Nestled beside an Art Gallery on a typical Parisian street, resides a creative shop like no other. A place where you become the designer and the artist, tailor-making your very own wardrobe from jackets, to sweaters, to shirts, to sneakers. From N°11 Blue Lagoon and N°22 Paradise Pink to flannel jackets and cashmere scarves, you can have your article hand painted in 180g’s  atelier in over 100 rich, nuanced, luminous colors.

Owner and co-founder of 180g, Nicolas Chevalier first came up with the concept during an exhibition for Donna Karan in New York City with a desire to push his art to the next level, to make it dynamic and surprising. His paintings however, ended up on clothing rather than canvas. From there it didn’t take long before the unique pieces were being well received and launched in high-end shops like Isetan in Tokyo & Harrods in London.

From all that, 180grammes was born. A creative boutique that mixes tailor-made clothing and hand-dyed pieces where people can feel truly connected to their clothing. Most may recall 180g and Chevalier’s work on a collaboration with Nike whereby the Tennis Classic, Air Flytop, and Flash were given the 180grammes treatment. The process allowed for the materials on the models to be custom dyed, achieving a tailor-made type of aesthetic with various premium textiles and custom detailing. The result was an array of metallic and earthy monochromes with a slightly worn and unfinished look.

We recently caught up with artist, designer and owner of 180g Nicolas Chevalier, and toured the workshop.

Logos are a love/hate thing. If you’re a lover, the bigger the better, and on every article you own. If you’re the latter, you end up leaving a lot of your favorite labels on the racks and shelves. The Comme des Garcons play logo has become one of the most recognizable and loved for the Japanese brand despite being largely plastered on t-shirts and to a lesser extent, cardigans, polos and coats. Haters can’t resist. Neither can the counterfeiters – just check eBay. This is from way back, but a little history on an influential brand never hurt anybody (we suggest starting with Nike’s iconic swoosh first). From Poland to Japan, Filip Pagowski gave birth to CDG’s iconic logo surprisingly organically after working with CDG on and off for a few years before being discovered by Rei Kawakubo.

“The PLAY logo happened just like that! I remember working on something, while all of a sudden not connected to anything, I got this idea of a red heart with a set of eyes. I drew it instantaneously and the first draft was it. The rest is history.”

Read the rest of the interview here.

Admittedly, the last thing the East Coast needs is a Canada Goose redux for early Spring. Admittedly, there are a lot of options that are not of the Canada Goose variety. Admittedly, there are even more options for a technically sound, aesthetically pleasing coat. Admittedly, we want you to buy Canadian.

This coat is in fact, packed full of Canadian-esque features. From the down-filled body, to the removable down-filled hood, the Polartec fleece, and welt-flapped, zippered handwarmer pockets with fleece lining. Plus it hits a mid thigh which is never a bad thing for rainy days especially if you’re on the West coast. Fortunately/unfortunately there won’t be too many Spring days you’ll actually want to wear anything down-filled, but lucky for us Fall is just around the bend.

Admittedly, people will be going out of their way to avoid Canada Goose for the next few seasons to differentiate and position themselves as a ‘trendsetter/tastemaker’ rather than a follower, and to them we have two thoughts: One, you’re doing yourself a disservice on the warmth front. Two, your trendsetting boyfriend Drake isn’t deterred. But admittedly, I also thought starting a bunch of sentences with that word would work in my literary and comedic favor.

Kyle Ng is taking Farm Tactics to big things in 2010. Beyond the tees and bags, Ng has stepped up to outerwear and more cut and sewns while keeping the same military-workwear aesthetic for his Fall/Winter 10/11 collection. The jacket in the bottom left for instance is made from British Millerian wax canvas, whom outfit the British Military. The rest of the collection feature pieces with an array of materials ranging from pigskin leather, rugged canvas and wool. Another sign of great things to come from this deadstock artist. Check for current Farm Tactics stockists here.

Founded in Osaka in 1998 and now based in Toronto, Creep by Hiroshi Awai is yet another quality Japanese take on classic American workwear.  Here, Awai brings us a tailored, slim cut work jacket in a chalk-striped navy blue.  The jacket has a riveted three-button front with a stand-up collar, and features a hunting-style patch over the right shoulder and assymetrical chest pockets.  One interesting detail is the layered hip pockets with rounded button flap pockets concealing an extra patch pocket underneath.  Available here.

Part of the new Kitsuné golf range, this Blouson jacket is inspired by the classic harrington. We’ve been partial to the look of a classic Baracuta as of late as we prepare for Spring, but there’s something fun about wearing a piece for the course off the course. With the exception of argyle of course. Made from seersucker cotton in a 3-colour gingham, what really sets it off is the Kitsuné golf patch on chest which is something entirely new. We’ve never been ones for big logos, but a small, embroidered patch that’s well designed is really the way to go. Available here.

There are three major reasons why Uniqlo is one of my personal favorite brands. For starters, the Japanese brand’s entire business models rests on the philosophy of providing high quality products, at the lowest cost possible. Through their New York and Tokyo R&D Centers, they invest heavily in collecting and compiling trends found on streets from around the world, then developing stylish apparel under their own label. Secondly, Uniqlo consistently has some of the most brilliant advertising campaigns seen not only in the fashion industry, but in any industry. Thirdly and most importantly, Uniqlo makes great looking clothes. It’s plain and simple, and their newest Spring collection exemplifies the fashion forward, hip look you get when wearing a Uniqlo piece. Slim cuts, unique silhouettes and an overall very modern style are at the heart of it all for the Spring. Available at the Uniqlo shop.

We showed you Penfield’s Spring/Summer collection for 2010 last month, highlighting the re-issue Pac Jac which was the standout piece for the year. We now get a more detailed look at the jacket, first released in the late 1980s. The lightweight trail jacket shell was the brand’s iconic piece of the time; designed to resist wind, chill and rain, it became a huge hit with outdoor enthusiasts and high-profile celebrities – the signature Noel Gallagher (Oasis) look was his Red Pac Jac. Available in Red, Navy or White, the Pac Jac is made of 100% Nylon, packable into a front pocket and features a 35th Anniversary zip pull.

Marc Jacobs‘ designs down the years have always skirted the line between serious fashion and outright playfulness to great effect.  As his career has hit dizzying heights with his own line and his work for Louis Vuitton, often forgotten is the fact that his infamously irreverent “grunge” line for Perry Ellis in 1993 led to his eventual firing and nearly extinguished his career before it really started.  On the flip side, his diffusion Marc by Marc Jacobs men’s line can at times feel a bit trendy and underworked.  However, here he brings us a more discerning design in the form of a motorcycle jacket-inspired sweater.  It comes in a black and white marled knit blend of linen and cotton with an offset zip front featuring black tape trim and a notch collar with silver snaps.  It also features side and front zip pockets as well as zip closures at the sleeve for the full motorcycle effect.  Available here.

While we’ve already shown you the AW 2010 collection, we’re taking a step back to revisit the Spring/Summer 2010 campaign from J. Lindeberg. In typical Lindeberg fashion, the collection bridges the gap between pristine tailoring and active sportswear. Combining lightweight materials with woven/wool structures, lining nylon garments with cotton and introducing waterproof/breathable/3-layer fabrics for dressed garments is a definite advancement in the use of technology for the Scandinavian brand. The suits, however, are the highlight of the collection. The look is energetic and elegant, but is definitely very structured. Shot by Swedish photographer Andreas Sjodin and featuring French model Jeremy Dufor, the lookbook does a great job showcasing this modern look, while keeping all the heritage J. Lindeberg brings to the table.

If you are in or around Vancouver and not waiting in a lineup for the zipline over Robson Square, one of our favorite local BC brands is celebrating the Games in their own way. Just a few blocks from Canada Hockey Place, you’ll find your escape from all things Olympic. Lifetime Clothing have teamed up with One Of a Few, a trendy Gastown boutique, to create a nice pop up shop to feature their newly released SS10 lineup, which we were ranting and raving about last month. Along with the new collection are pieces from a special accessories collab with internationally acclaimed artist, Paul Wong, who’s portraits of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll have been capturing minds since the 1970s. Our friends Annie, Reid and Nick over at Lifetime gave us an inside look at the shop, located at 354 Water Street, in Gastown.

Obviously, Ralph Lauren needs no introduction.  He’s built an empire in his brand that is almost beyond compare with over $5 billion in estimated revenues for 2009 and a personal fortune estimated near $2.8 billion.  In its over 40-year existence, he’s seen his brand, and all of its various offshoots, woven through a myriad of cultures, in and out of vogue, enough to fill far, far more space than we have here.  He created his Black Label brand (positioned just below the Purple Label) in 2005 to cater to the modern man with slimmer silhouettes, higher armholes, and fresh materials.  Born directly from these ideals, his Escape nylon M65-style jacket caught our eye.  It’s “Gehry Grey” (read: silver) weather-resistant main is perfectly offset by the medium brown leather tab details at the collar and sleeves.  It also has a two-way front zip with leather tab leading to a point collar that actually folds into a standing collar using the snap closure.  It’s the perfect marriage of construction and detail, which is what Ralph Lauren, at his best, is really all about.  Available here.