretty busy lately, starring in various magazine covers and building a decent reel with Terry Richardson, and this is the latest treat offered by the two of them: The Many Talents of Kate Upton. I couldn't help but post it...

MAG: ADIDAS ORIGINALS x OPENING CEREMONY JULY 2012




From: End Clothing
adidas Originals and Olympic-inspired fashion brand Opening Ceremony of Manhattan have come together on this limited collaboration line for July 2012. The collection of sportswear comes with a bold style and impressive detail throughout, from fabric to structure to function. Featuring the iconic 'Bandana' print quite predominantly, along with patch panelling, creates this unique, striking look, which I'm rather fond of. I'd love to see it up close, but it seems attractive.

25 Jun 2012

DIARY: FIRENZE, ITALY 6.12














Last week I travelled to Italy with my mate, primarily to attend Pitti Uomo 82 (more on that to come) but there was plenty of time to soak in the city of Florence while we were there too. Food, coffee and sunshine, what's not to love!

MAG: ROBERU CANVAS & LEATHER TOTE BAG




New for Summer '12, Japanese leather factory Roberu have made these clean and simple tote bags, constructed with heavyweight canvas and of course their high quality leather. Made with function in mind, it holds plenty inside the main cavity, as well as neat pockets for the little valuables and clasps on the side to further increase capacity. Available in light grey or navy blue, I'd say they'd make a staple carry bag for any day out and ideal for our travels.

BLOG: RADIO 1 HACKNEY WEEKEND 2012

Expanding their annual Big Weekend festivities and bringing the action to the heart of East London, Hackney Weekend certainly lived up to its expectations with quite a stunning array of performances. My highlights have got to be Lana Del Rey, because I think I'm in love with her obviously, and headline act JAY Z plus super special surprise guests, who set the place on fire with an awesome hour or so of pure entertainment.


This was the first time I'd seen Lana Del Rey do a proper set, having been teased with the odd TV appearances and having missed Lovebox last week. And damn did she kill it! Performing my favourite hits from her amazing debut album, and unveiling a new track in "Body Electric", she exuded her class, style and moreover her beautiful voice, which has a unique tone of depth and sexiness that I just can't get enough of. I need to go see her live! I've attached the clip of "Video Games", and you can watch the rest of the set in full right here.

As for Jay-Z, he rocked on stage 45 minutes late, but treated us with guests in Rihanna, M.I.A. and lastly his partner in crime Kanye West, giving us a spectacle of the truly spectacular Throne. This was in fact the first pro shot of the two doing Watch The Throne live. I was there at their tour date and saw it in full, but this was just as incredible, aided by the surprise factor of Yeezy even turning up. I was going crazy in my living room on my own! You can catch the entire set over on BBC iPlayer in full HD.

24 Jun 2012

BLOG: ENGLAND 0 - 0 ITALY (2 - 4 PENS)

Well, I won't know the general consensus until tomorrow morning, but the fact is that England fall at the quarter-finals of yet another major competition - and on penalties. Again. However I have reason to be optimistic for what the future holds, apart from being an optimist that is.

England showed our best performance of the tournament in the first half, and we could perhaps have scored too. But as the game wore on, it was clear that we are inferior to our rival opposition with the ball. We just weren't able to use the ball at all, despite defending hard and winning it back often so well. Our game plan since day one under Hodgson has been to start from the back, wisely choosing to stay solid in defence, before unleashing any thrust and speed going forward, which you can't say we don't potentially have in Rooney, Welbeck, Walcott and Young. And the first part of this plan was executed to a tee tonight, with John Terry in particular, forming a tough wall preventing the Italians from netting all game; we got a clean sheet, remember.

The nation was never in high expectation going in Euro 2012, and that ought not to have changed having qualified to the knockout stages, albeit topping the group. And let's face it, I'd say we rode our luck to get this far, through both the tournament in general and in the 120 minutes against Italy too. Italy deserved to beat us this evening, but that's ok. England have been under new management for less than two months. This is where we build from. None of the players have individually under-performed, in fact many will take this as an invaluable experience, and actually the team has looked united and strong from the start. For me, that's the key, it's essential to success. We've got that down, so the team now have time to prepare in full, to get the tactics right and the chemistry flowing. Sure, there's a lot of work to do, but I'd say we're in a very good position to do it in.

18 Jun 2012

BLOG: SIGUR RÓS VALTARI VIDEOS



"Sigur rós have given a dozen film makers the same modest budget and asked them to create whatever comes into their head when they listen to songs from the band's new album Valtari. The idea is to bypass the usual artistic approval process and allow people utmost creative freedom."

"We never meant our music to come with a pre-programmed emotional response. We don’t want to tell anyone how to feel and what to take from it."

I've only read about this project today, following the premiere of video #3 for "Fjögur píanó" directed by Alma Har'el and starring Shia LaBoeuf. I'm not entirely sure what this video entales, but it's sad, touching, and I feel very moved at the moment. Although I have to say most of the emotion probably derives from the exceptional music by Sigur Rós. Nevertheless, it's a beautiful, most powerful piece of art, and it's a superb project that is most fitting to such a stunning album. With 11 more videos to come, the first of which will arrive on July 2, it keeps the music alive throughout the summer and without a doubt enhances the music to a greater depth.

DIARY: MONOCLE COUNTRY FAYRE








This past weekend, my favourite magazine Monocle (the only one I loyally purchase each month and collect) hosted a special event at their London headquarters, Midori House, to celebrate summer and a "uniquely global take on the English tradition". In partnership with a host of affiliating brands, it was a lovely affair of quality and goodness at every corner, buzzing with a pleasant atmosphere throughout. I still haven't heard back from them informing me of my pinpoint accurate attempt at guessing how many buttons were in the jar, which would see me win a trip to Berlin. 2489 I said.

To top off the afternoon, we were treated to the new issue one week early, which I will be taking with me for my week-long trip to Firenze this week. I fly out tomorrow!

15 Jun 2012

MAG: COCA-COLA SECURITY CAMERAS



An uplifting bit of advertising by Coca-Cola, showing some happiness recorded on our cities' security cameras.

BLOG: SWAAG.IT - DISCOVER INSPIRE INFLUENCE



"I like good design in every aspect of my life." I know this isn't the main take-home message of the clip, but I totally agree with that guy.

The video is by Swaag promoting their new app. Lots of varied opinion on fashion and style (are they the same thing?), it's an interesting round-up of thoughts of New Yorkers. And despite not one person saying the same thing or coming from the same viewpoint, every single one them seem cool and I wanna meet these guys! The one that said he would buy 8 of the same shirt and repeat the outfit everyday was jokes.

14 Jun 2012

DIARY: KURT GEIGER AVENUE BOOTS


I was in Liberty the other day with a friend, where the summer sale has just kicked off. We were really there for him not me, but I soon found myself trying on these brogue boots in the footwear department. Made of premium suede upper and leather detailing, these Avenue boots by Kurt Geiger are the perfect combination of class and style, fit for any smart-looking casual outfits this summer. And I love suede.

They're on sale down from £120 to £85 and my size is available. I certainly haven't been planning on buying more shoes any time soon, but I can't take my mind off these. What to do...

11 Jun 2012

DIARY: BLACK KITTEN





I was at my friend's house at the weekend, they've just acquired a new kitten of just three months. All black, super cute. I have both a dog and a cat, and as much as I refrain from saying it, I do think I'm becoming more and more of a cat person. It's just something about their chilled personality, their curious character that I love to be around. This kitten was no different, she was playful like a kid but as soon as sleepiness kicked in, zzzzzz...

BLOG: LEGO INCEPTION BY VFX



Now, I love everything that concerns Christopher Nolan's epic film "Inception" (only my closest friends know the reason why). And this video is no different, an academic project by a group of students on a VFX degree at Staffordshire University. It's rather cool. Can't begin to imagine the time and effort that went into this.

MAG: VANS OTW LUDLOW DECON FALL 2012

From: Freshness
The Ludlow Decon model by Vans OTW returns for autumn in this killer black suede upper and burgundy contrast combination. It's a slick and simple low-cut sneaker, made of premium washed suede on a clean white outsole, oozing class and quality. The burgundy shoelaces make it for me, as an avid lover of the deep red tone. Beautiful.