A personal guide with a modern take on geek chic shopping
Sponsored content: What began as a digital dog-ear for products of interest has quickly evolved into one of the leading lifestyle guides for men. Aptly named Gear Patrol, the online magazine is a go-to guide for gear aficionados and design-minded urban adventurers. Recalling the sleek presentation of catalogs interspersed…
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Curated style draws from old school roots to create new media culture hub
Sponsored content: Jeff Carvalho has been at the forefront of new media since the Internet’s golden age of staking out the digital frontier. Drawing on a DIY ethos rooted in indie zine culture, Carvalho has combined deft tech skills with a spot-on curatorial sensibility that has placed him above…
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Our interview with the founder of LOVE + MADE
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Linda Nguyen and her partner, Tammy Le, are the heart and vision behind LOVE + MADE, the fashion-forward lifestyle brand and events and marketing company. Since 2007, LOVE + MADE has been leaving its mark with a signature style of pop aesthetics in designing for such high-profile clients as Vans and WeSC.
Cutting her teeth at Obey, Shepard Fairey’s punk-infused streetwear line, Nguyen quickly distinguished herself by launching the company’s first women’s line. Serving as Lauryn Hill’s fashion assistant to leading the LA chapter of the networking group, Ladies Lotto, Nguyen’s skyrocket success has encompassed a perfect blend of feminine sass and savvy. Working with an all-female team, LOVE + MADE continues to lead the way with an upcoming LOVE + MADE candle collection, Royal Elastics shoe collaboration and also a Stussy x Lovemade collaboration which launches in Stussy stores next week.
As a teenager, I was fascinated with hip-hop culture. I began producing a monthly event called “L_ephunk” which showcased up-and-coming artists from LA and San Francisco. Living and growing up in Orange County, there was a lack of culture and diversity so being able to help put a spotlight on new talent and offer something fresh to my community felt really rewarding.
Event production provided me with experience in running a small business. It was also through L_ephunk that I discovered my passion for creating and for bringing people together. That same passion eventually translated over to my interest in design. I began hand-making accessories under “StenciL,” a new brand I started.
At 21, I started an internship at Obey assisting the menswear designer. Just six months after landing the internship, I was awarded with a position as the women’s designer through which I helped Obey launch their first women’s line. Since then I have worked in-house and as a freelance designer for brands like L-R-G, Burton, WeSC, Shaun White for TARGET and Vans.
My business partner/best friend Tammy and I met in the 6th grade. We started LOVE + MADE in 2007, driven by the desire to have something of our own. The concept of our brand is in the name. To put it simply, the collective promotes doing and making something from the heart. LOVE + MADE was, and still is, a labor of love and we wanted to convey that in our brand name.
LOVE + MADE is unique in that a big part of our mission is to support, inspire, and empower other brands. We aren’t trying to bash on the boys or push this whole “Girls Rule, Boys Drool” agenda. We’ve simply learned that in the male- dominated lifestyle market, we need more of a strong female perspective.
Ladies Lotto is a lifestyle and networking community founded by Natalie Blacker. It aims to encourage independent women to think about and do business differently by providing them with a space to meet, network, mingle and get inspired. I’ve been involved with Ladies Lotto since attending my first meeting in NYC four years ago.
We love working with brands like INSIGHT on events, and Stussy for designs. We love lifestyle brands and the whole streetwear culture. We design for the girl who loves fashion, art, music and all things creative. She is strong, independent and driven. She is diverse in her tastes and influences and embraces her femininity.
You’ll always find good music, eclectic company, and fashion-forward attendees at our events. The typical LOVE + MADE-produced event features an array of female talent ranging from DJs and artists to photographers and dancers. If LOVE + MADE is involved you can always expect a line of ladies out the door; we always respect the ratio. We also get hired to promote other companies’ events. Some of our clients have included Puma, Urban Outfitters, Reebok, DimMak and KSwiss. We’ve helped companies promote everything from monthly music events to launch parties.
Always a pop of color, whether it’s in my bright lipstick, nails or shoes.
One of my biggest career highlights was turning an internship into a design position at OBEY. It changed everything and jump-started my induction into the fashion world. Other moments that stand out include traveling with recording artist Lauryn Hill to South Africa for a styling gig in 2006 and my first LOVE + MADE handbag design with Matahari.
Surround yourself with people that inspire you, know that internships and networking can take you further than you think, and turn your ideas into projects.
I am currently working on a Stussy x LOVE + MADE collaboration that launches this August at Stussy stores and boutiques worldwide. Our goal is to continually expand our product category—we want to venture into home and cosmetics, even electronics. LOVE + MADE plans to continue collaborating with individuals and brands that reflect the lifestyle we support. In the next year, we will be launching home products and apparel.
I really identify with all of Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Altitude Edition’s values in both my professional and personal life. Staying cutting-edge and innovative are unchanging goals for me as a designer. I’m constantly trying to come up with fresh ideas that exhibit skilled craftsmanship and exceptional quality of product.
In my personal life, I define edge as taking chances and making game-changing decisions in my day-to-day life. I continually strive to maintain strength in self-motivation and innovation through looking to new perspectives in not just personal style, but lifestyle.
Our conversation with the man behind Hypebeast
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Starting out as an early chronicle of sneaker culture, Hypebeast has distinctly evolved into an online magazine that lives up to the tongue-in-cheek origins of its name as a go-to influence guide. Since 2005, founder and editor-in-chief, Kevin Ma has been a sartorial force in covering streetwear. Reflecting Ma’s own growing interests, Hypebeast soon expanded into coverage of art and entertainment. Collaborating with such style giants as Adidas, Hypebeast soon gave rise to HBTV, an in-depth look at the talent behind the brands.
Operating from its headquarters in Hong Kong, Hypebeast is driven by a sense of good taste uniquely its own; a distinction that has earned it the honor of being one of Time’s ’50 Best Websites’ in 2008 and a digital street cred that has led to the recent launch of its on-line store.
I didn’t actually come up with the term “Hypebeast” myself. “Hypebeast” is an existing term used to describe people who are obsessed about following a trend or wearing something only because the product was hyped up. I thought it would be interesting to use the word “hypebeast” for my blog to make fun of the sneaker culture at the time. I liked the irony of it.
I registered the domain “Hypebeast” in 2005 and since then it has evolved into something more than just sneakers. It’s fashion. It’s culture. It’s design. It’s art. It’s everything we are interested in.
See the rest of our interview with Ma after the jump.
I have always loved computers and all things digital. I had my first computer when I was 13 and also got into the World Wide Web at a young age. At the time, I was also into basketball. I was never good at it but I guess you can see Hypebeast’s roots there.
Prior to Hypebeast.com, I worked in the financial sector but soon left to pursue Hypebeast as a full time job.
We don’t look for any specific key design elements. No rules. It’ really about what we (Hypebeast Editors) like at that moment. It may be bright colors. It may be prints. We never know. When we come across something we really like and are excited about it, we’ll want to write about it and share it with our readers.
Streetwear has always been popular because of the lifestyle it perceives as well as the price points. Students can easily afford a t-shirt from a street brand they like, whereas many designer labels are a bit more of an investment. Streetwear is getting more and more popular nowadays because of the accessibility of the Internet. It allows brands to communicate their message and lifestyle at a faster pace to a larger crowd and e-commerce lets people buy it whenever and wherever they are in the world.
A successful brand always represents a certain lifestyle. Some street brands represent the skateboarding lifestyle and some are closely knitted with the basketball lifestyle. People like a brand not only because they like a particular product but because they are interested in the image that the brand embodies.
I grew up in Vancouver. It’s nice and beautiful but it can get a bit slow some times. I thought of coming to Hong Kong for a change since my family is from Hong Kong and I wanted to experience the difference of living in the Asian region.
People in Hong Kong are heavily influenced by a mix of European and Japanese trends.
Our audience is made up of people who follow the Hypebeast culture and share the same sort of taste and curiosity in fashion. We don’t try to be different from others or distinguish ourselves from other cultural sites. We only focus on doing what we like and share what we feel is interesting.
HBTV started as an extension of the Hypebeast editorial. Sometimes, we feel that text and pictures cannot fully express a topic, so we add in videos to make it more engaging for our audience.
We are interested in covering individuals who are different from the norm and are passionate about what they do. They can be fashion designers. They can be chefs. They can be anybody as long as they are different from the norm.
The launch of our print magazine will be one of the biggest highlights of Hypebeast. We are very excited because it is completely different from what we have ever done before. We have always been digital and now for the first time, we are having a physical editorial.
In addition, we just launched our Hypebeast Store selling unique items hand picked by myself and our Editors. This is also a new direction for Hypebeast because many of our readers always ask where to buy items posted on our site. We hope this will help bridge that gap.
In the past, we have also done collaborations with brands such as Adidas, and Dr. Martens. Being a fan of these brands, I never thought I would have the opportunity to do such collaborations with them. It’s definitely a huge highlight in Hypebeast’s history.
As for the future-we’ll keep you posted!
All of them play an important part in my life. Living on the edge is like running Hypebeast. I invest everything, my life, my time and my money to run the Hypebeast business each day hoping we don’t fall off. To do this requires strength and rigor, as I have to customize my lifestyle to run the business. Staying up later than everyone else, working harder than everyone else. Hypebeast is now inseparable from my life. We also have to constantly adapt to new innovations and make use of the new innovations that are out there fueling Hypebeast.
The American car brand partners with the Basketball Men’s National Team
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Two American icons come together with the Jeep brand’s official partnership with USA Basketball. As a focal point of this partnership, the Jeep brand introduced its special edition model, the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Altitude featuring a new, more powerful V6 engine and customized interior and exterior design cues.
Unified in their drive for excellence, the Jeep brand joins USA Basketball in rallying the “Power Within” as the National Teams endeavor to realize their dream. “The Jeep brand embodies the American spirit,” states Chris Paul, campaign spokesman and member of the 2012 USA Basketball Men’s National Team. Paul appears in a partnership behind-the-scenes video series as well as a TV spot featuring the music of hip-hop artist, Common, giving voice to “a legendary vehicle supporting a legendary team.”
Launching the start of the exhibition season, the USA Basketball Men’s National Team hits the road on 5 July with the opening of training camp in Las Vegas. To celebrate the tour, the Jeep brand teamed up with acclaimed designer Jeff Staple to create the Believe Collection, featuring custom items (some limited to 25 pieces each), including an exclusive, handmade basketball by Leather Head and a basketball duffel bag designed by 3×1, handcrafted from American selvedge denim.
3×1 also contributes a custom scarf that tops off a classic look along with the collection’s vintage inspired, limited edition Ft. Knox sunglasses by Knockaround. Combining timeless appeal with the latest in technology, the collection also includes custom editions of sleek Aviator Headphones by Skullcandy, custom protective iPad and iPhone cases from Uncommon and a Big Jambox, a hi-fi portable wireless speaker by Jawbone. Built NY contributes the Cargo Travel Organizer, a must-have case for keeping cords together while on the go.
Each item captures the USA Basketball’s team pride with the iconic American flag logo and “When We all Believe” tag line that is designed to commemorate the belief we all have in a common goal as we support our team. Visit Jeep to enter to win a shot at the entire Jeep for USA Basketball Believe Collection.
Partnering with USA Basketball to pave “the road to victory,” the Jeep brand upholds achievement and distinguishes itself as a leader in capability. Check out the Jeep High Altitude content series as it features interviews with profiles of influential designers, digital entrepreneurs and adventurers demonstrating the latest in edge, power and innovation.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
