You may have already gotten a look at the full Fall/Winter 2010 collection from A.P.C. last month, but now that they are officially in shops, we’re finally starting to get up close with some of the pieces. Jean Touitou appears to have strayed a little further from the subtle military influence this season and instead favouring a style that’s arguably a little bit more British than French. Plaids, argyles, bow ties and corduroys round out the collection, though we’re particularly fond of the workwear inspired cotton flannel above. Available here.

One of the best things John & Mary’s handcrafted line up of bags is this quote from John Stuart Mill that governs their entire operation, “One must always act so as to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, within reason.” As a rule, they place the utmost importance on functionality and durability and marry it with classic aesthetics from their Los Angeles base. There, they work closely with a small family-owned local factory where production of the canvas-leather bags are handled. Available here.

Parmigiani Fleurier was nice enough to invite us down to Pebble Beach this week to see the release of their newest creation, the latest embodiment of their relationship with legendary car maker, Bugatti. We spent our first day at the Quail, a car show/garden party of sorts… drinking wine and discussing the technicalities of some of the most important cars in the world, which are scattered around us. Events of the day included the release of the latest and last iteration of the Bugatti Veyron, the Super Sport, which among being a cleaner overall design, includes a larger engine and was able to reclaim the fastest production car title again.

Read More

Buying well made and well packaged items should seemingly go well hand in hand even though men’s skincare products often miss the mark. Such is not the case however with Portland General Store’s old-fashioned shave soap formula which they describe as, “It is not a scent for every man – this is a powerfully masculine scent. Elegance, strength, and charisma describe the fragrance of this shaving soap . . . a deep woodsy and amber fragrance with a surprising hint of spice that reveals itself over the hours . . . notes include vetiver, labdanum, vanilla, woods and fruit.” While that all sounds nice and well,  we’re drawn to the the old-fashioned packaging that screams grandpa’s medicine cabinet. Available here.

With roots on London’s historic Jermyn Street at British clothier Turnbull & Asser, the Fayed and Goncalves brothers are bringing the bespoke philosophy to ready-to-wear for the next generation. The brothers decided to try their hand at catering to the offspring of the Turnbull regulars who appreciate old-world craftsmanship on slimmer, more modern cuts. Designed and manufactured in England with materials sourced from British and Italian textile mills, Bespoke combines classic Americana with British mod wit. In a few short seasons, Bespoke‘s take on velvet, herringbone tweed and cashmere for blazers, cardigans and trousers have been well received both at home and on this side of the pond. We managed to catch up with 3 of the 5 that make up Bespoken just as the Fall/Winter 2011 collection is set to drop.

LH: We’ll start with the formalities, who are you, what are your respective rolls and what did you guys do in your previous life?

Paulo Goncalves: I guess you can say we’re a bit of a mixed bag.  There are two set of brothers – James, Sam and Liam who grew up in their family business of Turnbull & Asser in London.  Carlos & myself grew up in NY working in finance and advertising, respectively.  We collectively make it work, and being brothers and all, it keeps us honest despite the occasional headbutting (not in an Noel & Liam Gallagher sort of way). We’re all extremely passionate about this brand and what we do, so its definitely a collaborative effort.

LH: Growing up in and around Turnbull & Asser and given your backgrounds, it seems you could have gone in a variety of different routes and just as easily given up on clothing, so what about clothing makes it so appealing to you guys?

Sam Fayed: Honestly, it was something we could all relate to, born out of a frustration of our own.  Being guys in our 20s & 30s, we felt that its been difficult to find a menswear label that marries fine tailoring & construction with more contemporary fits and styles.  It was through working the sales floor at Turnbull where we were exposed to just how customers reacted & appreciate the quality and details, down to where it’s manufactured.  We thought we would bring this to a younger audience, and along the way, round out our personal wardrobes.

Read More

This isn’t an announcement of Murakami’s interview in Interview Magazine so much as this is an announcement that the magazine has been putting together some terrific interviews as of late. Beyond pop culture icons like Murakami, N.E.R.D., Hiroshi Fujiwara and A.P.C.’s Jean Touitou, they manage to humanize Mike Tyson, and arrange for some colorful interviewers whether it be Tobey Maguire interviewing Kaws or Iggy Pop interviewing Shepard Fairey. Each interview is carefully crafted, creatively executed and well considered. Among the finer quotes delivered from Murakami, “I’m very sad to be compared with Warhol and The Factory, because I have no drugs, you know. We have no drug culture in Japan! Maybe it’s because our attitude toward labor is totally different.” Read this interview and others at Interview Magazine.

Perhaps one of Nike’s most successful running shoe that was surprisingly not designed by Tinker Hatfield, the ’91 Air Pegasus is set for a re-release for the Spring of 2011. With the run of ’89 Air Pegasus’ that were released in a myriad of colors over the past few seasons, including an interesting hybrid with ACG, not to mention a couple of ’83s a couple of years back, it was just a matter of time. While this isn’t the preferred colorway for the purists, here’s hoping this retro release follows suit with the rest of the previous releases with more colorways to come.

It seems fitting that these woven waxed twill rucksacks are being born out of Eugene, OR and Boulder, CO. Inspired by the traditional canoe pack, this one seems right at home in the outdoors. Since their launch in 2009, Archival has quietly been making some top quality pieces utilizing heavy weight waxed cotton twill, Horween Chromexcel leather, solid brass hardware, and military-grade cotton webbing. Trying to utilize as local manufacturing and sources, they take domestic offerings seriously – an effort “t0 help stimulate the domestic market and encourage US manufacturers to expand their offerings.” Here’s hoping you can help them with that. Available here.

As you can see, things have been relatively slow going as of late. That’s not to say we’ve lost interest or passion – quite the contrary. The team is busy behind the scenes with an extremely complex, rebranding and redesign undertaking that is requiring a lot of time and manpower at the moment. We’ll check in every now and again with some new posts below this one, but for now, let this act as PSA. Thank you for stopping by, thank you for your patience and thank you for your kind words.

Vans has been putting together some terrific collaborations with some pretty difficult-to-crack, heritage companies as of late. If you were impressed with the Brooks Saddles Vans Vault that was previewed earlier this month, you’ll be equally impressed with Filson’s trademark canvas and leather on these Sk8-Hi’s. A nice precursor to Filson’s soon-to-be-released black label collection that will be produced and designed in Italy and available only to European markets. Soto Berlin will debut the Vans Vault x Filson Fall 2010 Collaboration with an assortment of other collaborations.

Read More

Bill Amberg is mostly known for his handmade leather bags since has 1984 and recently made some headways with his Selvage Collection for this season. Some may be surprised to discover Amberg’s architectural projects division which offers bespoke service for interior design using leather, whether it be a private residence, commercial property, aeroplane or yacht. Surprising, but fitting. Each design is tailor-made to suit the client’s requirements and each piece is fully fitted by in-house craftsmen. Past notable projects include a vegetable tanned buffalo hide for the world’s biggest sailing yacht; a lightweight, fireproof leather for Lufthansa Technic’s specialist planes and as small as a residential telephone. Or you may have already unknowingly come across Amberg’s interior work already if you’ve ever stopped by Asprey and Claridges in London, the Kakimoto Arms salon in Tokyo or the Burberry in Milan. More information available here.

Read More

It seems only too fitting that Dwell Magazine would create something aptly named an “Architect’s Shirt”. While we couldn’t track down any other previous collaborations involving Dwell, apart from a few sparse pieces of furniture, this one hits the mark in yarn-dyed Japanese organic cotton. Teaming together with Taylor Stitch, a small independent known for its hand cuts and assembly in San Francisco, it looks terrific when paired with a colorful bowtie. Available here.