Hasta La Ideas

Topo Designs’ clean one-strap backpack for comfier commuting

Topo Designs‘ newest addition to their line of heritage-inspired bags, the sling bag, has a slim profile designed for ease of use during daily commutes. The single shoulder strap handily slips on and off when you need it, while a small stabilizer strap keeps the bag stable while wearing it messenger-style.

Functionally speaking, leather lash tabs and seatbelt webbing pull tabs on the back are ideal for clipping on a bike light or securing excess gear—and we dig the traditional look of them. Three small interior compartments and a larger padded sleeve for iPads or slim laptops have the same minimalist feel that defines the bag’s outer shell.

To encourage ecologically-sound production techniques and promote local the economy, Topo Design handmakes all their bags in a LEED certified building in Colorado. The sling bag comes in six rad colors, selling online through Topo Designs’ webshop for a manageable $98.

Also on Cool Hunting: Nine Falf Packs

Une excellente initiative par les magasins Westfield avec cette superbe vidéo de promotion retraçant plus de 100 ans de mode et de styles en 100 secondes. Une évolution à travers les époques dans ce montage très réussi. A découvrir en images et en vidéo dans la suite de l’article.

Previously on Fubiz

• Vodafone – The Evolution of Mobile
• The Life of Style
• Pilot Frixion Evolution

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German craftsmanship meets Japanese technique for the most impeccable wooden glasses yet

Shedding the chrome-cast cliché of futuristic style, many designers have turned to creating modern products from natural materials. A mix of high-tech techniques with artisan hand-craft has resulted in creative twists ranging from leather iPhone backs to flax bicycles. Always a medium for innovation, eyeglass frames have seen an explosion of materials both simple and complex. There’s something wonderfully tactile with wood frames, and recent designs by Drift to Shwood offer great style at a reasonable price. A recent discovery, Herrlicht‘s hand made wood frames have upped the ante, defining the epitome of craftsmanship in wood eyeglass frames.

Advancing the accessory beyond novelty, Berlin-based designer Andreas Licht spends about a week handcrafting each pair of eyeglasses—from the lens holder to the signature four-pronged pin that enables the ease of swapping out lenses. Sculpted from several thin layers of wood and assembled using Japanese joinery techniques, the Herrlicht collection comes in maple, cherry, walnut or fumed oak in a variety of retro-inspired styles—every element of these frames (including the screws!) is made from wood. Quite durable, the frames have a slight flexibility and light weight that make them effortless to wear.

Presented in a handmade cylindrical wood case stylized after a seed pod, Licht underscores his attention to detail and distinct environmental influences; a mark that has earned him the SILMO 2011 award for excellence. As a skilled woodworker—previously working with wooden bicycles and furniture—Andreas cuts, sands and polishes each wood layer. Due to the labor-intensive integrity of the process, the Herrlicht line produces only 200 to 250 pairs of each model every year.

Due to the high demand and limited run of the collection Herrlicht is exclusively sold at 1010 Optics in New York City and Brillenschneiderei Yves in Berlin. Each pair is pressed to indicate style, wood-type and serial number. Prices start at $1,500.

Geometric-patterned scarves and throws by two Montreal textile designers

Pairing mathematics with craftsmanship, the textile designers behind Montreal label String Theory weave quality yarns into beautifully-patterned super-soft scarves and throw blankets. The two-person team behind the brand works closely with small-batch manufacturers, allowing for wide experimentation with techniques. This artful combination of tradition and innovation results in everyday accessories with Modernist geometric appeal.

Though the designers recently played around with a beautiful blue tone, currently String Theory’s Euclidean designs come in simple black and gray motifs, using mostly Alpaca, cotton and bamboo. Initial designs include intricate String Theory 101 scarf, which mimics the weaving process, and the Big Mess throw, an elegantly scrambled composition.

String Theory sells online, ranging from $120-320.

Inside a swimsuit design studio in the heart of NYC’s garment district

“Save the Garment Center” urges the sign in the middle of swimsuit designer Malia Mills’ garment-district studio in New York City. Haphazardly stuck in one of the many racks of patterns that fill the workspace among rolls of fabric, sketches and other evidence of a busy design hub, the sign reads like a battle cry for the eponymous 20-year-old line. Mills, a poster child for what it means to live and work as a fashion designer in the city, built her brand over the decades through a combination of grit, ingenuity and her vision of making great-fitting suits for women.

The journey for Mills started unconventionally at Cornell University, where she studied apparel design, constructing everything from scuba suits to skirts. As a supplement to the problem-solving skills the program instilled, she learned the art of tailoring at Paris’ renowned school for haute couture, The Chambre Syndicale. Once landing in New York, a long road of alliances and luck helped get her where she is today. Landlords that let her go without paying rent for six months, the Tribeca restaurant where she waitressed that let her use their office, and a mentor in Theory founder Andrew Rosen all helped the business grow into the 10-store-strong label that it is today.

But of course the real backbone of Malia Mills is design. While education gave Mills the highly technical background needed for such a challenging garment, the founder traces her aesthetic to two pivotal childhood experiences with swimwear. Her first bikini, a lemon-yellow number received for Christmas in 1976, followed by a hot pink two-piece that stood out among the Speedos of 1980, helped define a look for women that’s as much about style as it is about function.

The sensibility has to do with the kind of thoughtfulness that goes into good design. On our recent visit, the designer jumped up to pull out a college assignment on fashion designer Claire McCardell, who Mills cites as a huge influence on her approach. McCardell’s philosophy of “honing your senses” is advice Mills still gives to every new hire.

To pull it all off, Mills credits the “massive luxury” of being in the Garment Center as a key factor that “truly facilitated the growth of the business.” Her tops-by-bra-size approach and goal of fitting almost every body type means she has to be completely hands-on throughout the entire production process. “What we’re making is such a tactile thing,” she explains. Even the smallest discrepancy in yardage can make a huge difference in fit.

See more of the designer’s early stylings, current collection, and more in the photo gallery.

by Karen Day and Ami Kealoha

Photos by Karen Day