If I recall correctly, the last time I posted here was about two months ago back in August, and there’s a pretty good reason for that! As you may or may not know, I started a brand new job pretty recently (and I’m loving it). I also bought my first car, and Sheena and I recently got our own place too! So it’s all very busy as you can imagine. On top of all of this, I’ve started writing a few bits for The Sole Supplier, so my time writing here is extremely limited, but that doesn’t mean I’m abandoning ship! In fact, I’m going to try and make more time for Sighborgs and try and post at least once a fortnight, because I’ve missed writing here.
It’s funny because since the last time I posted an article here, the Tumblr layout has drastically changed, so my priority now is trying to find where the ‘Post’ button is... oh, found it!
Off-White’s Industrial Belt is now available in ten colours
Off-White founder Virgil Abloh understands the power of making a statement. His streetwear brand is built upon the foundation of being bold and brash, featuring distinctive hazard stripes and an iconic combination of Helvetica and quote marks. Now, Abloh has added another eye-catching piece to his arsenal, in the form of the Industrial Belt. Crafted from heavy duty canvas, the belt sports an extra long design and is available in ten different colourways. Check them out here.
KFC launches a bucketload of Finger Lickin’ Good apparel
Before you ask yourself “What the cluck?”, you read the title right. Your favourite fried chicken chain just unveiled a bunch of official merchandise, and to be honest, everything’s actually really really cool. There are funky fried chicken socks, a tuxedo T-shirt, and even a £60 sweater. Also, if you have deep pockets, there’s a £15,000 chicken burger which has been fashioned out of an actual meteorite from outer space. Click ‘Keep reading’ to chick out KFC’s ‘Limited’ collection.
The Quiet Life has quickly become one of my favourite brands of all time. I ran into their stuff randomly the other day and I quickly fell in love with their understated, quirky designs. And the fact that the majority of their pieces are black and white is a win-win for me. Today I want to show you the Bolt hoodie. It’s your conventional black and white hoodie but with little lightning bolts running down the sleeves, which believe me, makes all the difference. Right now it’s just £56 too, which is a £14 reduction, so you definitely can’t go wrong here! [Flatspot]
Recommended reads: Tourist Fashion Is Going to Be the Biggest Trend of SS18
Whilst I don’t fully agree with this trend and have no interest whatsoever in partaking in it, Highsnobiety’s look on one of the biggest trends of SS18 is very interesting. As Allyson Shiffman states, “It’s unsurprising that tourism chic was one of the biggest trends on the European Spring/Summer 2018 runways. After all, just about every other dad-centric, traditionally unfashionable look has been given the luxury treatment in recent seasons. Some, like Louis Vuitton and SSS World Corp, whose debut collection was aptly titled “Aloha From Hell,” based their entire collections around the tourist aesthetic...” If you have a few minutes, check out this truly fascinating read.
Fear of God unveils its vibrant and nostalgic ‘1997′ collection
FOG founder Jerry Lorenzo recently took to Instagram to showcase a few pieces from Fear of God’s latest collection, titled ‘1997′. Commemorating the ‘97 World Series Marlins baseball team, in which his father was once a coach, the pieces are in the team’s signature teal colour scheme, with vibrant floral motifs used throughout and embellished with an embroidered Fear of God logo. Click ‘Keep reading’ to check out the rest of the collection.
Shoesday Tuesday: Nike Air Vapormax Triple Black Sneaker
If marmite was a sneaker, these would be it. Love it or hate it, you have to admit that the design of these are extraordinary. Starting with that technology on the sole, Nike have re-engineered their iconic Air technology for even more comfort and stability. The radical new design is void of any unnecessary overlays, leaving all emphasis on those ‘bubbles’. That comfort factor is continued on the black Flyknit upper. This contours to the shape of the foot and delivers that secure fit that you’d expect from high quality sneakers. The Vapormax had my curiosity, but now it has my attention.
IKEA taps Off-White's Virgil Abloh to re-design its iconic FRAKTA bag
After teasing a potential collaboration with Off-White’s Virgil Abloh, Abloh has finally revealed his take of IKEA’s iconic FRAKTA bag at Democratic Design Days in Sweden. Made entirely from cardboard with tape placed at the seams, the re-designed tote features the word ‘SCULPTURE’ written on the side, combined with yellow and blue straps to reflect the Scandinavian furniture giant’s classic colour scheme. You can watch Democratic Design Days here, with Abloh coming on at around the nineteen minute mark.
Absolute Steal: Herschel Supply Settlement Backpack
In an industry that’s worth more than £60 million, Herschel Supply is by far the market leader when it comes to backpacks. Their Settlement backpack is a clean and modern rendition of a timeless silhouette, accented by perforated panelling and equipped with a wide range of pockets and organisers. Right now it’s just £35, so bag it while you still can! If the Settlement isn’t for you, check out my guide on searching for the perfect backpack here. Oh, on a side note, I’ll be away on holiday for two weeks so I probably won’t be posting anything until after then, but I’ll be sure to keep you guys updated on Instagram!
Recommended reads: Affordable Techwear Brands You Should Keep an Eye On
Over the years, fashion and streetwear enthusiasts have grown to admire the bold aesthetic associated with the forward-focused functional garments of techwear. Labels like ACRONYM, Nike ACG, and Stone Island have helped flesh out the genre, however, the futuristic flair of these established brands can be intimidating to those looking to buy into the expensive subculture. Fear not though, as HYPEBEAST’s own Nicolaus Li has written an extremely helpful article showcasing some of techwear’s more affordable brands, including CLOUDBURST and Riot Division. Check out the article here.
Givenchy brings back its legendary Shark print for Summer 2017
Although Riccardo Tisci has long left Givenchy as its creative director, something that hasn’t left is Givenchy’s legendary Shark print, which is making a comeback for Summer 2017. A design introduced way back in 2012, the collection re-introduces the Great White shark emblazoned on a black tee, cotton cap, as well as a canvas and leather backpack. All three pieces cost £360, £340, and £825 respectively, and possibly your firstborn. What do you think of the return of this modern classic?
Finding the perfect pair of sunglasses is hard work, especially when you have a massive head like mine. But I came across this pair, aptly named The Shade, by Los Angeles-based leather goods company The Goods, and I think I’ve found them. With an understated and minimal design constructed from hand-cut acetate featuring custom brushed aluminium corners, The Shade’s polarised lenses will keep your eyes safe from harmful sun rays this summer. They also come with an equally swanky leather case, and will cost around £100 a pop. [The Goods]
Anti Social Social Club and BAPE team up for the most hyped collab of 2017
Two of my favourite streetwear labels of 2017, Anti Social Social Club and BAPE have just announced and confirmed a surprise collaboration set for the summer of this year. Although we pretty much know nothing yet, they posted this image showing the brands’ logos on top of the signature BAPE camo. Now that an official teaser has been revealed, only time will tell as to when the collaborative collection’s imagery and launch date announcement will surface, so stay tuned! I haven’t been this excited for a collab since Anti Social Social Club x Mastermind Japan back in December.
Recommended reads: The Very Best Fashion, Streetwear and Sneaker Stores in Tokyo
When it comes to international shopping destinations, few places come close to Tokyo. Home to some of the world’s most important fashion and streetwear labels, the retail landscape of Japan’s capital city is unlike anywhere else in the world for a number of reasons. Most notorious, for example, is the city’s wealth of subcultures, cliques, and tribes that can be spotted on corners throughout the city, a visual encyclopedia of fashion and styles from past to present and even beyond. If you’re planning to visit the Land of the Rising Sun anytime soon, be sure to check out Highsnobiety’s guide on the very best fashion, streetwear, and sneaker stores in Tokyo.
Adding to its extensive portfolio of retail concepts, which already includes the likes of COS, Cheap Monday, & Other Stories, Monki, and Weekday, as well as its core H&M brand, the Swedish fast fashion retailer will be unveiling Arket later this year. Defined as a “modern-day market that will offer essential products for men, women, children and home”, the new brand will sell Arket’s own products alongside a selection of products from non-H&M brands. It will be priced slightly higher than that of the core H&M brand, and will simultaneously launch e-commerce in eighteen European countries, with physical stores to follow in Brussels, Copenhagen, and Munich thereafter. Will Arket become your next high street favourite? I guess we’ll see.
Article & Goods’ new modern tote is totally worth every penny
Article & Goods is a brand I absolutely stand by. I’ve talked about their incredible wallets a few times before, and with the release of their brand new NO° A1 tote, I just have to tell you all about it. This modern tote is constructed using a high-grade tumbled pebble leather, which gives it a flexible and slouchy aesthetic. The tote is light in weight and the elegant and well-designed handles allow it to be used both handheld or over the shoulder. It truly is the perfect companion for both guys and girls. If you’re not a fan of this version or would like something a little different, the preorder campaign for a taupe colourway is launching in the beginning of April, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for updates! Check out Article and Goods’ website for more luxurious leather goods.
My thoughts on the Kanye West x adidas Calabasas collection
Yeezus’s highly anticipated Calabasas collection with adidas is here... and just like that it’s all sold out and straight on eBay. You literally cannot cop anything these days unless you’re a bot or someone who camps out a week early. The twelve piece drop features a sweater in red, black, and white with ‘CALABASAS’ running down the sleeves, track pants and socks in red, navy, and black with the same branding, a black cap, a red pin with cream and gold lettering, and of course, the much anticipated YEEZY POWERPHASE. The Season 4 collection has sent fans scrambling to get ahold of the new pieces, but for me, I really couldn’t care less about it, and here’s why.
First things first, I have to say that the sweaters are dope as hell, and I wouldn’t have minded copping the black one in particular. It’s the perfect balance between edgy and understated and is pretty much my aesthetic. The same goes for the cap and the socks. They’d fit perfectly with my outfits no questions asked, that said, that’s pretty much everything positive I have to say about this collection, the rest just oozes in ‘meh’.
To me, all the other pieces scream ‘over-hyped’. The track pants literally look like a pair of adidas one’s I had when I was five years old and they look like they were designed using Microsoft Paint (specifically, the Windows 98 version). The lame badge looks like something you’d get free inside your cereal (Kelloggsbasas, haha). And lastly, let’s talk about the shoes, shall we?
You know those Reebok Classics you can get for £20? Yeah, the YEEZY POWERPHASE reminds me of those. These are literally selling for £1000 on eBay right now, and frankly, I’m disgusted, not only by the extortionate pricing set by resellers, but also by the look of the shoe itself. I mean, look at the damn thing! As someone who loves YEEZY Boosts, especially the V2 Breds and the Zebras, calling this a YEEZY sneaker is literally an insult to that name, and I refuse to believe that adidas gave this the green light. I could’ve designed something better with my hands superglued together and my eyes covered with a Vantablack blindfold, they are that bad. There are only two types of people in the world who will buy the POWERPHASE: fourteen year old hypebeasts who only rock hyped up shit because they have no sense of style, and celebrities with pockets as deep as Adele’s songs who just want to flex on their Instagrams. Literally no one in the right mind would spend £1000 on this trash, and if you like them, well, click here.
