A neat duffle bag emerged at the 2009 ESPY Awards. Reminiscent of the bags from Killspencer, who reuse military truck tarps to do a collection, UNDEFEATED along with EA SPORTS, has designed this military sport duffle bag exclusively for the 2009 ESPY Awards, and is only available to those who have sacrificed many hours becoming the athlete and person they are today. The bag is made from heavy canvas like those of the military, and features a thick adjustable canvas strap for comfort, and a heavy toggle opening to keep athletic equipment and everyday sports gear securely in place. Imprinted on the inner opening of each bag are the words “SPORT IS WAR,” reminding athletes to take no mercy, and play to win. Keep an eye out for these bags on the website or at the La Brea store word is there are a couple left over. No one can confirm how much they will be, or what UNDFTD is going to do with them as of yet.

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There hasn’t been a day that hasn’t gone by where we haven’t checked out Scott Schuman’s The Satorialist blog. From the streets of New York to the Interwebz to hands worldwide, here comes the book. The New York Times calls his site the bellwether American site that’s turned photo blogging into an art form. Having previously worked in the fashion industry for 15 years Scott started the blog in 2005 wanting to take pictures and showcase ordinary people in the way fashion photographers took pictures of models to inspired himself and others. Starting in New York Scott has since been traveling the world taking pictures of ordinary and not so ordinary subjects in Rio, Paris, Stockholm, London and Milan. Now the latest step in his labor of love is the soon to be released paperback that features a compilation of Scott’s favorite shots of famous fashion figures and anonymous faces he meets on the streets around the world. The book is available to pre-order on Amazon. It comes out August 12th in the US, and worldwide by early September.

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Lance Armstrong said that the Tour de France doesn’t really start until one reaches The Alps. As the Tour rolls upwards, so to it do the artistic bikes for Armstrong. Last week we showed a preview of the Lance Armstrong x Trek x Damien Hirst bike, already joining the ranks Futura, KAWS, Shepard Fairey, Kenny Scharf and Marc Newson, but here’s a closer look at Yoshimoto Nara’s creation. We did some research on Nara since we weren’t familiar with his work: Famous Japanese pop artist, studied in Japan and Germany, known for cartoonish, pastel-hued children and animals often brandishing flames, knives or other weapons. If you’ve missed any of the other artist bikes, we’ve compiled them all after the jump.

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Out of the ashes of the Busy Work Shop is born the new BAPE store London on Upper James Street. The store officially opened on Saturday, July 18th with Nigo and Pharrell in tow. Hundreds of fans lined up around the block for the event to be able to get up close and personal with Nigo and Pharrell and maybe pick up one of the four commemorative t-shirts specially made for the opening. The London boutique all BAPE with a minimalistic interior and the front window features a custom Union Jack neon BAPE logo and will obviously carry all of BAPE’s gear.

BAPE – London
4 Upper James Street
London W1F 9DG

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Seattle-based Filson might just have one of the best and smartest collaborations of the season combining one of the best cut & sewn bags with a good cause. The Filson + Apolis Philanthropist Briefcase comes from Apolis Activism’s desire to connect the hands that make a product to the hands that wear a product. Founded by the Parton brothers basing their production model on empowering people through opportunity instead of charity. The 17.5 oz rugged Ugandan canvas was sourced through the nonprofit organization – Invisible Children. Their Ugandan cotton initiative is working to rebuild Uganda’s textile industry by impacting the whole supply chain – farmer to manufacturer. Each briefcase is cut and sewn by the iconic 100 year old Seattle brand – CC Filson Co., using their heritage hardware and finishing passed down from generation to generation. This is Filson’s first official collaboration, limited run of 200 units numbered sequentially.

Ben Thomson, VP International Development of Invisible Children explains:

“Apolis is on the forefront of an era of new philanthropy by integrating sustainable development into their supply chain and bringing a whole new meaning to corporate social responsibility. The line between development and business is becoming blurry and consumers are beginning to see their role as they demand to know how, who and where their products are made.”

Read the entire story here. Order the bag here.

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Photographing duo Reed & Rader shot their creepy Clown editorial exclusively for Spiral blog, adding a little something extra to the mix by making model Paul Pavlovska’s eyes and mouth move ever so slightly in each shot. I might be slightly biased because, well, I really hate clowns, but it’s not the first time the collaborative photographer duo of Pamela Reed and Matther Rader have explored the moving image editorial. In fact they’re stuff gets much, much creepier, with models standing listlessly, swaying and gazing at out at the viewer, (think along the lines of the little demon child from the ring.) It remains nonetheless quite a novel approach to fashion editorials, pointing to the continued change in the way photography is approached and executed.

The Brooklyn based pair have actually been exploring the possibilities for some time. Having met 6 years ago at an art school in Pittsburgh, they decided to officially join forces after moving to New York City a few years later. Of their continued inspiration they have said : “Technology is changing the world by consolidating everything into pseudo-hybrid spinoffs and totally new ideas of what they once were. This is what excites us.”

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Here’s a quick recap of the opening festivities that were held for the STAGES Exhibition last week at the Emmanuel Perrotin Gallery in Paris. The same gallery Pharrell has been dropping his art (his latest, with Murakami and back in January, his “Perspective” exhibition) as of late. The event by Nike and LIVESTRONG to raise cancer awareness and to celebrate Lance Armstrong’s return to the Tour de France. The show features a dozens of artists such as Cai Guo-Qiang, Rosson Crow, Jules De Balincourt, Dzine, Shepard Fairey, Andreas Gursky, Kaws, Geoff McFetridge, Yoshitomo Nara, Catherine Opie, José Parla, Raymond Pettibon, Lari Pittman, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha, Tom Sachs, Kenny Scharf, Eric White, Christopher Wool, JR, Aaron Young. All the works from the exhibition will be auctioned off with proceeds going to the LIVESTRONG – Lance Armstrong Foundation. The show opened this past weekend and runs through August 8th, 2009.

See rest of the pictures taken by our man Karl Hab holding it down in Paris.

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Don’t call it a backpack, it’s a rucksack. Porter’s Sportive collection sees a light departure from the usual materials in favor of durable canvas (think Filson) and leather (think Filson). We’re finding it more and more difficult to find backpacks, not rucksacks, that heir on the side of formal like this one. While we like packs to go with sneakers, sometimes we just don’t want to go with a duffle or hold-all when we’re going with boaters. It has all the usual zip pockets and compartments for all your toys and lends itself to your favorite Fall attire. Definitely more of a day pack, this outdoorsy/military-inspired bag is oddly reminscent of an old book bag and because it’s Porter, you know it’ll withstand the times just like your favorite bags from Mountain Equipment Co-Op, albiet, 3-4 times the cost. No word on a drop date, price, or shop location yet.

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Here’s a preview of Cre8tive Recreation‘s Italian Collection due out in the Fall. The obvious dope feature is the removable upper with a zipper. We’ve been fans of Orange County’s Cre8tive Recreation for a long time who are considered a sort of a pioneer in the footwear industry. Back in ’02 the brand was vigilant and saw that there was a real lack of stylish sporty footwear for the young professional. At the time, all you could find were dress shoes that had to be worn with suits or sneakers that couldn’t be worn formally.  Following the creative boom of the last few years the young footwear company decided to change the status quo and offer a variety of stylish sneakers and hasn’t looked back since. Foregoing the sometimes bright colorways, these pieces from the Fall collection are a slight departure in terms of silhouettes, while maintaining the simplicity in materials and understated design. Definitely more on the formal side of sneakers.

(Thanks Nick!)

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One of the best parts about riding is the essential clothing and gear. Following up on the success of its previous version, Triumph is launching a new version of its Lawford jacket. The Lawford Black will keep its styling and features from the previous model made from soft, oil washed cowhide, the natural finished hides used make it so that every piece is different thus unique. Other features include antique silver finished snaps and zippers but with a touch of the modern with laser etched arm ‘world’ patch and thermal ‘camo-print’ removable vest lining.  On the more practical side, the jacket has CE approved protectors for the shoulders and elbows and double impact seam stitching. We for one, really appreciate the timelessness of it all.

We finally got around to checking out the entire Fall/Winter 2009 collection from Vancouver’s own Wings + Horns. For a relatively small brand, they’ve been making some huge gains in popularity as of late with their attention to detail and use of high quality materials. We can’t quite put our finger on it, maybe it’s the use of flannel and wool, the handknit sweaters, the cotton-cashmere shirts or the military-inspired coats, that scream West Coast Canada to us. Most notably, we’re really feeling that varsity jacket (above) -  The Melton Wool Award Jacket. All in all, they’ve released some solid staples worthy of any wardrobe along with some accessories to keep you warm over the harsh winter. The line is set to release at the end of the month at Roden Gray.

More pics after the jump.

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