Emerge Trends Weblog

Get With Reality Grey Lady!

Emerge Trends — 2007-10-22T11:48:33Z

Last Saturday, the New York Times ran what must be one of the dumbest attempts at a trend piece. The story, which discusses the rather comical designs of artist Aya Tsukioka, suggests that her skirts, which transform into vending machine costumes, are a response to fears of street crime among young Japanese women. Sadly, the writer Martin Fackler and the Times itself have missed the point.

There is no rampant paranoia about street crime, there is no putative need for women to conceal themselves as Coca Cola dispensers in order to evade muggers and rapists. Tsukioka's designs are arty, far removed from any practical purpose or even the tradition of clothing as disaster shelter started by fellow Japanese designer Kosuke Tsumura with Final Home.

Here is the original article in the Times and here is a great rebuttal from Neojapanisme. Read it and weep (or laugh depending on how you react to blatant ethnic generalizations in the media). As you can see from the picture above, this probably shouldn't have ever made it past Fackler's editor, yet somehow, one of the most respected dailies in the US managed to publish a totally worthless trend piece full of tired old ethnic stereotypes chasing after what would have to be the dumbest trend of all time.

Posted by James Friedman

It's A Hot Mess

Emerge Trends — 2007-10-05T12:30:25Z

We realize that this isn't brand new information here, but EMERGE isn't exactly at the cutting edge of big name men's couture, so we're just bumbling across this abortion of an advertisement now:

Tom Ford, what the f!@#$ were you thinking? Sure the greasy thighs and cleanly shaved you-know-what are sort of sexy, but the photo is just another point-and-shoot titillation from Terry Richardson, who's semi-shocking work is so ubiquitous its rather boring these days. In our not-so-humble opinion, it would have been much cooler and classier to stick with the original shots you had commissioned from Marilyn Minter instead of sharing your imaging with the guy shilling discount flannels for Uniqlo. Not to mention that fact that this stuff just seems offbrand for Mr. Ford despite his nudie ads from a few years ago.

Posted by James Friedman

Patagonia

Emerge Trends — 2007-08-29T15:31:50Z

It probably shouldn't be surprising that after years of providing performance gear for climbers, skiers, surfers and generally outdoorsy folks, that Patagonia would end up transcending that world to become something of a fashion statement. Yes, you heard correctly. The company that pretty much put polar fleece pull overs on the back of every preppy kid on the planet has quietly become cool enough for the streetwear set to pair with their ultra-limited Nikes and $200 selvedge denim.

Having known Patagonia as a mountain climbing outfitter a la North Face, we were happily surprised to see that the brand had expanded to serve the adult surfer too mature to rock his old Billabong tee shirts. What's more, EMERGE was also impressed to discover that Patagonia routinely underwrote the printing of the major surf magazines on recycled stock. That kind of corporate social responsibility is meaningful, especially to the surf community and demonstrated Patagonia
s genuine connection with their consumers and the company's long-standing eco-friendly stance.

That bit of the brand's identity, of course, has become quite the trend itself in fashion circles. While upstarts like Nau are coming out with green credentials frontloaded, Patagonia has been quietly using recycled materials in its garments for years and have long vocal defenders of the green spaces their customers go to use their fancy new moisture-wicking thermal gear. Perhaps Patagonia's popularity is due to the brand sticking to their guns with an idea whose time has finally come.

Another piece of the Patagonia puzzle- in our eyes at least- is the brand's consistent identity. Sure, they've gone a little bit upscale over the years, and they sell a lot more than just jackets, but whereas North Face has gone from hardcore outdoorsy apparel maker to puffy winter coat of choice for folks who'd never dream of spending a subfreezing night in a tent, Patagonia has remained far more focused on their target consumer. They've been savvy enough, however, to recognize that these very same folks have sophisticated tastes and have expanded their offerings accordingly without compromising on whit of the brand's hard-earned authenticity. Take for instance the Spoken Word Jacket, a casual blazer designed for use wherever and whenever. Its earth tone palette, corduroy material and button near the neck make this an ideal addition to any scruffy New Englander's warddrobe, but Patagonia have taken it one step further in the details, hiring acclaimed surf/skate illustrator Geoff McFetridge to design the lining of the coat, a move that has earned them instant cred with streetwear stalwarts like Berlin's Beinghunted.

So thanks to an emerging eco-conscious marketplace and a deep devotion to the communities it serves, Patagonia has become more than just a purveyor of tastefully basic and functional clothing. It has become an iconic, authentic brand that has built itself up without taking shortcuts, resorting to crass marketing tactics, and EMERGE is looking forward to seeing the brand's continued growth towards mainstream ubiquity. If only the Gap were 1/10 as cool.

Posted by James Friedman

The Generic Man

Emerge Trends — 2007-01-26T19:26:04Z

A few years ago Brooklyn-based graphic designer and clothing maker Kevin Carney closed down his cult collection Generic Costume, packed up and moved to Los Angeles. Since then, EMERGE has crossed paths a couple times with Carney, mostly around our mutual love of obscure disco records. However we weren't surprised to learn today that Carney and Generic are back with some really cool new products.

Turns out that while GC may be a thing of the past, the Generic brand lives on. GNRC Design is Carney's design agency, through which he's lent his inimitable touch to projects for American Apparel, Jeremy Scott, Burton, Stussy and many more. The big news today is the Generic is being revived as The Generic Man, "iconic shoes for the modern man."

A collection of high end footwear for stylish guys who have tired of their collection of Nikes, The Generic Man features styles ranging from casual slip-ons a la Vans to high top sneakers, boots with leather soles, vaguely wingtip looking numbers and some casual kicks with natural crepe soles. Hand constructed in Italy, the shoes are all suede and leather, though several feature unusual finishes such as bright orange dye, "caviar" leather, and even some metallic treatments. Somehow, though, The Generic Man never feels over the top, childish or tacky. The understated silhouettes of the shoes and their fusion of classic, casual and straight up sneakerly aesthetics are sure to make the collection a big hit with the aging sneakerhead and perennially casual professional alike.

The line isn't going to be available until August, but Carney will be accepting orders shortly. Get in touch at Contact@thegenericman.com

Is There Any Doubt That the Sneaker Thing Has Been Done To Death?

Emerge Trends — 2006-11-29T18:25:01Z

While reliable sources have told EMERGE to expect lots more of the skater/urban fashion crossover in the next couple of years (thanks Nigo, Pharrell, Lupe!), we're already counting down the days until people stop obsessing over neon Dunks. Sure, we've already talked about streetwear's explosive transformation from underground trend to mainstream ubiquity, but as the old saying goes: a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, it's a moving picture but you get the point.

Here is a new spot for the Toyota Avalon which associates sneaker fanaticism (for Greedy Genius no less) with the reminiscences of an attractive and successful couple out for a drive in their new Avalon complete with satellite navigation to help track down those ultra-limited pink suede sneaks.

Has Streetwear Gone Too Far Too Fast?

Emerge Trends — 2006-11-13T19:44:15Z

EMERGE has witnessed a pretty astonishing phenomenon over the past 12 months or so. While long lines and absurd prices for rare Nike Dunks have become a cultural phenomenon across the globe, they've been happening for a couple years now in NYC. Supreme has had long lines outside it's SoHo boutique for just about every release of Nike SB kicks as well as Supreme's many collaborations with Nike and Vans. Nevertheless, even in fashion-forward NYC, the proliferation of streetwear's signature looks (think allover print hoodies, pastel sneakers, japanese denim) have become the citywide uniform of choice for dudes, be they skaters, hipsters or just guys from the block.

Even as the aesthetic it helped define has crossed over, Supreme has taken the collaboration thing into hyperspace, launching a line of skateboard decks designed by Jeff Koons(building off a long line of artist-collaborations including Peter Saville and Kaws), a series of Vans and apparel featuring the photography of Ari Marcopoulos, a range of shoes, skateboards and clothes in partnership with rap legends Public Enemy, a range of New Era fitted baseball hats bearing the brand's Barbara Kruger-inspired logo, and now Supreme is announcing a partnership with Timberland to produce Timberland X Supreme (in the parlance of streetwear collaborations) boots.

Based on a style of Timbos that have been ubiquitous in NYC for the past several years, the Supreme version features an unusual colorway which pairs brown leather with a purple nylon material and a padded ankle collar in beige camouflage.

While rumors suggest that Supreme's glut of collaborations is due to some vacancies in the brand's design department, to many people it is emblematic of the state of streetwear in general. As mass brands like New Era, Nike and Timberland continually draw inspiration and credibility from very protective, authentic brands like Supreme, they are taking the aesthetics and worldview of that niche brand and amplifying it far beyond its core audience. While there is nothing wrong with this in and of itself, it has a trickle down effect throughout the industry which Supreme helped establish.

As the paradigmatic brand in the streetwear scene wanders aimlessly through a thicket of collaborations and corporate partnerships, it detracts from the scene's overall vitality. The backlash is already beginning as blogs like Don't Believe The Hypebeast dress down the "cool guys" and the brands they worship. Most of all, the critics cite the illusory originality espoused by the collective groupthink of the streetwear scene and the absurdity of so much of the product.

Just wait until they get wind of this nightmare of a shoe...

Stay Fly

Emerge Trends — 2006-11-06T19:07:32Z

The world of fashion is an interesting place. In an article in the New York Times this past weekend, Project Runway mainman Tim Gunn was quoted as saying that his peers in the Architecture Department at Parsons have derided fashion as the "lowest form of culture." Yet, it remains a principle fascination for millions, from businesses keen to reinvent themselves or revive flagging demand to men and women that want to look great as well as those who appreciate fashion as one of the most attainable outlets for the design-conscious. Sure, only connoisseurs are hunting for vintage Halston, Margiela or Balenciaga, but shops like Target validate EMERGE's perspective that fashion is populist design in a way that architecture can never be (at least not for those who can't afford property).

And that's not even mentioning the close ties fashion has to the art world, with influential designers like Jeremy Scott showing their collections in the gallery of Deitch Projects a couple years back during New York Fashion Week. Another example of this fashion/art axis is Fly Magazine, a limited edition DVD publication out of New York and Paris.

Sold only through exclusive retailers including Collette in Paris, 10 Corso Como in Milan, and Moss in New York, the DVD pub pairs big and emergent names in fashion with big and emergent names in the visual arts to create unusual and highly original video projects (issue number 2, which just recently came out features the likes of: Karl Lagerfeld, John Malkovich, Zac Posen, Gray Scott, Tiziano Magni, Ellen Allien, Hussein Chalayan, Malcolm Venville, Louis Vuitton, Sebastien Tellier, Fendi, Dani Siciliano, Gravenhurst, Boudicca, Gogol Bordello, and Liam Gillick). Even more limited than the regular print run are the Collector's Edition versions of Fly, which include a piece of original artwork and sell for a modest $500. The first issue Collector's Edition included a piece by Ryan McGinness and the latest issue includes a print by Liam Gillick.

All in all, Fly is an impressive rejection of the "fashion is shallow" argument, showing irrefutably that great talent and artistry go into not just the presentation but the creation of these garments. Trailers for each issue as well as selected segments are downloadable from the Fly website, where the curious can also read the accolades of an impressive range of bona fide fashion-world authorties, from Sweden's ace Bon Magazine to Vogue Italia.

Would That You Wood Wood

Emerge Trends — 2006-10-05T16:32:24Z

When people think of fashion, Denmark is usually not top o' the list, but Copenhagen-based design collective/retail shop Wood Wood is doing their best to change that. Begun in 2002 as a carefully curated clothing concept shop, Wood Wood has evolved into a mini retail empire in Copenhagen and an internationally coveted line of streetwear for men and women with a focus on quality construction and a classier silhouette than your run-of-the-mill baggy jeans and graphic tees.

Preferring the term "street couture", Wood Wood designers Brian SS Jensen, Karl-Oskar Olsen and Magnus Carstensen have been quietly gaining fans among the global style cognoscenti, a campaign which gained a lot of momentum last Spring when they were selected to contribute to Adidas's Adicolor project. With demand on the rise and offers coming in from around the world, Wood Wood are holding their cards close to their chests, focusing on building their line and working with only a select set of shops, including Colette in Paris, I Heart in NYC, Ships in Tokyo, and Dpmhi in London.

It may be hard to find this stuff, but with so many influential creatives checking up on Wood Wood, it's only a matter of time until their ideas find a broader audience as their company grows and other mega-collaborations like Adicolor come along. Needless to say, with Wood Wood's blend of style and quality craftsmanship, it's well worth the hunt.

Vitrine 2006: Antwerp's Fashionable Windows

Emerge Trends — 2006-09-18T19:11:23Z

It was no coincidence that EMERGE's recent trip to Antwerp coincided with Vitrine 2006. Invited to DJ at MoMuLateNite, an evening of DJs and drinks provided by Cointreau's Be Cointreauversial photography exhibition, EMERGE got to be a small part of a really cool annual tradition intending "to put fashion and its many aspects into a different context, thus encouraging a rewarding interaction between fashion and the city surroundings."

While the Mode Museum is an understandable inclusion in any event centering on fashion in Antwerp, the real action in Vitrine takes place out in the streets, where the windows of 95 shops across the city are given over to showcasing works by established designers, fashion students and artists. This year includes contributions ranging from "Andy Warhol: Heroes and Icons" by Josephus Melchior Thimister to "A Magazine #4: Undercover by Jun Takahashi" at the BOX 46 shop, and the "Designers Against AIDS" group show at the skatewear emporium Fish & Chips.

Also included in the program for the first time was a window given over to displaying content from three of the top fashion blogs: A Shaded View, Face Hunter, and The Sartorialist. The window was at Gusto, which happens to have been the first place in Antwerp with free wi-fi.

Other related events tied into Vitrine 2006 included:
"You Wear It Well": a collection of rare films made by some of fashion's most esteemed creatives, including Martin Margiela, Jeremy Scott, Nick Knight/Alexander McQueen, Noki and many more.

An exhibition of photgraphy from 1996-2006 by Marc Lagrange at the Foto Musuem

A very uneven gallery show of 20 up-and-coming artists at the hip '85 Gallery, which was open well past it's 10pm closing night last Friday due to hordes of casually dressed, heavily inebriated hipsters spilling in from the jam packed Cafe SOS next door.

All in all Vitrine seems to have brought to life all aspects of fashion, from the elegant and historical to the sloppy, spontaneous and iconoclastic. Best of all, it was done in a fashion far more accessible to the general public than exclusive events like Fashion Week. To take part you needed only walk down the street.

Walter Van Beirendonck

Emerge Trends — 2006-09-18T16:37:35Z

EMERGE just returned from a quick weekend trip to lovely Antwerp, Belgium which as anybody worth their Martin Margiela and Ann Demeulemeester knows is one of the fashion capitals of Europe. Though we only had one day to really check out the city, a super-cool local took us on a small tour of some of Antwerp's finer designer shops. Our favorite by miles was the eponymous flagship of Walter Van Beirendonck, who is renowned as one of the orignal Antwerp Six alongside Margiela, Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs and Marina Yee.

A graduate of the city's Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Van Beirendonck has been making waves on the far left of the fashion world since he debuted his line in 1983. Renowned for extreme deconstruction and an absurdist sense of whimsy, Walter's clothing became something of the de facto uniform for Beligum's once vibrant New Beat scene, a regional variant of the house and techno music that emerged from Chicago and Detroit in the mid-to-late 1980s and quickly took over clubs the world over. While New Beat may have faded back into obscurity even in it's native Belgium, but Walter is thriving.

Not only a prominent designer in his own right, Walter has been teaching at his alma mater since 1985, helping to groom many of the younger generation of Belgium's fashion design elite. He also designs a childrens collection called ZULUPAPUWA for JBC and serves as Artistic Director for Scaapa Sports while also managing to lend his unique aesthetic to all manner of one off projects, from designing the furniture in his shop (including an 8 meter long reclining teddy bear housing a dressing room as well as display space for his childrens' clothes), to creating a special edition Nissan Micra complete with red scaly protuberances and silver lame seats.

Despite the humorous overtones to all of his work, Van Beirendonck imbues each collection with more serious themes as well, utilizing red thread throughout his collections to emphasize the importance of safe sex for example. Additionally, he gives each collection a weighty theme to serve as counterpoint to his radical designs, naming the current season "Stop Terrorizing Our World" and dubbing previous years "Revolution," and "Respect Rethink React" to name just a couple.

Of the stuff on offer inside the cavernous Walter shop, EMERGE was particularly fond of a necklace designed so that the wearer looks like their throat has been slashed and is gushing bright, plasticky blood. Not for the faint of heart, but as Gordon Hull of Surface To Air says, "Walters work is clever and whimsical in a way that makes me think he knows more than he lets on."

Terror Chic

Emerge Trends — 2006-09-13T13:14:26Z

EMERGE isn't quite sure what to make of a recent photo spread in Vogue Italia by acclaimed fashion lensman Steven Meisel. Splashed over thirty pages of the world's most important arbiter of fashion and style, State Of Emergency resembles a journalistic photo essay about body-armor clad cops and security people helping to make the city a safer place. Instead of familiar-looking bad guys laden with weaponry though, Meisel has placed the sort of supernaturally beautiful models that are his stock in trade into the shots. We see a blond struggling with two policemen as they drag her down the street, a woman pulling on her skirt after a strip search while a german shephard watches, a model lying prostrate on the ground with a riot cop's boot on her throat.

This is not your usual fashion spread, and while the photographs are gorgeously executed, the juxtaposition of fashion and such serious imagery brings up a number of questions. With so many people living in fear of terror attacks is Vogue commenting on the new security state, lampooning the invasive nature of the modern security society, or simply preying on our insecurities to help sell some lovely dresses and lingerie?

Interestingly, much of the online dialogue about the spreads is quite positive, and while several people question the sensitivity of romanticizing the "state of emergency", many more people seem concerned about the gender politics of tough male cops "arresting" sexy women.

What do you think?

Dr. Martens' Freedm

Emerge Trends — 2006-09-08T10:45:14Z

Once the default footwear of youth counterculture, Dr. Martens were beloved by disparate tribes of outsiders, from skinheads to punks to grunge loving coffee shop employees from Seattle. In the early 1990s, the brand went from underground to ubiquitous in shockingly short order before disappearing in a blaze of irrelevance as they abandoned their core design styles and color palette in an attempt to cement their mass appeal.

For the past several years, DM's have been working to muster a comeback, collaborating with a number of underground players, from the roving Vacant guerilla retail experiment, to punk rock fashion designer Keenan Dufty. The results are mixed to be sure, but with stylish celebrities like Bam Margera and the Futureheads all donning DMs in recent press photos and uber-fashionable shops like NYC's Nom De Guerre dressing its mannequins in 10-hole combats (oxblood no less!), perhaps all the effort is starting to pay off.

Just to be sure, Dr Martens are launching Freedm2, a program of limited-attendance music events to be held in Camden's famed Roundhouse, which has added a special 120 seat Freedm room especially for this series. The first event is on September 29 featuring a live performance by dance music stalwarts Xpress 2, a DJ set from Bloc Party as well as performances by Killa Kella, Eclectic Method, Grandad Bob and even a special Stick It On-BYO Records set wherein attendees can all have a go at DJing.

While this London-centric event will obviously do little to resuscitate DMs fortunes in the States, it will be interesting to see if a new generation of hipsters will respond to this obviously concerted attempt at relevancy. In the absence of much of the mod and punk sensibility that initially propelled Dr Martens out of the orthopedic workboot category, is there really an interest in utilitarian chic in today's fashion universe? We shall see.

What's Up With Lupe Fiasco and RBK?

Emerge Trends — 2006-08-28T17:04:15Z

It's been a subject of much discussion in ye olde blogosphere that Lupe Fiasco loves his sneakers. He's been heavily featured on this Summer's touring Sneaker Pimps tour, and long before his first single was getting heavy spins on the radio and MTV he had inked a lucrative deal with Reebok to produce three colorways of his signature "O.G." shoe.

However, keen observers of the kicks scene were perhaps right to think that something was a bit strange about that partnership. Not only are Reebok's not a terribly hot property amongst the footwear cognosenti, but at the press launch for the shoe, Fiasco was quoted as saying the John Lennon "Imagine" All Stars by Converse were his favorites of all time.

Then came a blogland scandal based on rumors that Reebok were deeply upset that the young protoge of Kanye West and Jay Z was playing an event in Chicago sponsored by rival sneaker company Puma. While no official word of any fallout from the alleged flap was ever made public, it nevertheless contributes to a growing sense that perhaps that endorsement deal was not all it was cracked up to be.

Now that Fiasco's EMERGE-approved debut album Food And Liquor is finally slated to come out in mid-September, it's curious that the promo materials such as this poster show the gifted emcee and design-afficionado rocking not Reeboks but still another pair of Chuck Taylors.

What is the deal? EMERGE wants to know.

12 Going On 25: Kids Playing Dress Up

Emerge Trends — 2006-08-11T18:21:27Z

Yesterday's New York Times featured an interesting article on the evolution of teen style. Always a reflection of broader trends in fashion, the teen market is a fascinating microcosm since young people have so few other ways to articulate their individuality such as through their career choices, lifestyles etc. With more and more aspects of kids' lives packed with extracurriculars and so few alternatives to the local mall or multiplex to hang out, personal style is about more than simply looking good. It's a statement of who kids are and who they hope to be.

While the vanity and self-consciousness that imbue the back-to-school wardrobe with totemic importance diminish over time, it's fair to say that young people taking a sincere interest in mature fashion bodes well for the apparel industry. After all, the kids will be grown ups one day and it's unlikely they will return to wearing plaid flannel pajama pants and oversized sweatshirts once they've begun taking their style cues from the Hollywood a-list.

Also fascinating is the article's revelation of the brand-consciousness of today's teen consumers. Not only are they keenly keeping pace with today's fashions, but they are looking for the "right" brands, be they limited run designer collaborations at discount chains like Target (Paul & Joe, Keenan Dufty), or higher end retailers like Bebe.

Certainly not the hardest piece of news the Times has reported recently, but a nonetheless fascinating peek into the changing landscape of American youth.

Bespoke Hats For Hipsters

Emerge Trends — 2006-08-10T17:47:37Z

via The Fader:

NYC hat makers Still Life are best known in downtown circles for a collaboration they did with style blog High Snobiety which resulted in a New Era-style fitted cap and matching t-shirt emblazoned with the witty combination brandname STILL HIGH. But the real meat and potatoes of this bespoke operation aims for a classier (and classic) aesthetic: the headwear of days gone by.

With a look back to the time when no man left home without some sort of hat on his head, be it a fedora with a feather, or an engineers cap or even a Marcus Garvey-style safari hat, Still Life are making contemporary headwear that looks like it came from the world's coolest grandpa's attic. Crafted by hand from materials like leather and houndstooth wool, sueded felt and other rarified textiles, Still Life's collection melds the classic construction of ye olde hats with the wry referentialism of 21st Century style.

What's more, there looks to be a flagship shop coming to the LES soon...

I think it may be time for EMERGE to abandon the comeover and find a cooler way of disguising that pesky baldspot!