Word has been relatively scarce about Kanye West’s fashion line DW since it was showcased back in the fall. Now comes news that he will be moving to London to increase brand awareness as well as receive further tutelage from the likes of the Central Saint Martins staff. UK’s The Sun is reporting that West will make London a permanent residence until he unveils his latest collection in March at Paris Fashion Week. While Kanye always has the rumor mill abuzz, it seems that news pertaining to his budding fashion career always seem to be spot-on.

Stay tuned.

Source: HYPEBEAST

Big week for launches @ Loop. This one will be a first come first serve on Friday. Come early this one will be gone quick

The Air Jordan 3 hit the streets in 1988. To follow up an incredible year the year before, a great pair of Jordan shoes was needed and fulfilled.
Hatfield takes command

The Air Jordan 3 was the first of 14 Air Jordans designed by Tinker Hatfield. The Air Jordan 3 also carried more of Jordan’s name on the shoe since the man himself was an active part of the design of the shoe. The shoe was the perfect example of Tinker’s skill to blend fashion with function.

Filson, a leading outfitter for outdoor enthusiasts, is committed to providing the highest quality apparel that stands up to the toughest conditions.

Filson puts the same care into all our products that C.C. Filson insisted on since 1897. They believe that no one can craft our heavy wools, rugged cottons, and genuine bridle leather with the same quality and durability that they can get in Seattle. Whether you’re active in drenching rain, brush and briars, or severe cold and snow.

Filson makes a natural fabric that will stand up to the worst abuse, and keep functioning for many years — in some cases for generations. Rugged, durable, and comfortable.

These qualities never go out of style.

Filson’s legacy is built upon its reputation for reliability, satisfaction, and honest values. The brand’s tough yet comfortable outdoor clothing and accessories are a favorite among hunters and fishermen, engineers and explorers, mariners and miners, and anyone who has a passion for the outdoors.

Renowned for proprietary fabrics such as heavyweight Tin Cloth and warm, rugged Mackinaw Wool, Filson’s quality apparel and accessories have made it a trans-generational brand.

You “Might As Well Have the Best”

What is October’s Very Own?

OVO is our creative collective. Formed by me, Noah “40″ Shebib, and Drake Graham. The company acts as a hub for all of our endeavors—whether they be music, film, our blog or product collaborations like this one.

How did the connection with Canada Goose come about? Did Drake wear Canada Goose before the collaboration? Did you?

We’ve all worn Canada Goose in the past. It’s really the warmest jacket available and that’s what matters living through Toronto winters. We admire CG’s dedication, standard of quality, patriotism, heritage, and their fifty years in the game. We’re very passionate about product and we take pride in recognizing the best. Between Drake and myself, our paths crossed with the people from CG many times. They recognized that we were young kids who were talented, passionate, and obsessive-compulsive, so it’s been really organic. We’d be wearing Canada Goose regardless, but now we’ve applied our sensibilities to a jacket and we’re wearing them across the world.

We were surprised to see that it’s more of a bomber than a parka. How did y’all arrive at that decision?

When designing a jacket you have to think about what it will be worn with…. So how would you wear this jacket? The Chilliwack was originally designed for Canadian post-war bush pilots. It’s waist-cut for mobility, so it’s practical for wearing in the city and while we’re on the road. (“Chilliwack” refers to Chilliwack, BC, Canada.) Our styling of the Chilliwack is an homage to the US N-3B Aircrew Heavy Zone jackets, so we used a heavy nylon twill satin exterior sourced in Canada, high pile polyester fleece lining, and the genuine coyote fur trim that gives it a luxurious look. Its really an everyday winter jacket made for heavy wear and tear. I’d like to see the jacket sported with raw denim, moccasins, a cashmere tee or a wool shirt, and a baseball cap.

How much is it, how many are there, and where will they be available?

$900 retail. Three hundred made in Canada and hand-numbered. One hundred are for our friends and fam and two hundred are for sale through shops.

As part of the unique travel collection, the contemporary good looks of the Calgary Jacket make it a stylish choice for city streets, but the mid-thigh length, 625 fill power white duck down insulation, removable hood with coyote fur ruff, storm-flap zipper cover and snap-secured collar make it warm enough for your weekend excursions into the wild. With a lightweight, ripstop nylon fabric shell and featuring a Polartec®-lined chin guard for comfort, the Calgary Jacket also offers two lower interior pockets secured with Velcro® closings and an authentic black Canada Goose Arctic disc.

FIT
Slim Insulated

FABRIC
Shell: 58gsm, Ripstop with a DWR finish.
Lining: 55gsm, Nylon plain weave treated with WR finish.

FILL
625 fill power white duck down

FEATURES

* Mid thigh length for a good amount of protection
* Removable down hood with coyote fur ruff and a snap-secured collar provides added warmth
* Storm flap over heavy-duty front 2-way locking zipper offers increased durability and secures with hidden snaps for increased protection
* Two lower interior security pockets with Velcro® closure offer a place to safely store your belongings
* Snap closure on cuffs keeps out the cold
* Polartec® fleece chin guard for comfort

Now available @loop

LRG Presents: Alpine High As Hell on loopclothing.net.

T.O.’s legendary designer Alfred Sung weighs in on the best blazers and bow ties in town — and picks his favorite tailored combos.

FIRST PLACE: AUTUMN BLUES BOGLIOLI “DOVER” BLAZER $1,595 / GREGORY ALLEN BOW TIE $90

“To me, there’s nothing more comfortable and sensible than to wear a navy blazer,” says Alfred Sung. “This blazer I like because it’s made with a doublefaced fabric … it has no shoulder pads at all, with a totally natural shoulder. It’s a beautiful jacket.” As for finding this blazer’s mate in bow ties, Sung selects a Gregory Allen creation. “It’s a bit stiff, but the colour and the pattern I like.”

Read the entire article here.

Now available.

Unbatten the hatches, folks: The Brawny Man is back. He’s dressed for the elements, looking as rugged as a lumberjack—and also a tad pleased with himself.

Yes, he can hunt, chop trees, mine gold and pull lobsters from frigid waters. But his oil-waxed knapsack of tricks has just grown: He’s today’s fashion icon.

His fisherman sweater is coming down the runways of Gucci and Jil Sander; his flannel shirts and Navy-style pea coats are for sale at Barneys (add a zero or two to the price). After years where a sexual ambiguity ruled, today’s menswear designers are taking cues from yellow-paged copies of Field & Stream and L.L. Bean catalogs. Pioneering names like Barbour, Filson and Stetson are catchwords of the moment, while Gucci, Prada and Helmut Lang are sounding almost…passé.

So-called “new heritage” brands, created by youthful designers and inspired by iconic outdoor apparel companies, are opening their doors with Gold Rush speed. They specialize in handcrafted, American-made togs and, more often than not, sales associates with perfectly pruned 1850s-style facial hair.

While skinny ties and pointy shoes come in and out of style, the nostalgia-driven look isn’t showing any signs of flagging. There’s comfort to be found in the familiar. “During uneasy times, consumers are naturally drawn to items that are well-constructed and built to last,” said Carl Chiara, director of brand concepts for Levi’s. An abundance of clothing made in China and India and the United Arab Emirates has paved the way for a new fascination with clothes that are created in American factories. And everyone was bound to get a bit tired of that effete, tailored Italian designer “uniform” that the Pradas of the world have been pushing on men for the past decade.

“When the economy fell apart, the Euro look of skinny black men’s suits” did, too, said designer Michael Bastian, whose own line of rugged sportswear is heavy on shearling and gray flannel. It was only a matter of time before the pendulum swung toward a rough-and-tumble look that was unabashedly manly.

Besides the re-emergence of L.L. Bean and Pendleton, other vintage brands such as Stetson, Woolrich, Levi’s and Britain’s J Barbour & Sons are having second comings, either independently or collaborating with high-end runway designers. (See chart.) Over the past couple of years, hipsters and hipster designers have been adopting the mystique surrounding outdoor wear brands. Now the classic brands are tapping the designers and forming partnerships with them. If the new nostalgists are profiting from heritage chic, it’s only fair the look’s forefathers benefit.

A number of heritage brands are partnering with high-end, runway designers or upcoming labels to fortify their relevance. Cowboy-hat legend Stetson approached Albertus Swanepoel—who has collaborated with fashion designers like Carolina Herrera and Alexander Wang—to design a line of signature hats this fall, because “it keeps Stetson in the public eye,” said Pam Fields, Stetson CEO.

Century-and-a-half-old clothing company Barbour has been partnering with cutting-edge Japanese designer Tokihito Yoshida. Mr. Yoshida went into the company archives to create updated versions of the plaid-lined country staple.

American outfitter J. Crew only debuted in 1983, yet the company has asserted itself as the behemoth of heritage purveyors and now carries in its clubby men’s shops more than 40 traditional brands such as Red Wing work boots and Baracuta Harrington jackets (its website calls those labels its “design heroes”). The retailer also makes its own appropriations of ye-olde items such as Filson bags and Barbour’s oil-waxed jackets (which they sell side by side with the originals).

“You go into a designer store at this moment, and it’s dead silent, but you enter one of the more traditional stores selling heritage brands and they’re, like, buzzing,” said Alex Carleton, a menswear designer who began his career at Polo Ralph Lauren. In 2003 he left his job at L.L. Bean to create his own nautical inspired sportswear line, Rogues Gallery. He is now the designer of L.L. Bean Signature, a newly launched line that offers a leaner, more modern take on the Freeport, Me.-based company’s signature items.

The heritage look is rooted in America, yet its revival is traceable to post-World War II Japan, when an enthusiasm for baseball and American movie stars caught on. The exaltation of “Made in America” tags have been steadily growing in Japan since then, resulting in the inclusion of tweeds and toggles in the recent collections at Japanese clothing stores Beams and United Arrows.

Japanese label Comme des Garçons’s designer Junya Watanabe has collaborated, over the past few years, with companies such as Brooks Brothers, Vanson Leathers and Woolrich. This year, for classic British brand Tricker’s, he designed a white-soled Red Wing-like “Super Boot.” In 2006, Japanese designer Daiki Suzuki took the Woolrich label and upgraded it into the Woolrich Woolen Mills line. American outdoor-wear forerunners like Abercrombie & Fitch and Ralph Lauren’s Rugby collegiate line are now being overshadowed by more durable, less logo-driven goods.

“I’ve heard some people saying that the heritage revival is the death of luxury,” said Mr. Bastian, the fashion designer. “But guys are just shopping differently.”

Yet another thing the Brawny Man can aim for: saving the American economy.

via: Wall Street Journal

Came across this in today’s Toronto Star. Huge props to our man Gregory Allen.

Read the full article here

Photography: Hypebeast

Check out the amazing work of Holly Norris

American Able’ intends to, through spoof, reveal the ways in which women with disabilities are invisible in advertising and mass media. I chose American Apparel not just for their notable style, but also for their claims that many of their models are just ‘every day’ women who are employees, friends and fans of the company. However, these women fit particular body types. Their campaigns are highly sexualized and feature women who are generally thin, and who appear to be able-bodied. Women with disabilities go unrepresented, not only in American Apparel advertising, but also in most of popular culture. Rarely, if ever, are women with disabilities portrayed in anything other than an asexual manner, for ‘disabled’ bodies are largely perceived as ‘undesirable.’ In a society where sexuality is created and performed over and over within popular culture, the invisibility of women with disabilities in many ways denies them the right to sexuality, particularly within a public context.

Too often, the pervasive influence of imagery in mass media goes unexamined, consumed en masse by the public. However, this imagery has real, oppressive effects on people who are continuously ‘othered’ by society. The model, Jes Sachse, and I intend to reveal these stories by placing her in a position where women with disabilities are typically excluded.

This work is part of a group exhibit for CONTACT 2010 and will be showing on over 270 digital screens in 50 Toronto Transit Commission stations on May 6, 11, 22 and 31.

More details about the show can be found here:

Details here

Her website is here