Hearing about an international boutique for kicks can ring in the ears like a beautiful melody for cool and fresh shoe fanatics. But what happens when you bring together an inspiring English boutique, and an all-American classic, yet again? Clean Crafted. It is the latest collaborative work created by the combined talents of Offspring and Converse. This isn’t the first time they have joined forces. Previously Converse and Offspring have teamed up to create the Converse All Star Hi 2 Strap and the Converse Parachute Pack.

Photo by: Frankie Batista

Produced by: Dan Hwang
Written and Interviewed by: Jesse Carr

Mayer Hawthorne sounds and looks like an anachronism, and in today’s over-crowded instant-share, instant-listen, instant-forget music scene, that’s a rare quality. Hawthorne’s throwback arrangements are completed without samples and he sometimes uses recording techniques like crooning his lyrics through headphones to add some old time grit to the vocals. But, as scores of small labels can attest to, attention to detail insures neither  success nor notoriety. So Hawthorne’s appeal must be a testament to something greater than geeky recording techniques or music lessons that help him strum the guitar and get the right tone on a rim shot. He’s got the swagger of an urban pop star without resembling anything remotely close to it. Instead of black Dior shades, he dons large, retro-inspired spectacles. Instead of a Louis Vuitton monogrammed scarf over a black leather coat, he keeps it classic with a houndstooth blazer and bird-in-hand knot on a tie. So, while making music reminiscent of another time and place, he’s also pulls off a look and feel to match.

Chinese heritage footwear company, Feiyue pursues to join the worlds of fashion and art, as visibly clear to audiences in their collections and marketing campaigns. The Feiyue sneaker becomes the slate for artists to deploy their creative expressions. Feiyue invited Parisian graffiti artist/entrepreneur/dictator of “after hours cool” André to create the FE-LO sneakers. The new FE-LO features a clean white surface and accenting with André’s iconic pink and “Mr. A”. André takes further steps in designing FE-LO, by incorporating his vision of Paris with inspiration from comics he read as a child, as well as psychedelic imagery from the sixties and seventies, to illustrate the shoebox and the sole of each Feiyue x André model.

Produced by: Dan Hwang
Written by: Poe

“Kat-cha”, a crisp sound with a bit of lingering aftereffect, it is a sound all too familiar to photographers around the world.  Never mind the change in format, the adaptation of new technologies and replacement of old.  The sound of the shutter is that of a miniature time machine, a frozen moment in time where light glanced off an object, inanimate or not.  Hence, the self-described nickname to professional photographers, the lightstalkers.  In Freshness’ continuing series, Fresh & Creative, we visited one such artist, Dorothy Hong, in New York City.

As PDN’s 30 Emerging Photographers in 2007 and one of the official photographer for Nike in New York City, Hong is quite identifiable, since she’s usually the petite photographer logging around a massive bag of camera gears.  A factor, she is the first to admit, that there will be shots she can’t capture, like a recent brawl during Fashion’s Night Out in SoHo.  Stature aside, however, Hong makes up with her focus and keen awareness.  If you have the opportunity to shadow her during assignment, you will immediately realize her attention range goes beyond the subjects themselves, but the image as a whole, almost like a freeze frame on a 35mm film.  Perhaps it was her 4-year stint, from 2003 to 2007, as Photo Coordinator at Fader Magazine. Or maybe because Hong belongs to that generation of photographer, the first to have truly ideal digital photography gears at their disposable yet well versed in analog methods. On this point was where our conversation started off…

Its original pretense was so simple – extending store hours along with additional incentives, all as remedies to shore up the weakening retail sector in New York City. However a season later, Fashion’s Night Out, the idea first facilitated by Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief, the legendary Anna Wintour, is now a global event, with 16 nations participating.

On ward with less than 24 hours to go, New York City will kick off its Fashion’s Night Out. With over 1,300 festivities to take place within a 5-hour time slot, its by far the largest and unfortunately, the most complex. Because none of us have doppelgangers or knew of a secret ninjutsu for body duplicity, Freshness complied a list of interesting and fitting events to take place tomorrow evening. Be it meeting Mr. Pharrell Williams at BBC/Ice Cream store in SoHo, greet designers Marcus Wainwright and David Neville from Rag & Bone, to exclusive deals and sipping champagne as the evening pass, the choices are endless. The only thing left is the decision you make. Remember, the choice is yours, but at the end of it, just have fun and enjoy.

Produced by: Dan Hwang
Written and Interviewed by: Jesse Carr

The 28 year-old Montreal native, A-Trak, is no stranger to being in the public eye. After he won the DMC World Championship DJ battle in 1997 at the age of 15, he found himself on tour with the world’s best scratch DJs, including Q-Bert and DJ Craze. In 2004, after a steady regimen of international appearances where he dazzled onlookers with complex scratching and beat juggling routines, A-Trak found himself in London DJing at a place where Kanye West made an appearance. West hired him immediately, and A-Trak worked closely with Kanye for the next four years. He did the cuts on “Gold Digger” and has said in interviews that he was the one who suggested using “Harder Better Faster Stronger” as a sample source, which became the backdrop for Kanye’s monster single, “Stronger.”

In 2007, A-Trak directed his time and energy into a new record label, along with Nick Barat (also known as Nick Catchdubs). The two began Fool’s Gold, a label that later launched the careers of Kid Cudi and Kid Sister and is the home to cutting-edge artists of multiple genres and styles. And beyond his duties at the label, A-Trak is still globetrotting and doing festivals and stadium gigs to thronging audiences, including a brief tour this year with Blink 182’s Travis Barker.

A-Trak’s DJing style is hard to pin down into a simple category. Before the term “mash up” was tossed around aimlessly by music journalists and before DJ Hero was released, A-Trak was experimenting with mixing genres in his sets. A-Trak developed a signature style for his routines, including dj battle segments like flipping Little Wayne’s “Go DJ” into a double-time electronic track in the middle of a set. He also became one of the best at classy blends that didn’t sound kitschy, even when combining songs with similar titles like Rick Ross’ “Hustlin” with Simian Mobile Disco’s “Hustler” on his 2007 mixtape called Dirty South Dance. At the time, hearing another blend from the mixtape—Gwen Stephanie’s “Yummy” over LCD Soundsystem’s “Time to Get Away”—may have shocked some people, but pop music now pulsates with an unmistakable electronic thump that you will probably hear the moment you switch on your local “urban” music station.

Saturday, June 26th, 2010 marked the opening of the highly anticipated CLOT x Disney Man Is In The Forest pop-up concept store in Shanghai, China. The collaboration concept store is the first of it’s kind and will house various Disney collaboration products with the brands and artists from all over the world including CLOT, ANTIPAST, Bounty Hunter, Cassette Playa, Charlotte Tarantola, devilrobots, Dr. Romanelli, Han Cholo, Hysteric Mini, Johnathan Saunders, Milkfed, Secret Base, Campana Bros and WHIZ Limited.

Man Is In The Forest opened it’s doors today to the delight of a number of fans who lined up outside of the store starting last night. The store officially opened for business when the ceremonious ribbon was cut by CLOT co-founders Edison Chen and Kevin Poon who were joined by Disney’s Lester Lee and Gunther Hake, and Kazuki Kuraishi and Madasaki Tsuchiya. Invited guests who included a number of Chinese and Hong Kong celebrities and influencers were treated to Mickey Mouse and CLOT themed cupcakes and Vitamin Water.

When asked to speak on the store CLOT’s Edison Chen had this to say, “To work with Disney is a dream come true – I have been a fan since I was young and it has followed into my life to now with Toy Story and the upcoming release of TRON Legacy. Being able to work with this whole magical kingdom of Disney and to educate and present them is an honor and I hope what we’re doing now is in line with the high standard that Disney holds”, Kevin Poon added that “We are excited about the launch of this unique retail concept in Shanghai. Man Is In the Forest is such a exclusive offering and the only place in the world that will house all of these iconic designers. CLOT has always been inspired by the enduring legacy of Walt Disney – we’re confident that consumers everywhere will be eager to come and check out such a complete offering.”

The store is now open and consumers can find a strong collection of products inspired by the new Toy Story 3 movie which is currently breaking records at the box office. Also available are the CLOT x Dr. Romanelli x Disney denim jackets, one of which Edison Chen wore during the opening. Other products currently available are various CLOT x Disney graphic t-shirts in both Men’s and Women’s sizes as well as Disney Couture jewelry. Be sure to stay tuned to Freshness for all of the Man is in the Forest coverage including a feature interview.

Man Is In The Forest
897 Julu Road | Map
Shanghai, China

28 years later, 1982 science fiction hit film, Tron, is finally coming back with sequel, Tron: Legacy, officially making the series one with the longest gap between the first live-action movie and its sequel in Hollywood history. In the upcoming Disney hit film, Tron: Legacy picks up years after where the film left off, as Kevin Flynn’s now adult son, Sam Flynn looks into his father’s disappearance into a world of fearsome programs and gladiatorial games, which his father has been residing in for the past 25 years. To celebrate the film’s high anticipated release, Disney has announced a collaboration with snowboarding goods maker, Burton, to create a pair of “Tron” Snowboard Boots.

Produced by: Dan Hwang
Written and Interviewed by: Jesse Carr

The music business has a well-chronicled history of roadblocks and impediments to an artist’s success. A myriad of factors determine the proper marketing, release, and availability of a given artist’s work. Inspiring work from fledgling artists often never sees commercial release, and with the music business in a crisis because of the availability of free digital content, the chances of rising from obscure name to radio success are even more daunting today. Today, more than ever before, it takes more than a catalog of great music to make it in the music world—it takes a break.

Aloe Blacc, the gifted soul singer from California, has a story which embodies the modern music game quite well. He’s no new-jack to the scene, as his work with Exile in a duo called Emanon has been circulating since 1995. While he functioned as more of an MC during his work with Exile, Blacc has recently made a name for himself with his singing on the track, “I Need a Dollar,” which became the song that was used for the HBO Series How to Make in America. But the recent success of the single follows years of hard work as a solo artist who never had goals of  mainstream conformity. In fact, “I Need a Dollar” sounds more like a popular song from the late 60s than an auto-tuned R&B song on today’s airwaves with it rich piano loop and brass swing. Blacc sings, “Bad times comin’ and I and I reap what I done sowed. Well let me tell you somethin’, all that glitters ain’t gold. It’s been a long, old, troubled, long, old troublesome road, and I’m looking for somebody to help me carry this load.” While the track may have a throwback feel, its lyrical resonance couldn’t be any more contemporary.

Produced by: Dan Hwang
Written by: Poe

The lovers of all things well designed.

Its very name extruded certain measure of fun and curiosity. Indeed, the original intents of Mark Graham and Ben Beach were to generate interest from potential clients. In ways, they got more than they bargain for…in a good way.

Trained in graphic designs and more, both Graham and Beach worked as freelance status for a number of years. And at every assignment, every project, both would hound people for more, just to get by. Then an idea, things would be easier if they combined their resources, so they thought. With the help of a backer, the duo decided on the captivated title head ILoveDust as their firm’s name. All went well…for first 3 months at least. Their backer pulled out. With no fixed list of clients or projects, they were in the red, quite literally. A doctrine learned during their times as “freelancers” was the unpredictability of the creative industry. That many times, a contract was a merely a piece of paper with ink on it. This in lulled to another tenet, be prepare for anything. And so, Graham and Beach “buttoned down the hatches” and kept the company afloat. During the process maxed out a few credit cards and took out new home mortgages. The question remain, with all the trials and tribulations, was it worth it?

MINTOS is officially inducted in the adidas Originals neighborhood yesterday with the official launch of his collaborative line-up with adidas Orignials by Originals kzk by Kazuki Kuraishi. To commemorate the occasion and see to it that MINTOS was indeed at the controls, adidas Originals held an in-store release party at adidas Originals in Shibuya for press and guests. The adidas Originals space was transformed into a beautiful, organic and spring-y garden with special floral installations created by Makoto Azuma (Azuma has also previously created floral installation for the first ObyO kzk launch). At the release party, the adidas Originals by Originals kzk Spring/Summer 2010 line-up were on display, with special attention paid to MINTOS’ collaborative capsule collection. The collection not only included the cool grey suede Campus 80s, it also sports some apparel featuring the special “MINTOS AT THE CONTROLS” logo.

Produced by: Dan Hwang
Written by: Jesse Carr

Freshness is proud to announce a new segment that we’ve been excited to launch for a while—Fresh Music. We know there are many other blog sites and download hubs where you can get a hold of new music, but Freshness will bring you a more complete experience by surrounding the stories behind the music with historical context and rich visuals (we may have an exclusive or two up our sleeves as well). Our foray into Fresh Music features a new project by Mick Boogie, a mixtape DJ who now mans the decks for top shelf venues around the country. He gave us exclusive access to the mix, which we are co-sponsoring and presenting for you to download.