It’s been a long day. The lowlight included a visit to the grossest toilet known to man which was quickly redeemed by the ability to meet and converse with tons of influential creatives in a more then memorable setting created by Nike. The day included an exhibition for Nike’s world of innovation as 100 different pieces of Nike history were highlighted, a look into Beijing’s fledging art community, the unveiling of China’s uniforms for the Olympics and an in-depth foray into Nike Sportswear. However, we have been gorging ourselves on delicious room service whilst locked in our rooms brogging and when we do get out its always good to catch up with people you really only ever talk to on email/instant messenger. One last thing to take care of tomorrow…
It’s been a long day. The lowlight included a visit to the grossest toilet known to man which was quickly redeemed by the ability to meet and converse with tons of influential creatives in a more then memorable setting created by Nike. The day included an exhibition for Nike’s world of innovation as 100 different pieces of Nike history were highlighted, a look into Beijing’s fledging art community, the unveiling of China’s uniforms for the Olympics and an in-depth foray into Nike Sportswear. However, we have been gorging ourselves on delicious room service whilst locked in our rooms brogging and when we do get out its always good to catch up with people you really only ever talk to on email/instant messenger. One last thing to take care of tomorrow…
Here are the obligatory pics covering your industry celebs
Woody of Sneaker Freaker (Right)
Greg & Mike from Inquiring Mind
I couldn’t help but WAHAHA as I drank this water.
To outline the extent of this beauty of a rest room… Kevin started peeing only to have the leaky pipe under the urinal spill his fresh pee onto his legs… and I had stomach pains from dry heaving. Oh yeh, we walked in only to be immediately met with some guy just squatting and deucing with the door open.
Kevin trying to maintain a smile amidst his mortal enemies… David from High Snobiety and Adam from Slam X Hype
WTFs!
A small section of the Forbidden City
Hiroshi Fujiwara
Look for 22 teams from China to rock these respective uniforms
The clear concise lines drawn by the Unitied Front have allowed for a series of well defined collections including the likes of Goodfoot and Ransom each with their own clear themes. Here’s a look into Ransom’s 2008 fall collection which brings forth a mature and refined aesthetic typical of Ransom’s line. The early developments of this capsule should surely create a strong interest in the final products.
Source: Matt George
Aside from a series of individual highlights we’ve shown recently, here’s a look at the rest of the products on hand at the Nike Sportswear Exhibition at Cable 8. Much like the Beijing 798 area, Cable 8 is a converted factory space which forms the setting for various cultural avenues. Some of the products on hand included upcoming Nike Dunk Highs such as a black joint featuring Octagons referencing the Olympic Rings and a one piece polka dot style.
At the time of its release, the Air Max 90 was at the pinnacle of technological developments in the realm of sports. Nevertheless, the last 18 years has yielded more than its fair share of innovation from Nike resulting in the creation of the Air Max 90 Current. The shoe features an updated platform including revamped upper and sole to create a more performance orientated product with a strong sense vintage aesthetics which many have come to love.
Continually pushing the envelope of athletic performance, Flywire technology was another testament to the Bill Bowerman legacy of shaving weight off the tools athletes take to their sports each day. The narrow stripes offer support in the appropriate amounts and areas, without creating excess waste and mass. The Air Max 90 Flywire features a familiar profile in the Air Max 90 but with the added bonus of an overall lighter product without foregoing the necessary support.
The Nike Air Rejuven8 has been welcomed with open arms as one of the latest flagship products from Nike. With a strong sense of performance for post-competition recovery, the interchangeable and customizable abilities of the Rejuven8 are highlighted here. The inner sock liners are removable allowing for various different styles and colors.
With the revival of the Nike Dunk in full swing this year, here’s a preview of the upcoming offerings of Dunks. Among the releases are the Octagon Quilted Color Pack, featuring a wide range of solid colored offerings with brilliant quilted uppers. The tongue tag features a series of octagons similar to the Olympic Rings.
For the most part, songs that appear on the radio and become wildly popular follow a very similar formula. Usually there is an infectious and familiar beat, a simple sing along chorus, unambiguous lyrics and safe subject matter. This fact makes Gnarls Barkley’s success of their first album “St. Elsewhere” and its catchy first single “Crazy” an anomaly. Sure, “Crazy” was just as catchy as anything ever played on the airwaves. However, consider Cee-Lo’s unique yet soulful vocals and, then obscure, DJ Danger mouse penchant to be weird for weird sake, not to mention the subject matter of insanity and the duos affinity for dressing in full costume while performing the hit. The hit took the entire industry not to mention the group by surprise. When the group released their sophomore album “The Odd Couple” anticipation was extremely high.
On “The Odd Couple” album Danger Mouse seemingly has found his winning formula by combining hip hop stylized tracks over soulful 60’s grove and a pinch of phcyscadelia. Cee-Low chimes in with his high pitched gospel infused vocals and ambiguous lyrics to great effect. The first Single “Run (I’m a Natural Disaster)” showed that while Gnarls would have a similar vibe on this album they were not blindly trying to recreate “Crazy”. However, it’s the second single “Going On” that shows just how much the group has progressed. The eerie organs and emphatic handclaps seem very organic and a natural progression from their previous works. Not content with having another video with the group playing dress up, the video for “Going On” is an artistic triumph. Hopefully, radio and video will never be the same again.
Designated as an up and coming arts district in China’s capital, Beijing 798 houses numerous art and cultural advancements. In conjunction with the monumental events set to take place this year with the Olympics in Beijing, Nike 706 was created by the innovative sportswear brand to offer attendees a sense of what Nike has accomplished over the years and ultimately highlight their self-proclaimed and well deserved title as the sporting world’s most cutting edge and technology driven brand around. The direction of the exhibition revolved around 100 of Nike’s finest accomplishments in the sporting arena, ranging from its roots in running to accolades in basketball, soccer and cycling among other sports. Actual samples were on hand including Michael Johnson’s infamous gold track spike, various signature models and apparel as well as interactive displays.
The latest Crackberry to join the family was recently unveiled. Among the leaders in PDA phones, the code named 9000 was officially bestowed the some what cheesy name Bold. Nomenclature aside, the Blackberry Bold enjoys a well deserved upgrade as the first major BB release in two years. The aesthetics are relatively the same, keeping that distinct BB look stressing what most business users will confirm, usability. The development of a new software platform goes hand in hand with the obvious hardware improvements such as HSPDA, Wifi, 625MHz CPU, 1GB internal flash memory and expandable storage up to 16 GB. While unsure of how many people defected from Blackberry to the iPhone, for those looking to return to the goodness of a solid keyboard, a new king has emerged.
Recent times have brought on a tidal wave of development on an artistic side of things in China. As witnessed by the vast re-zoning of 230,000 sq meters to create Beijing 798, the full fledged cultural district features a wide range of cultural enhancement opportunities including the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art. The gallery space houses many international artists in mediums such as installations, paintings and photography. Many stunning pieces were on hand including various exhibits featuring live animals such as spiders, turtles and snakes.
On Saturday, Foreign Family’s Mr.44 and Johnny Punishment had a dope pop-up gallery/collection preview/party featuring some of their iconic work which has provided a complex mixture of bold graphics and color combinations. Looking forward to more out of the FF family on both an artistic and fashion level.
Source: The Hundreds
With the unfortunate circumstances having taken place in Darfur, the Mighty Mic group has taken it upon themselves to create a campaign surrounding the Darfur Genocide. For the upcoming Mighty Mic Human Rights Awareness Concert later this month, Twelve Bar and their “It’s All Love” approach to their trade were chosen to create a commemorative t-shirt for the event with 100% of all proceeds donated to mobile clinics set up in refugee camps for Darfurian refugees. The t-shirt features Twelve Bar’s iconic heart logo with pictures of Darfurian children seen inside. Mighty Mic represents a 9-day event which will take place at UCLA within the Westwood Campus. The event will be further filled with Genocide Awareness Week and a concert. The group itself was created on the basis of providing social justice and human rights. This year’s concert artists include Ok Go, Zion I, rock & Roll and Rhymefest while the t-shirts will be available for sale exclusively at the concert and through Mighty Mic. For any inquiries please contact mightymicconcert@gmail.com.
