Category Archives: CULTURE

Black Scale (Silence is Illegal) Lookbook

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Black Scale presents its “Silence is Illegal” lookbook. Unfortunately little is known of its specifics, however the accompanying images depict two leather and fabric caps adorned with the words “SILENCE” and “ILLEGAL, as well as what seems to be a scarf wrapped around the models faces. Be sure to check back soon as additional details will likely come to light very soon.

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Gothic.

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Snap!

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Kid Cudi to Star in ‘Need for Speed’ Film

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Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi has joined Aaron Paul in DreamWorks’ adaptation of the Electronic Arts video game Need for Speed. Also starring in the film are Ramon Rodriguez, Rami Malek and Harrison Gilbertson.

Dominic Cooper and Imogen Poots are in charge of the production, and the film has been dated for release on February 7th, 2014. The story sees Aaron Paul play a local street racer who, after being framed for the death of a friend, joins a New York-to-Los Angeles race to get revenge.

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Optical Glass House by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP // Hiroshima, Japan.

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Project description

This house is sited among tall buildings in downtown Hiroshima, overlooking a street with many passing cars and trams. To obtain privacy and tranquility in these surroundings, we placed a garden and optical glass façade on the street side of the house. The garden is visible from all rooms, and the serene soundless scenery of the passing cars and trams imparts richness to life in the house. Sunlight from the east, refracting through the glass, creates beautiful light patterns. Rain striking the water-basin skylight manifests water patterns on the entrance floor. Filtered light through the garden trees flickers on the living room floor, and a super lightweight curtain of sputter-coated metal dances in the wind. Although located downtown in a city, the house enables residents to enjoy the changing light and city moods, as the day passes, and live in awareness of the changing seasons.

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Optical Glass Façade

A façade of some 6,000 pure-glass blocks (50mm x 235mm x 50mm) was employed. The pure-glass blocks, with their large mass-per-unit area, effectively shut out sound and enable the creation of an open, clearly articulated garden that admits the city scenery. To realize such a façade, glass casting was employed to produce glass of extremely high transparency from borosilicate, the raw material for optical glass. The casting process was exceedingly difficult, for it required both slow cooling to remove residual stress from within the glass, and high dimensional accuracy. Even then, however, the glass retained micro-level surface asperities, but we actively welcomed this effect, for it would produce unexpected optical illusions in the interior space.

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Waterfall

So large was the 8.6m x 8.6m façade, it could not stand independently if constructed by laying rows of glass blocks a mere 50mm deep. We therefore punctured the glass blocks with holes and strung them on 75 stainless steel bolts suspended from the beam above the façade. Such a structure would be vulnerable to lateral stress, however, so along with the glass blocks, we also strung on stainless steel flat bars (40mm x 4mm) at 10 centimeter intervals. The flat bar is seated within the 50mm-thick glass block to render it invisible, and thus a uniform 6mm sealing joint between the glass blocks was achieved. The result?—a transparent façade when seen from either the garden or the street. The façade appears like a waterfall flowing downward, scattering light and filling the air with freshness.

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Captions

The glass block façade weighs around 13 tons. The supporting beam, if constructed of concrete, would therefore be of massive size. Employing steel frame reinforced concrete, we pre-tensioned the steel beam and gave it an upward camber. Then, after giving it the load of the façade, we cast concrete around the beam and, in this way, minimized its size.

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Stussy Japan x Vans Sk8-Hi: Year of the Snake

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The “Year of the Snake” Sk8-Hi features a canvas snakeskin upper, accented with a red Jazz Stripe along the side. Additionally, black laces, a gum rubber outsole, white rubber foxing and custom detailing at the heel and tongue complete the shoe. Look for the “Year of the Snake” Sk8-Hi at select Stussy Japan stockists in the coming season.

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GENSOUNDS 2013 by Mick Boogie

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1) Niki & The Dove: Somebody (Miike Snow Remix)
2) Azealia Banks: Van Vogue
3) Jessie Ware: Wildest Moments (T. Williams Remix)
4) The Weeknd: Coming Down (Chi Duly Remix)
5) Hanni El Katib: Human Fly
6) Contrakids: We Go, You Go
7) Chromatics: Cherry
8) Nicolas Jaar: Angles
9) Purple Crush: Loverboy (Daisy O’Dell Remix)
10) Lovelife: Tonight (We’re Taking Our Own Lives)
11) Kimbra: Posse (Strangers Remix)
12) Amtrac: Money
13) Yonas Michael: Oochie Wally
14) Super Helpful f/ Joey Bada$$: Lawns
15) Troy Ave f/ Pusha T: Concrete Jungle
16) A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar and Joey Bada$$: 1 Train
17) Lord Huron: Into The Sun (Teen Daze Remix)
18) XXYYXX: Set It Off
19) OnCue: Cereal
20) Trinidad James: Females Welcomed
21) Tanya Morgan: Gatekeepers
22) Muzik Jones Drew: Believers

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Myspace Unveils Next Generation Redesign

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Expertly synced with the release of Justin Timberlake‘s groovy new hit “Suit & Tie,” Myspace has unveiled its newest redesign to the public today. Prior to this, the new version of the website was only available to select beta entrants, but today has been opened for mass registration. Skepticism of the website’s potential success first arose upon the release of a promotional trailer in September 2012, when details of Timberlake and Specific Media’s joint purchase came to the spotlight. Adding a social aspect to music seems to be the key focus in this version of the site. The front page of the new Myspace plays home, at least for now, to access of Timberlake’s newest single, providing added incentive for users to sign up. If there is room for a new reigning social media network, the space will be created by Myspace in the coming months. Only time can tell.

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Gradients.

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A Closer Look at Street Goth Style

A Closer Look at Street Goth Style

While 2012 brought many trends we’ve since grown tired of, the Year of the Dragon also brought a few that we’re just now starting to really take notice of. Among these is the emerging and most likeley soon-to-be-mainstream street or ghetto goth look propelled to the forefront by rappers like A$AP Rocky. Other rappers and celebrities have incorporated various parts of the look, too, thanks to recent pieces by designers like Raf Simons and Rick Owens.

In short, the style consists of dark, minimalist clothing cut in modern ways and finished with premium materials like leather. References to past styles are common too, most notably late 80s/early 90s hip-hop and grunge. However, since there’s a bit more to it than that we’ve decided to take a closer look at the individual pieces that make up the style. Take a look below for a thorough dissection of the unique look.

 

A Closer Look at Street Goth Style

For simplicity’s sake we’ll begin from the top down. First up then is the head. While it’s not necessary to top the head with anything at all, caps and beanies are often worn and are almost exclusively black. White lettering of varying size and font are typical features, which isn’t surprising given the look’s simplistic color scheme. An interesting feature of embroidered caps and beanies though, is the cryptic lettering used like on BLVCK SCVLE’s x A$AP Rocky’s VSVP strapback. The “V”s clearly represent “A”s but the dot above both “V”s creates an aesthetic unknowable to those outside the proverbial sphere.

As mentioned earlier, leather is a common material used throughout the look and often makes an appearance on caps. The unmistakable sheen of real, premium leather adds a layer of texture that cotton simply can’t. Thus, leather black caps with or without lettering are a common addition.

A Closer Look at Street Goth Style

Next up are jackets which end up playing just one layer in the different types of tops used throughout the style. The F/W 12 Varsity Jacket from Alexander Wang is a great example with its leather sleeves and clean silhouette. When fitted correctly, the jacket stops right where the torso ends allowing for extra layers to appear from underneath.

Simple, black hoodies are common as well, allowing for easy and visible layering. All different styles are applicable from classic zip-up hoodies to edgy sleeveless ones.

Drapey coats are another option which, while long and flowing, tend to be slim and fitted. Tyson Chandler is a big proponent of these and can often be spotted wearing something or another from Rick Owens. The superstar basketball player even let on that, “the most dramatic pieces in my wardrobe would be capes. I wouldn’t consider myself Goth, but I love Gothic pieces.”

A Closer Look at Street Goth Style

Below the jacket, an oversized black t-shirt is common as are t-shirts with religious iconography. En Noir is a heavy hitter in this department with garments favored by Pusha Tand Big Sean among many others. In both cases, t-shirts tend to extend past the waist creating the illusion of a longer torso. On the other hand, it’s not uncommon to sport a slightly shorter t-shirt with another layer underneath. Rick Owens has practically made the oversized white t-shirt a signature of his, once again messing with proportion and the illusion of layers.

The grunge staple of tying a shirt around the waist is a common feature, too, covered at least partially by the layer above. Fear of God Los Angeles has a solid grip on the throwback style while infusing it with a contemporary edge for the ghetto goths of 2013.

A Closer Look at Street Goth Style

Heading below the belt we arrive at the legs. Slim, black bottoms are common in most outfits as are looser bottoms made of other materials. With a non-leather top, fitted leather pants or waxed denim jeans are often chosen for their natural luster. The result is an outfit that, while mostly one color, takes advantage of each fabric’s unique properties. Throughout 2012 Kanye West could be spotted wearing unisex leather bottoms from En Noir and even wore them in the music video “Birthday Song”.

For waxed denim, both Balenciaga and Balmain released pairs that were quickly adopted by sartorialists of all types. For something a bit more relaxed and of a different material, Lanvinoffers cotton lounge pants that come tapered at the ankle for that contemporary street goth look.

A Closer Look at Street Goth Style

Last but certainly not least are the shoes. There’s a bit more flexibility here although thick hi-tops are usually favored. These days even high-end designers are rolling out sneakers with brands like Lanvin and Margiela leading the way. Of course classic streetwear and basketball hi-tops are an option too, especially vintage adidas and all-black Air Force 1s. Air Jordan IV’sare no stranger to the look either and have ended up on the feet of countless celebrities since their release.

So to sum up, the look combines the dark aesthetics of contemporary gothic fashion with the attitude and design of past music movements. Hints of late 80s and early 90s hip-hop can be seen as can traces of the Pacific Northwest’s grunge scene. With high-end fashion designers blurring the line between the streets and the runway, it’s not surprising to see the trend being adopted by musicians and athletes. To put together your own outfit check out what our dashing editor Fritz Radtke has come up with.

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OriginalFake KAWS Boba Fett Companion Tokyo Exclusive

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Boba Fett, is the subject of the latest KAWS Companion release from OriginalFake. This has been a first figurine in a while that’s got me excited. The collaborative figure is due to be available in limited quantities in Japan as an OriginalFake Tokyo exclusive on January 26.

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Snap!

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Satans Ride.

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Danny Way: WAITING FOR LIGHTNING Movie

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The Danny Way documentary “Waiting For Lightning” came out last December 7th, 2012 and I finally got to watch it last night. It’s an inspiration to see Danny’s ride to the top and his constant drive to push new boundaries.

“WAITING FOR LIGHTNING” is the inspirational story of visionary skateboarder Danny Way. The film follows the journey of a young boy from a broken home in Vista, CA, whose passion for skateboarding would one day bring him fame and a lifetime of accomplishments.

From the producers of “ACT OF VALOR”, “STEP INTO LIQUID” and “DUST TO GLORY” comes “WAITING FOR LIGHTNING”, a Bandito Brothers production in association with DC Shoes, directed by Jacob Rosenberg, written by Bret Anthony Johnston, edited by Carol Martori and produced by Max Leitman, Darryl Franklin, Jacob Rosenberg and Hana Ripperger-Suhler. The film features interviews with Travis Pastrana, Laird Hamilton, Rodney Mullen, Mat Hoffman, Ken Block, Rob Dyrdek and Tony Hawk.

WATCH THE MOVIE ONLINE HERE

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Four-cornered Villa by Avanto Architects

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The site is situated on a horseshoe shaped island and faces north and east. The cross like shape of this simple villa reaches towards four very different views. There is no one and only direction on the site as usually, but you can see lake in three directions and you have a nice forest view to the west. You get morning light at the breakfast table, midday in dining room and evening in sitting room. There is no direct sunlight in the bedroom so you don’t need curtains. Terraces are covered to prevent the hot summer sun overheating the building but allowing passive solar energy in the winter.

You can open the double doors to the terraces so that the limit of interior and exterior disappears. The space is open and defined at the same time. The exterior is treated all black to contrast the interior, which is very light. Dark color makes the building disappear totally when seen from the lake. The roof is flat – there is some warm irony to the clichés of modern architecture.

The basic idea is to provide an example of sustainable cottage in contrast to normal Finnish cottages that are heated all year round with electricity to prevent water pipes from freezing. The building is insulated well and heated by wood from own forest only resulting in a carbon neutral building. There is no running water and the electricity is provided by the sun. Vegetables and herbs are cultivated on site and the Vaskivesi Lake is known as a good place to catch pike-perch. The simple and ascetic life at the countryside differs dramatically from the hectic city life and provides a possibility to live a life with a minimum impact to the nature.

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Illustrations by Gilles Vranckx

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Great illustrations by Gilles Vranckx, an artist based in Brussells, Belgium.

“Gilles Vranckx was born with a pencil in hand. He studied graphic design, animation and comic art. His influences range from Ashley wood, Kent Williams, Mike Allred, to Rene Gruau, Edward Hopper and old 50′-60′ ads.”

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Kid Cudi

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Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), better known by his stage name Kid Cudi is an American alternative hip hop recording artist, singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer and actor from Cleveland, Ohio.

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Vans OTW 2013 Spring Alomar

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The Alomar from Vans OTW returns for Spring 2013 with the in-house “Basic” pack. In green, black, red and white colorways, the pack includes canvas uppers and leather heel counters alongside tonal eyelets, mesh lining and white rubber foxing coupled with matching laces. Additionally, the blacked-out edition of the lifestyle high-top incorporates pigskin suede throughout for an added premium touch.

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Snap!

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Stussy Japan x Marley Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend

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Established by Bob Marley‘s son Rohan and based in Kingston, Jamaica’s Marley Coffee has released a collaborative package of its Blue Mountain Blend alongside Stussy Japan. Long believed to be some of the highest quality coffee in the world, Marley Coffee’s Blue Mountain Blend is a medium artisan roast that is sustainably grown and ethically farmed on a private 52-acre estate at the peak of Chepstowe, Portland’s Blue Mountains on the Caribbean island. Packaged in a miniature wooden keg with collaborative branding appearing throughout, the Stussy Japan x Marley Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend is now available online and in-store at Stussy Japan chapters for ¥2,625 JPY (approximately $30 USD).

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