News Post

Many apologies for the lack of posts. Circumstances outside of our control were pulling us away from our blogging obligations, but we are back. New posts will resume this coming Monday.

Men's S/S 2011 Footwear Recap

Ding Dong the Flip-Flops dead! Like Menswear in recent years, the Men's sandal is getting a much needed upgrade from the dreaded Dad Velcro Sandal and Rubberized Flip-Flop. The above image is from the S/S 2011 Menswear show and are made of recycled rope. Here some other men's sandal images.

The sandals have a distinctly hippie feel to them while being distinctly antiquated with a Greco-Roman inspiration, taking a cue from the on-going trend of Women's gladiator sandals. This is not the only trend happening in Men's footwear.
Introducing: The Hybrid.
Inspired by half-one style, half-something else, the hybrid shoe takes the best style aspects of two shoes and amalgamates them into one shoe. They often combine more then one type of closure, such as laces with zippers on the back, and offer the wearer a utilitarian look to their shoe.

Los Angeles Street Food Festival

With over 60 food trucks, from Asian Pork truck "The Flying Pig" to fine grilled cheeses from the aptly named "The Grilled Cheese Truck" and even the mobile confectionery "Sweets Truck" Los Angeles has a fairly saturated market. This coming Saturday, the 24th, taking place in Pasadena, CA and starting at 5PM is the Los Angeles Street Food Festival, boasting over 60 different Street Food vendors this marks the 2nd version of this festival, with the first taking place this past February.

While commonly referred to as "Roach Coaches" in the past due to the unhealthy nature and suspect cleanliness of the cooking environments, food truck have taken a turn into the gourmet, creating a mobile foodies dream come true. Most every type of cuisine is represented on these trucks, from Dim Sum to Comfort food.

For a comprehensive list of the Twitter accounts of these food trucks, which is the easiest way to find them click here.

No, that's not a hedgehog.

Ouch. This new fashion trend could hit you in all the wrong ways if you come across it from the wrong direction. Inspired by Lady Gaga and an industrial edge, this seasons new look is Spikes. The trend transcends from shoes, to accessories, to hats and clothing. The above image is a close-up of the details in a shoe worn by Rihanna in a collaboration between Christian Louboutin and up-and-coming clothing duo The Blondes who has been designing concert designs for Madonna, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and more.
The style isn'y only showing up on the runways and at concerts however, here is a picture taken by yours truly:
This image was taken on the Fashion Institute of Design and MErchandising campus in Los Angeles, CA so while it may not have been taken in a flyover state, you can be certain that it will.

Haesu Kwon Knitwear

Recent Parsons graduate Haesu Kwon has done something original with the old and sometimes mundane which is pretty remarkable. She has taken upcycling into a luxury field and is taking vintage fashion and existing knits and creating her own fabric to create gorgeous dresses and individual pieces that truly are one-of-a-kind.


She also realizes who her audience is, as she says craftsmanship is one of the most important aspects of her designs, as well as using recycled materials. She uses metallic embroidery thread in an effort to keep the designs close to the body and keep the knits from stretching. This is a truly ingenious way of taking two ideals which are not always said in the same breath, recycling and luxury goods.

Ferrari

Italian motor sports company Ferrari S.p.A. is launching a new initiative with the company in relaunching and rebuilding one of the 4 models every year. Starting this year Ferrari will launch 612 Scaglietti and will be slightly more practical, but hardly any cheaper, then it's predecessor. This launch is expected for mid-2011.

How this process works is one every 4 years, starting this year, Ferrari will launch an "M" or "Modificato" model of the car they are re-designing and will encompass a revised design and power-train with chassis improvements. Once this 4-year period has passed, in which Ferrari will have launched and redesigned all of it's 4 models of cars, Ferrari will then launch an all new version of the 1st car done one the 4 year cycle.

It's an ingenious plan to keep Ferrari always fresh and new, taking the Fast Fashion ideal used by H&M and Zara, and changing it to fit the needs of the luxury auto market.
Also announced is the possibility of turning each of their four cars into a hybrid, or perhaps only one. It is purely speculation at this point but one thing that has been confirmed is none of these cars will be a hybrid before the first round of M models, meaning no hybrid until 2014. Ferrari has stated that they "cannot imagine a fully electric Ferrari". They simply do not want to lose performance, as it would compromise their loyal performance-focused fan base.

There is much possibility that this idea could trickle down into more family-friendly vehicles, the ideal choice being Chrysler as they have the smallest number of models in their product line which are the 300, Sebring, Sebring Convertible, PT Cruiser, and Town & Country minivan. A 5-year cycle is entirely possible, but will require a large financial commitment and could possibly backfire with this struggling company.

Leo Villareal Sky (Tampa)

If not the first but one of the more visible new trends on the art scene is abstract art, done entierly out of LED's. This method of art brings a whole new meaning to the word "abstract" as the work of art, literally, refuses to stay in one place.


Installed at the Tampa Museum of Art in Tampa Bay, FL the museum commissioned Albuquerque, NM born artist Leo Villareal to create his abstract LED piece Sky (Tampa). The piece itself on the exterior of the building covers some 12,000 sq. ft. of real estate and is based on simple mathematical equations and programming, but eventual transforms itself into something, organic and mesmerizing.




If this trend continues, could it render tradition art mediums such as abstract painting obsolete. I know I'm breaking out my Lite-Brite.