For the past 6 seasons (roughly 2 years) Dirtee Hollywood has been collaborating with ChinaShop’s own artist / contributor Molly Crabapple. She creates whimsical illustrations for the Los Angeles based cut n sew t-shirt line. Owner David Long spoke with us about his love for Molly and his quest to create the best designs in the name of fashion.
If you’re looking to make a statement in the way of your undergarments, how about stocking your drawers full of vintage lingerie? Those on such a quest should venture into the vintage wonderland of The Way We Wore. Doris Raymond, owner of the boutique affectionately deemed, “the fashionista’s paradise,” recently acquired the largest collection of antique intimate wear ever found. Over 2,000 pieces of never before worn designer bras, panties, and tap pants, teddies, and robes are among the newest additions to the Southern California shop.
“No one can tell us what we can and can not do,” says Leanne Anderson, Creative Director for Iron Fist. An attitude that has got this company far in the last 8 years. Their sassy styles and ingenuity have grown this company into a fashion brand to watch. When I last checked in with them, a year and a half ago, they had just started to dip their toes into the ladies zombie shoes. A bold direction for a very niche market. However, success has never looked so mean…they are unique and so beautifully done you can’t help but to desire them.
Go to any music festival and you will most likely come across someone wearing a plush animal hood that has scarf like appendages that flow into mittens, or paws if you will. These fuzzy fashion accessories are products of Spirit Hoods. Made in Southern California by a group of hippie/hipster/vega/activists these hats represent a love for wildlife and efforts to give back to critical wildlife initiatives.
Fashion can’t be avoided. We can’t leave our house without clothes on. Based on your geographic location, possibly multiple layers of clothes on. But there is a distinction between “fashion”, “clothes” and “style”. Let’s see what the interweb has to say about it:
“Though often used interchangeably, there are distinct and important differences between clothing, fashion, and style. The term clothing first appeared in the thirteenth century and refers to garments in general. Fashion and style are fourteenth-century words. Style describes the form of something, while fashion refers to prevailing styles during a particular time. All clothing can be described in terms of the style of specific features, such as a mandarin collar or a gathered sleeve, and if the style is currently popular, it is considered fashionable. Garment styles periodically recur, though usually in slightly different forms. Coco Chanel, the famous French designer, once said that anyone who claimed originality had no knowledge of history.” – Answers.com
Reebok announces collaboration with Grammy award winning music producer/rapper/painter/collector/CEO/entrepreneur/new father/United Nation’s Music Ambassador for World Peace Swizz Beatz. Try fitting that on a business card?
Reebok took a look around and realized that they stepped out of cool. The trend setters and shoe collectors weren’t considering Reebok in the pantheon of desired footwear. As a shoe maker, that’s a situation you don’t want to find yourself in. In an effort to redefine the brand as revolutionary, they enlisted the guidance of one of the hottest, most forward thinking personalities on the scene, Swizz Beatz.
Derick Melander loves clothes. Perhaps not in the same way that you and I love clothes, as Melander makes ambitious sculptures from carefully folded and stacked second-hand clothing.
I discovered him at Project in Vegas quite accidentally while wandering the show floor. A “shameless self-promoter”, Melander told me that he connected with Project through a friend designer who exhibits here each season. Paramount Apparel International (PAi) and Tom’s Shoes both donated their wares to let Melander have his way with them.
Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I like things that look like things that are really other things. For example, a ceramic grenade that is actually a bank, or a lollipop made of plastic that’s actually a speaker for my mp3 device. It’s no wonder then that I have loved Molla Space for a long time now.
3 of the nicest men you’d ever want to share a beer with, (insert your favorite uncle image here) got sick of the machinery of corporate fashion. Having all worked together at one point in their illustrious careers or other, Jack Steinweis, Mark Kane and Kevin Crowley finally decided to put up or shut up and Unstitched Utilities was found. Hailing from New Jersey, Baltimore and New Hampshire, the men connected to hatch a vision that their individual talents, know how and charisma might be the building blocks to launching a truly environmentally thoughtful brand.
Step one, find a truly remarkable, environmentally friendly, durable material for manufacturing footwear.
While mindlessly glancing around the Burbank airport, waiting to board a flight to Las Vegas for the Fashion industry trade show, MAGIC, something shiny caught my eye. Super slick, hot pink, patent leather sneakers graced the feet of a rather unusually understated Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas. I noticed the shoes first, the superstar second.
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