I love The New York Times for a lot of reasons. I continued to love them even after Jayson Williams ruined it for almost everybody. Aside from the writing, The New York Times is full of good ideas. Case in point: Their One in 8 Million weekly column which follows the passions, problems, relationships, vocations, routines and obsessions of one, fascinating New Yorker. This week is Jesse Villanueva, manager of Alife Rivington Club (A.R.C.). Well beyond just being a sneaker freaker, his passion and dedication are straight up fascinating (describes his shoes as “his car”) and everybody benefits from his love. If you frequent A.R.C. bi-weekly, it’s because of him that there’s always a new pair of sneakers you’ve never seen before. He’s an aficionado, taking care of other aficianados. If you’ve ever taken more time than you should in the morning when deciding on footwear, switched up your footwear a few times a day, or keep more shoes at work so your signficant other won’t find out, you and him have something in common. Listen to Jesse Villanueva speak over these amazing photographs at The New York Times.

It’s not everyday that a clothing brand gets your attention just with a name, but I was intrigued with Naked & Famous denim.  Don’t let the name fool you, N&F denim is actually a simple, low key, no frills company that makes high quality denim without useless embroideries and washes. Instead, they invest their time and money into a quality, old word manufacturing process and apply it to its fine fabrics and modern fits. According to them, they’re obsessed with using the rarest and highest quality of denim straight from Japan. This year they added Japanese Selvedge denim to the collection which forms a clean, natural edge that doesn’t unravel and comes raw. They’ve also got a one-of-a-kind Silk Denim that comes with 30% silk, making the raw denim surprisingly smooth and soft. Best of all, each pair is made ethically and proudly in Canada, but they’ve already made some noise in the U.S. with a 36 pair limited edition collaboration with Soho-based store, Blue in Green.

Take a look here for more info on all the different styles available.

A neat little idea that has come my way from one of our correspondents in Montreal. MuvBox is a former shipping container which has been refitted to house a gourmet kitchen and seating terrace for a local restaurateur. Reminiscent of the Push Button House1 concept from Adam Kalkin we told you about earlier last month, this puts forth the idea of pop-up restaurants that have the potential to travel the world. I just think the potential of this idea is boundless. The ability for it to live relatively ‘rent free’ and therefore economy-proof (to a degree), the ability to travel to different cities during slow periods, the ability to set up shop practically anywhere, and the ability to bring quality food and unique dining experience to more people. It really ups the ante over the gourmet food trucks and Airstreams that popped up around Seattle and New York serving up things like Kobe beef burgers and crème brûlée rather than fries and hot dogs. While this one is not quite on the same level in terms of a gourmet menu, even though it is serving up lobster, the dining experience of MuvBox reminds me of the Mini-branded restaurant that opened in Paris, dubbed the Mini Palais, located in the Grand Palais (get it?). It presented an incredibly unique opportunity for the public to interact with the brand on another level. Inside, the only mention of Mini were subtle elements such as a few Union jacks, MINI fonts, and clocks modeled after MINI gauges. As far as MuvBox goes, this could be a major leap forward in consumer experience as far as restaurants go and paves the way for travelling pop-up stores. For you lovely French speaking people, check out more information here.

Launching officially today, the much anticipated line of products from Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher hits the masses with no excuses. Luckily Liam always had a style and sense of fashion, especially his appreciation of classic British looks that lasted. Known in the day for their ducktail parkas, and generally mod style, this line of clothing isn’t far from the mark.

Mod culture originated in England in the early 60′s as a rejection of everything boring and dull that was going on at the time, music as wide ranging as soul, ska and R&B became popular and a love for french fashion and italian scooters became the norm. It’s influence can still be seen today from brands like Fred Perry and Ben Sherman, while Pretty Green also adds classic straight (not skinny) jeans and Clarks inspired shoes. The site says that everything is limited edition, so if you happen to spot this brand stateside, consider yourself lucky. I think in time, Pretty Greens line will evolve from only sportswear into the inclusion of well tailored, clean cut suits as well, a look that Paul Smith has finely crafted to date, but it should be interesting to see where Liam pushes the brand.

Product views after the jump or check out their website for full info

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Multi-colored check cotton sneakers by Paul Smith. The sneakers are made from a patchwork of various check patterns with a white suede toe and tongue section and white cotton laces. Available here.

Not familiar with the genius of Neil Barrett? Let me break it down for you one time for your mind. Born to a tailoring family in England. First job out of design school was at Gucci in Italy. Approached Miuccia Prada and persuade her to let him launch a Prada menswear line. Started his own label in 1999. His brand is the absolute perfect blend of traditional English tailoring with sharp Italian lines. His stuff fits me perfectly, the length, the width, sleeve length, everything. I only wish his stuff went on sale more often. The shirt above is straight up cotton with a narrow collar and a trompe l’oeil blue striped tie printed on the front. Available here.

These remind me so much of my beloved, classic checkered Van’s slip on’s I had to write about them. I really like the classic Van’s slip on’s, they’re cheap, they get better with age, you can wear them without socks (sometimes) and they’re comfortable. The only hang up I have with them is that it’s hard to find the right socks to match up with them. For these, Tokyo based designer Alexander Lee Chang worked with Vans Japan to create the Sk8 Hi sneaker, taking the classic shape and applying patent leather to one side of it and the classic check on the other half. Releasing soon here.

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I recently started listening to College Dropout again and (true story), was wondering why a video for this never came out. At first I thought maybe they had but I had never seen it, just like Two Words which never got played because the video was styled too much like a TV show and the content never got approved by some music video stations. At last, it’s out, and it’s good. Originally directed by Kanye West 4 years ago, he wasn’t happy with it at the time, but has since changed his mind and allowed GLC to release it.

Our boy Maestro is at it again, this time he’s travelling and making short work of a few cities!

Something completely unexpected from Lexus, but perhaps we were given a glimpse of what could be possible with the recent Lexus IS-F model. Arguably, Lexus is taking a big leap into the exotic sports car market with this LF-A and LF-A roadster concept vehicle. Peep the pictures, you’ll see there are some hints of Nissan’s Z, Infiniti’s G Coupe and some hints of Italian styling like the vents and rear exhaust. Check out all the pictures here.

Nike SB is out with another quickstrike model for June following up on their Nike Dunk Hi SB “Wet Floor”. Here we have the Dunk Low SB “Beijing” in a purple/aqua colorway set to be released soon. This has me thinking, is it just a coincidence the “Wet Floor” was followed by the “Beijing” which, incidentally are the same colors as the Water Cube at the Beijing Olympics?

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The good people at Knoll have finally figured out what a proper desk chair is all about, that there isn’t one proper way to sit. They have actually researched and identified that the human body likes to move and sit in different positions, it’s better for your muscles, blood flow and ultimately your level of production. 

This chair works when it’s sat in regularly, sideways or backwards (Zack Morris style). Knoll has also created the chair in an environmentally friendly way, using as much recycled material as possible.

Check the chair out at Knoll, more pictures after the jump.

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