Stutterheim Raincoats

We talk to the Swedish designer about his melancholy mission

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When it comes to the genesis of his namesake rainwear brand, Swedish designer Alexander Stutterheim remembers it quite simply. “It was raining really heavily on the way to a big meeting with Saab and I was early so I stopped in a cafe for a coffee,” he explains. “I noticed that there weren’t really many people dressed for the rain at all—a couple of people in mackintoshes, but mainly just flimsy umbrellas or papers over the head,” he continues. Stutterheim had never paid much attention to what people were wearing to protect themselves from the elements, but he suddenly realized that nobody was making anything rain-specific with contemporary fashion in mind.

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Adopting the fitting tagline, “Swedish Melancholy at its Driest”, Stutterheim brought his brand to life upon discovering a jacket his grandfather wore fishing off the small island of Arholma in Stockholm’s archipelago. “He was a big man in every way, defying the elements as he journeyed out to sea in all weathers,” he says. Indeed, the jacket was far too big for Stutterheim, himself a fairly tall fellow, and he vowed to buy one when he returned to the city. “I looked everywhere and there was nothing even close to my grandfather’s jacket—everything was Gore Tex and kind of tech-y. I even went to a couple of fishing shops, but theirs were too industrial and had lost the details of my found jacket,” he remembers.

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Upon his return, Stutterheim conferred with a few sartorially minded friends only to find they too noticed a lack of gear with country-wear functionality and city-worthy style. He created his own toiles from a tablecloth he waxed for extra stiffness, and called in some favors from a pattern-cutter at V Ave Shoe Repair, well on his way to solving the shortage.

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With a refined pattern in hand, Stutterheim set out to source details—no easy feat for a copywriter with no formal fashion training. “It was important to keep the whole process as ‘light’ and fun as possible. Also, to try and keep the heritage of the original garment, fabric and finishing—combining that with as much ‘Swedishness’ as possible,” he says. Stutterheim wanted to keep it local, settling on Sweden’s last remaining factory producing garments on a large scale, located in Borås, the country’s fashion center.

Working out of his flat, Stutterheim sold out of the initial run of 250 black jackets, each accompanied by a hand-typed note sealed in a pocket for the new owner to find. Now, coats come numbered and labeled with the signature of the seamstress who created that particular one.

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“While, yes, it is more expensive, I can keep an eye on every stage of the process,” says Stutterheim. “Eventually I decided to give it my name rather than some brand name. But to me melancholy is deeply connected with ‘Swedishness’ and how we look at things. A rainy day is a wasted day so I wanted to see if I could change people’s attitude to the weather.”

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Since the initial desire to create something durable and fashion-conscious at the same time, Stutterheim has mastered a progressive cut with high arm openings and a boxy, narrow fit. The sophisticated matte-finish oilskin is lined for breathability and branded (literally) with a small Sutterheim logo at the hem. Seams are not vulcanized, but sewed by hand before being hand-taped for waterproofing.

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Having stumbled upon a few dozen pairs of deadstock classic rubber boots from the Swedish army, Stutterheim is currently sourcing potential manufacturers to release a new run. A pair of new pieces is also in the works—a Swedish mackintosh for men called the Arvid, and the Lydia, a women’s rain cape—named for two lovers who meet in the rain in the classic Swedish novel, “The Serious Game”.

Stutterheim sells online from the brand’s e-shop.


Clarks Natalie Denim

La Clarks Natalie con tomaia in denim, la si trova sullo store giapponese.
{Via}

Undercover x Nike Gyakusou

Questo è forse uno di quei modelli che vedremo solo in foto, tuttavia fyiUNDERCOVER e Jun Takahashi continuano la loro collaborazione con la linea Gyakusou data in uscita per la S/S 2012.
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Furni new watches release

Dalle collaborazioni di Furni con Blood of the young e Poketo, nascono questi due modelli di orologi da polso. Li trovate con poca spesa direttamente sullo store canadese.

Furni new Watch release

Furni new Watch release

Furni new Watch release

Furni new Watch release

Aminimal

Industrial, urban and biological influences for a versatile design studio

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Striking a balance between simplicity and intricacy, husband and wife design duo John and Svetlana (Lana) Briscella seamlessly merge their talents in Aminimal, a multifaceted studio that pushes the dimensions of industrial design. Aptly named, Aminimal aims to artfully spin the belief that minimal design comes from constrained concepts. “Aminimal has the word minimal inside but reads atypical, like something different,” Lana explains. Aminimal’s name is also often misconstrued as the word “animal”, a slip that the duo creatively embraces and occasionally integrates into their designs.

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After meeting in Vienna, John and Lana set up shop in New York in 2011. Based in Brooklyn, the duo’s designs have an abstract, urbanist appeal. Culling from their travels and dwellings in various cities as well as from John’s academic background in Urban Strategies, Aminimal draws from the grid-like patterns of metropolitan spaces to create customized map mementos. Turning a memorable meeting place into commemorative and, in the case of the NYC Cork Board, functional art pieces, Aminimal celebrates “an emotional connection to the city.”

The couple spent time in Paris before landing in the States, and paying homage to their former haunt, Aminimal tested the limitations of dimensionality by re-interpreting the Louis XIV Ghost Armchair by designer Philippe Starck as a 3D cutout shroud of a map of Paris. Matching conceptual forwardness with technical precision, Aminimal uses a variety of tools. However, they cite their best tool as the “connection between our heart, brain and eyes.”

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Initially exploring the energy of intersecting points through lamp designs—namely the polygonal-shaped Contact Window Lighting System—Aminimal added anatomy to the equation with its jewelry line, the Field Test Collection, which is “designed around the premise of structures found in magnetic fields.” The couple also created the Second Skin Watch, which swaps numbers for LED lights. The timepiece answers the age-old design challenge to “make a watch that’s not a watch”, presenting a futuristic study of the human hand’s natural contours, modeled after the flow of pouring water.

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Aminimal’s innovative Calibration Stool and its Lounge counterpart, respectively evocative of a porcupine and spiny caterpillar, are made up of multiple wooden legs to create what they call a “3D rocking chair”. Bucking the notion that people remain creatures of habit, the Calibration Stool enables a person to move into a variety of seated positions by pivoting their weight against the numerous leg options.

Inspired by nature, Aminimal also turns to geometric formations. “In industrial design, you look for a line,” says John. “You’re looking to re-purpose analogies in your design. What I was looking for was, ‘What is the negative and positive of points and what is the reaction that causes the relationship?'”


Martha Davis

The designer’s latest footwear collection with the Workshop Residence uses reclaimed materials from the Bay Area
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A long career in industrial design informs Martha Davis‘ footwear collection, which was first launched back in 2009. The multifaceted designer spent the last few months at San Francisco’s Workshop Residence, creating shoes by hand from custom steel shanks, vegetable-tanned leather and reclaimed wood from the Bay Area. Debuting today, the three new styles represent Davis’ embrace of natural materials and minimal fashion.

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Davis found her work straying away from objects for a time, as she moved into designing user interfaces for digital products. “That’s when I decided to go to Italy,” she says, feeling a need to make things once again. While she appreciates the traditional craftsmanship she learned abroad, the need to experiment eventually won out. “The Workshop Residence was an opportunity for me to really play around with stuff, and I’ve always been interested in natural materials and how to use things without disguising them.”

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Davis is the third participant of the Workshop Residence, an organization that provides makers from all walks with the space, funds and access necessary to realize their creations. “I think of the Workshop as being an incubator for makers and designers with Bay Area local manufacturers,” says Davis. Much of Davis’s work relies on the Workshop’s relationship with local manufacturers. For the steel shanks of her shoes, no local manufacturers could be found, so a local metalworker was called upon to custom build the pieces.

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All materials used in the collection were sourced locally. The uppers are made from thick, vegetable-tanned leather, and the wooden heels upcycled from a variety of sources. Davis used the remnants of forests burned by local wildfires, their charred character pairing nicely with the designer’s unfinished aesthetic. She also reached out to a San Francisco trolley repair shop for discarded wooden brakes, which are made from Douglas fir and disposed of after only a few days of use.

The shoes strike a balance between chic and utilitarian. “My approach is always fairly architectural,” explains Davis. “I don’t do a lot of decorating.” One of Davis’s more progressive creations has an elliptical heel that can be turned on its side to bring the height down by an inch.

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Martha Davis’s collection launches with an event tonight, 24 February, 2012 from 6-9pm at the Workshop Residence and is now available through their shop.

The Workshop Residence

833 22nd Street

San Francisco, CA 94107


Deflected

Brook&Lyn’s light-reflecting amulets inspired by superstitious customs
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As a follow-up to her popular debut lineup of agate pendant necklaces and body wraps, the stark leather and mirror pieces that comprise Mimi Jung‘s quietly powerful “Deflected” collection reveal an artistic progression that’s both varied and cohesive.

Inspired by a friend’s great-grandmother who regularly hid a mirror under her blouse to ward off evil spirits, Jung wanted to create a collection based on the idea of controlling one’s own well-being through the power of deflection. Amulet necklaces constructed from folded pieces of thick saddle leather, patina-covered mirrors that hang from a twisted cotton cord over one’s breastplate and molded-leather rings call to mind a mini hand-shield fit for a superheroine.

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Brooklyn-based Jung took the concept of self-protection one step further, telling us that she selected a circle as the central shape running through her collection because it has been a symbol of defense throughout history in various cultures. The beautifully clouded, aged mirrors come from Brooklyn as well. The artist responsible for hand-antiquing them is extremely protective of his methods, Jung explains, recalling an instance in which he nearly banned her from his studio for trying to take his picture.

Pieces range from $66-$363 and are available online at Brook&Lyn.
See the collection in this haunting video lookbook.


Clarks Desert Boot Camouflage

Il camouflage sui desert boot è una bomba autunnale. Lo troverete nei migliori retail.
{Via}

Shang Xia

European luxury and traditional Chinese craftsmanship in a Shanghai boutique

by Alessandro De Toni

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In a bustling metropolis like Shanghai, Shang Xia‘s boutique strikes a balance between “human and nature”, a millenary value of Chinese culture that often appears to be lost in the country’s economic rush. Wood and sandstone are combined together with high-tech fiber to create a corner of peace, a unique and harmonious environment.

The Shang Xia brand was founded in 2008 by Chinese designer Jian Qiong Er and Hermès, one of the most well-known western luxury brands in China. Together, they collaborate on a line of furniture, decorative objects, jewelry and high-fashion garments entirely produced in China and characterized by excellent craftsmanship and understated simplicity.

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As the name Shang Xia implies—it translates to “up and down” in English—style is a state of harmony achieved by a dynamic flow of energy from the past, present and future. It’s a dialogue between tradition and contemporary taste, which aims to create a 21st-century lifestyle founded on the finest of Chinese design traditions.

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Among Shang Xia’s most beautiful crafts are the jewelry collections “Garden” and “Shan Shui”. In the former, the Taihu rock—an ancient symbol of wisdom and immortality—is combined with red sandalwood, jade, agate, gold and silver through a carving process that can take up to 300 hours.

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For “Shan Shui”, agate and jade are carved and polished in the shape of an ancient Chinese coin. The process requires abut 480 hours of craftsmanship by a single artisan who cuts and polishes the agate on a spinning wheel. It is an almost spiritual exercise that recalls samsara, the Sanskrit word for the ever-turning wheel of life.

Shang Xia

1F, South Tower, Hong Kong Plaza

283 Huaihai Middle Rd, Shanghai


All originals Make Moves

Adidas Originals e Athletes World lanciano una speciale declinazione della campagna all Originals Make Moves e presentano due nuove colorazioni della ZX 750, vendute in esclusiva nei negozi Athletes World in Italia. La campagna avrà come testimonial un Daniele De Rossi in forma che vi spiegherà la sua giornata tipo tra le vie della capitale. Fate in salto sulla fanpage di Athletes World per accedere a contenuti extra come fotogallery, preziose informazioni di prodotto, store locator, e tanto altro.

All originals Make Movies

All originals Make Movies

All originals Make Movies

All originals Make Movies

All originals Make Movies

All originals Make Movies

All originals Make Movies