I see your Jil Sanders, Oliver Peoples Costume National, your Ann Demeuelemeester See Visvim be the sneaker, Lanvin or Balmain Goyard by the trunk, her Isabel Marant I love your Linda Farrow, I adore your Dior Your Damir Doma, Vena Cava from the store I crush down with that top down, bossy see how I ride â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;round Mami in that Tom Ford, Papi in that Thom Browne Rick Owens, Raf Simons, boy she got it by the stock She ball until she fall, that means she shop â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;til she drop And Versace: got a lot, <Fashion Killa> by A$AP Rocky
“Ambition to Create Novel Expression” – this acronym forms the mission statement of Acne Studios, a creative collective and lifestyle brand that started off in Stockholm in 1996 with 100 pairs of minimalist raw denim jeans. Founder and creative director Jonny Johansson distributed the jeans to his friends in the Swedish creative community, and demand for the brand’s novel and pared-back vision grew from there. Now comprising arms focusing on design, production, and advertising, the collective’s fashion division split off independently in 2006. Its womenswear offerings present a range of subtly distinctive basics updated with unexpected, oversized proportions and nuanced colors, designed to seamlessly integrate into an artistic, urban wardrobe. Leather and shearling jackets, well-cut denim, cult favorite Pistol and Colt ankle boots, and modern knits all reflect Johansson’s intellectual brand of Scandinavian minimalism.
In August 1937 Cristóbal Balenciaga opened his first Parisian couture house, but it wasn’t until after the Second World War that his incredible design talent really came to light. In 1951 the Spanish-born couturier created a brandnew silhouette, broadening the shoulders and removing the waistline. He continued to innovate with shapes that the world had never seen before, creating the likes of the tunic dress and kimono coat. Original Balenciaga haute couture creations are still considered masterpieces today, in particular the sculptural pieces produced throughout the ’50s and ’60s. Cristóbal Balenciaga died in 1972, but his legacy and firmly established design codes live on in the house as we know and love it today. Under the ownership of the Kering group and with Demna Gvasalia at the helm, Balenciaga continues to be one of the most iconic and influential fashion houses in the world.
Comme des Garçons, the pioneering Japanese label headed by Rei Kawakubo, introduced its PLAY diffusion line in 2002. Devoted to wardrobe basics with a nod to pattern, the lineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s minimalist knits are always adorned with variations on its iconic bug-eyed heart logo designed by New York artist Filip Pagowski. Casual menswear pieces including t-shirts, polos, sweatshirts, button-down shirts, and Converse All-Star sneakers are subtly reinvented with stripes, polka dots, and graphics. PLAY approaches the casual wardrobe with an avant-garde eye for logos and branding.
Christian Dior SE , commonly known as Dior, is a European luxury goods company controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH – the world’s largest luxury group. Dior itself holds 42.36% shares of and 59.01% voting rights within LVMH. Founded in 1946 by the eponymous designer Christian Dior, today the company designs and retails ready-to-wear, leather goods, fashion accessories, footwear, jewelry, timepieces, fragrance, make-up, and skincare products while also maintaining its tradition as a creator of recognized haute-couture (under the Christian Dior Couture division). While the Christian Dior label remains largely for women’s offerings, the company also operates the Dior Homme division for men and the baby Dior label for childrenswear. Products are sold throughout its portfolio of retail stores worldwide, as well as through its online store via dior.com.
Evisu or Evisu Genes is a Japanese designer clothing company that specializes in producing denim wear through traditional, labor-intensive methods. The brand was founded in 1991 in Osaka, Japan, by Hidehiko Yamane. The initial production line allowed about 14 pairs of jeans a day to be produced, with each of them having a seagull (kamome) hand painted on them by Yamane himself. Ebisu is the name of the Japanese folk god of money who is usually portrayed with a fishing rod. His name was selected for the new venture as money and fishing are two of Yamaneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s five favorite things.
fragment design is an imprint led by Japanese designer Hiroshi Fujiwara. Fujiwara has been involved with countless Nike projects, both as part of the HTM team together with Tinker Hatfield and Mark Parker and through his fragment design label.
Gucci is a Italian luxury brand of fashion and leather goods, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by the French holding company Kering. Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1921. Gucci generated about €4.2 billion in revenue worldwide in 2008 according to BusinessWeek and climbed to 41st position in the magazine’s annual 2009 “Top Global 100 Brands” chart created by Interbrand; it ranked retained that rank in Interbrand’s 2014 index. Gucci is also the biggest-selling Italian brand. Gucci operates about 278 directly operated stores worldwide as of September 2009, and it wholesales its products through franchisees and upscale department stores. In the year 2013, the brand was valued at US$12.1 billion, with sales of US$4.7 billion. In the Forbes World’s Most Valuable Brands list, Gucci is ranked the 38th most valuable brand, with a brand value of $12.4 billion as of May 2015 As of January 2015, the creative director is Alessandro Michele.
An iconic brand of the minimalist â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;90s, Helmut Lang describes its approach to fashion in four definitive words: construction, utilitarian, tailoring and design. This is our go-to label for expertly tailored separates and staples, all made using the finest fabrics.
Miyake was born on April twenty-second, 1938 in Hiroshima, Japan. He studied graphic design at the Tama Art University in Tokyo, graduating in 1964. After graduation, he worked in Paris and New York City. Returning to Tokyo in 1970, he founded the Miyake Design Studio, a high-end producer of women’s fashion. In the late 1980s, he began to experiment with new methods of pleating that would allow both flexibility of movement for the wearer as well as ease of care and production. In which the garments are cut and sewn first, then sandwiched between layers of paper and fed into a heat press, where they are pleated. The fabric’s ‘memory’ holds the pleats and when the garments are liberated from their paper cocoon, they are ready-to wear. He did the costume for Ballett Frankfurt with pleats in a piece named “the Loss of Small Detail” William Forsythe and also work on ballet “Garden in the setting”. He had a long friendship with Austrian-born pottery artist Dame Lucie Rie. She bequeathed to him her substantial collection of ceramic and porcelain buttons, which he integrated into his designs and presented in new collections. He also developed a friendship with Apple’s Steve Jobs and produced the black turtlenecks which would become a part of Jobs’ signature attire. Jobs said, “So I asked Issey to make me some of his black turtlenecks that I liked, and he made me like a hundred of them.”
Datuk Jimmy Choo, OBE Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat is a Malaysian fashion designer based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for co-founding Jimmy Choo Ltd that became known for its handmade womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shoes.
Kenzo Takada first introduced Paris to Japanese fashion with a handmade line of womenswear he started in 1970. His vibrant floral and jungle prints became a signature, alongside designs inspired by traditional kimonos and folk costumes that expressed a joyful and fresh attitude. Designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony took over as creative directors of Kenzo in 2011, bringing a spontaneity and playful energy to their vibrant and globally influenced designs. Alongside the pairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cult favorite tiger and eye logo sweatshirts, colorblocked bags and backpacks, A-line skirts, tank tops, pleated shorts, feminine knitwear, and oversized button-downs are cut in distinctive prints and jacquards that pay homage to the label founderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s colorful eye, while citing the contemporary influences of skate culture, digital art, and Parisian street style.
Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton or shortened to LV, is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label’s LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, sunglasses and books. Louis Vuitton is one of the world’s leading international fashion houses; it sells its products through standalone boutiques, lease departments in high-end department stores, and through the e-commerce section of its website.For six consecutive years, Louis Vuitton was named the world’s most valuable luxury brand. Its 2012 valuation was US$25.9 billion. The 2013 valuation of the brand was US$28.4 billion with revenue of US$9.4 billion. The company operates in 50 countries with more than 460 stores worldwide.
Radical conceptual designer Martin Margiela founded his namesake couture house in 1988 and quickly established himself at the forefront of the Belgian fashion avant-garde. In his career-long refusal to grant interviews or public appearances, he embodied the atelier’s principles of anonymity and collective craftsmanship. Following the designer’s departure in 2009, the line was helmed by its Paris-based design team until the appointment of John Galliano as creative director in 2014. Transformation and deconstruction are always at the heart of the label’s reinvented classic menswear. Repurposed materials, distressed treatments, modern suits and tailoring, minimalist leather bags, clever jewelry, and endless interpretations of its signature Replica sneakers are always represented in Maison Margiela’s intellectual blend of conceptualism and luxury.
Nike, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest suppliers of athletic shoes and apparel[5] and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$24.1 billion in its fiscal year 2012 (ending May 31, 2012). As of 2012, it employed more than 44,000 people worldwide. In 2014 the brand alone was valued at $19 billion, making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses.
Conceived of as a bridge between the worlds of streetwear and high fashion, designer Virgil Ablohâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Off-White line explores concepts of branding, the zeitgeist, and the expression of youth culture in the contemporary moment. Creative director, Abloh translates timely inspirations ranging from the graphic nature of Ludwig Mies van der Roheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Farnsworth House and typography to emotional prints in his collections ranging in ready-to-wear silhouettes.
Palace Skateboards was established in 2009 by Levent Tanju of the Palace Wayward Boys Choir and has fast established itself as the premium UK skateboard brand. With a skate team including Lucien Clarke, Charlie Young, Olly Todd, and Chewy Cannon alongside the artwork direction of Will Bankhead (of Mo Wax fame) and Fergadellic (Silas & Tonite), this will come as no surprise to most.Palace clothing production has been looked after by the same team that worked on Silas back in the day, and as with Palace skateboard graphics Palace tee’s, sweatshirt’s, and cut and sew graphics have been designed by two of London’s finest skate creatives.
Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE (17 March 1969 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He is known for having worked as chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001 and for founding his own Alexander McQueen label. His achievements in fashion earned him four British Designer of the Year awards (1996, 1997, 2001 and 2003), as well as the CFDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Designer of the Year award in 2003. McQueen committed suicide in 2010 at the age of forty.
Belgian designer Raf Simons launched his namesake men’s collection in 1995, after switching from an industrial design course to fashion at Antwerp’s Royal Academy. Immersed in the counterculture of early 90s Antwerp, Simons captured the energy of the city’s fashion underground in pioneering collections inspired by music and the rebellious energy of youth culture. Athletic influences, minimalism, and deconstruction join futuristic prints and color schemes in his relentlessly modern blends of men’s tailoring and streetwear. Pop art-influenced graphics, collaged photo prints, and high-tech sneakers designed in a recurring collaboration with adidas complement parkas, bomber jackets, graphic tees and button-downs, slim trousers, and casual knits in Simons’ masterful synthesis of nostalgic inspirations and futuristic outlook.
Supreme is a skateboarding shop/clothing brand established in New York City in April 1994. The brand was originally founded by James Jebbia. Although he was born in the US, he lived in England from until he was nineteen. The first Supreme store opened on Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan in 1994. It was designed with skaters in mind, with a unique design on the store layout; the clothes arranged around the outside of the store with a large space in the middle. This meant that skaters with backpacks on could skate right into the store, and still feel comfortable. In 2004, a store was opened on North Fairfax Ave in Los Angeles, California, which is almost double the size of the original New York store and also includes an indoor skate bowl. There are other stores in Paris, London, Tokyo (Harajuku, Daikanyama & Shibuya), Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka. These modern stores still try to emulate the original Lafayette Street store design.
Born in Pennsylvania in 1965, Thom Browne moved to New York City in 1997. He worked in the Giorgio Armani showroom, eventually leading to a position in the creative department of Club Monaco, where he stayed until launching his own label. Believing that the modern ubiquity of casual dress lends the wearing of suits a sort of subversive edge, Browne has claimed as his signature impeccably-tailored suits in traditional wools and flannels, each with updated proportions. Initially shocking to the fashion world, his designs have placed him at the vanguard of menswear. Thom Browne draws much of his inspiration from classic American style but refreshes the cuts with preppy details such as shrunken fits, grosgrain trim, and cropped trousers.
After studying at Tokyo’s Bunka Academy of Fashion, Jun Takahashi created Undercover in 1991 while he was still in school. Eternally inspired by music, he opened his first store in 1993 and soon moved on to present his first runway show the next year. Mentored by Rei Kawakubo, Takahashi has since become an integral part of the industry, taking an avant-garde approach with a “less is better”philosophy.
Tokyo-based designer Hiroki Nakamura founded Visvim, a portmanteau of two Latin words connoting strength and speed, in 2002. With the goal of creating authentic, timeless designs manufactured according to the highest standards, the label blends workwear and Americana inspirations with high-tech design elements. Premium materials including cordovan, denim, and chambray figure prominently in Visvimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reworked heritage designs and cult footwear.
In 1993 brand director Tetsu Nishiyama (Tet) began producing products under the label ‘Forty Percent Against Rights’ in the back streets of Harajuku, Tokyo. A few years later in 1996 Tet re-emerged with his new line WTAPS (Pronounced Double Taps) based heavily on military and the outdoors. Tet has been widely revered as one of the cultural leaders of the Tokyo street fashion scene and has gone on to achieve many accolades. Along with being the Director of WTAPS he also directs the URSUS Bape sub line for A Bathing Ape, as well as the Director for the former Aoyama Black Flag select shop and all worldwide ‘Hoods’ shops that house NEIGHBORHOOD and WTAPS products. As of late Wtaps has grown to included several signature styles such as ‘Trad’, ‘Ivy’, ‘Preppy’ while still maintaining it’s military inspired roots. In 2011, the former Black Flag select shop closed it’s doors and TET’s new store GIP (The Guerrilla Incubation Period) was born.
A pioneer of Los Angeles streetwear culture, X-Large started as a shop in the LA neighborhood of Los Feliz, on Vermont street in 1991. Opened by Eli Bonerz and Adam Silverman, the store catered to their diverse community and was quickly adopted by personalities such as Mike D of the Beastie Boys, Spike Jonez, and Chloe Sevigny. The X-Large clothing brand was a true reflection of its surroundings and Los Angeles lifestyle. The brand drew inspiration from work wear, vintage, and club scene aesthetics; to mid-century design, skateboarding and music influences. Iconic for its Gorilla logo, X-Large is established as one of the originals and continues to influence generations of streetwear culture worldwide
October 2002 saw the birth of the most influential cooperation in sport and fashion to date with the launch of the Spring/Summer 2003 Y-3 mens and women’s collections. The partnership between renowned Japanese fashion designer, Yohji Yamamoto and authentic sports brand, Adidas, has revolutionized the industry. The “Y” stands for Yohji Yamamoto, the “3” represents the signature Adidas three stripe logo and the “-” signifies the link between the two. Adidas represents sport, Yohji Yamamoto represents design, and both symbolize true craftsmanship. Together they have developed the future in sportswear.
Zara is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Arteixo, Galicia. The company was founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalía Mera. It is the main brand of the Inditex group, the world’s largest apparel retailer. The fashion group also owns brands such as Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home, and Uterqüe.