A short while back, an Air Jordan passport showed up at the Freshness office asking us to save the date and get ”ready to takeoff” for the official launch of the Air Jordan 2012. Early yesterday morning, Jordan Brand sent a SMS message that a driver will be picking us up for a ride to a secret location. After a 45-minute ride, we along with a grouping of select media finally arrived at a very appropriate location for this launch, a hangar in New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport. Once inside, we were “checked in” and soon after, seated in airport like seats. After showing an Air Jordan inspirational reel, designer Tom Luedecke along with his ”co-designer” (and Vice President, Special Projects and Creative Design at Nike) Tinker Hatfield were brought out to officially introduce and present the 27th shoe in the Air Jordan franchise.

While Tom Luedecke once again took the helm of designing the Air Jordan 2012, it was Tinker who drove the creative direction of the shoe. Mr Hatfield actually took inspiration from a project he worked on called Jumptown, which is an area of Portland, Oregon that was a major hub for Jazz in the 1920′s. From there he looked at the style of dress of the era, including the zoot suits with their big shoulder pads and matching bold wingtip dress shoes. On a rare but unfortunate note Tinker now sketches almost exclusively on his iPad but still he is able to translate his ideas into artwork used to drive the design of the shoes. A number of his early sketches mostly dated back to 2010 and inspired by the 1920′s Jazz style were shown during the presentation.

After the walk through of the shoes, attendants took us to the next  area in the hangar where we picked up our “luggage”, an Air Jordan x Cole Haan Weekender bag. In the bag was a pair of the Air Jordan 2012 Deluxe and gear for the wear testing part of the event. After selecting the right “flight” and a quick change, the next area was a full-length basketball court to full try out the new shoes. A pro trainer was on hand to take all the guests through a number of basketball drills favored by some of the top ballers in the NBA. Finally after the drills and a light lunch, we had one last challenge of testing out the Air Jordan 2012 on NIKEiD. And with that the official launch of the 27th franchise model ended and Jordan Brand once again impresses with a unique event to embrace Air Jordan 2012.

The goatee is a look with a long history, but all variations on this stylish little beard stem from three basic cuts: the Musketeer, the Van Dyke and the French Fork. While we don’t see the French Fork as much these days, men of great renown still go for variations on the Musketeer and Van Dyke. Colin Farrell, for example, has been known to rock a Musketeer/Van Dyke combo that makes the brooding thespian a little more approachable. Kanye West sports a full Van Dyke, which is a look with real structure and authority. Then there’s Robert Downey Jr., who seemed to really enjoy the attention brought by his crazy Iron Man concoction, keeping the beard going after filming wrapped. Learn more about these looks and other great goatee styles at http://shaveyourstyle.com.

Words & Photos by: Yu-Ming Wu

About a month ago the Amsterdam Tourism & Convention Board sent a surprising email asking us whether we wanted to visit Amsterdam. That was pretty much an easy yes and for the icing, they also included an invitation to visit Valencia, Spain (more on that later). So after a trying to clear our schedule was finally able to leave for Amsterdam the day before the US Thanksgiving holiday. The Board created a simple three day itinerary for a tasting of Amsterdam with ample free time for self exploration. Continue reading for a look at my 72 hours in Amsterdam.

Yesterday in Miami, Dwyane Wade and Jordan Brand officially kicked off the Jordan Fly Wade II with a media event in the morning and consumer event at Dadeland Mall in the afternoon. At the media event were Dwyane Wade and Andre Doxey co-designer and Global Design Director at Jordan Brand, the two and Mark Smith make up the three co-designers on the Jordan Fly Wade II. With the NBA season back on track, Mr. Wade was very confident taking on the new season with his latest signature sneaker. Mr Doxey talked on a number of the technology touch points including shaving off an ounce to make the Wade II 12 ounces. Other important technologies included Hypefuse for ultra-lightweight durability and breathability, Lunarlon cushioning for soft yet responsive shock absorption, and a Double-lasted upper that encases the midsole for lateral support and stability. Mr Wade spoke to style influences including using Aston Martin car design in the creation of the Fly Wade II. Another interesting car related influence is the trend of matte paint finishes which is also style tip found on the Fly Wade II.

In the afternoon, the Dadeland Mall House of Hoops, DJ Khaled and Dwyane Wade hosted a consumer event for loyal fans and a local class of elementary school students. For this group of lucky consumers, Wade gave a similar break down on technology, styling and design of the Fly Wade II. Also in attendance were Andre Doxey, friends of Mr Wade and D-Wade Senior who all came out to support. And at the end of the event, a Jordan Fly Wade II cake was presented for this special launch.

For a full technology break down including option to purchase, see the Jordan Fly Wade II page on nikestore.com.

While the Versace for H&M collaboration is still buzzing around the world, Hennes & Mauritz the Swedish apparel giant just announced their latest Spring designer collaboration, this time with Italian brand Marni. Known for their original prints and inventive spirit Marni has come to be one of fashion’s move-loved labels. For this Spring collaboration, Marni founder and Creative Director Consuelo Castiglioni has created a collection for both men and women which captures the essence of Marni. For men, the colours and fabrics are softened for a relaxed take on menswear staples that are truly Marni. The use of print is subtle, often as a lining or as a contrast detail for shirts, the silhouette a modern and relaxed take on masculine classics.

In just two days, Versace and H&M will unleash the latest designer collaboration to the public. Thanks to the surprise designer, great marketing and great seeding (Kanye wore the Versace for H&M bomber at the Victoria’s Secret Show) the collection has been received with great fanfare. Versace for H&M will include an amazing collection inspired by classic Versace prints and detailing for both men and women. The men’s pieces are said to be a mix of slick tailoring and pieces of extravagant pattern. Each piece will feature one of Versace’s signature touches, including the tuxedo jacket with metallic tip trims on its pockets, shirts with wing-tips on the collars, and optical prints through out the collection. And finally you can’t have Versace with out leather outerwear featuring quilted leather trimmed with gold studs in the Versace classical Greek pattern. The Versace for H&M will be in stores Saturday, November 19th, but with only a select amount of H&M stores carrying the goods and the huge momentum H&M has set up a How To Shop page along with a list of stores. A list of US stores are below.

For the BlackBerry addict, the recent round of phones have satisfied some but due to an unfortunate outage hiccup those left unsatisfied have considered moving to other platforms and some have already made the move. Those loyal to their ‘crackberry’ now have something to flaunt to BlackBerry expats: Ladies and gentlemen, the BlackBerry P’9981 Smartphone by Porsche Design. This visually stunning smartphone features a stainless steel frame, hand-wrapped leather back cover, sculpted QWERTY keyboard, and a crystal clear touch screen. The P’9981 is basically a more stylish brother to the Bold 9900 with a 1 Ghz processor, 5MP camera, 8 GB of internal memoir and a microSD slot allowing for unto 40GB of additional memory. Now if you’ve already added it to their holiday wishlist here’s the slight bad news. The BlackBerry P’9981 by Porsche Design will be available at Porsche Design stores later this year (we are already approaching November) for the price of $2000 (rumored). Either way, this new entry from BlackBerry is worth a look and potential wait so sticky with Freshness for the latest updates.

For more info, see the P’9981 microsite.

Earlier this afternoon Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine and the Beats by Dr. Dre family were in New York City to introduce the Holiday 2011 line of products. Sway hosted and Jimmy Iovine answered most of the questions regarding the upcoming line including Beats Studio Colors, Beats Wireless Headphones, Beats Portable Beatbox, and the new Beats Mixr Headphones. During the panel Jimmy Iovine also talked about an upcoming HTC tablet with Beats technology and also a brick and mortar Beats by Dre store in SoHo. Take a look at the preview and stay tuned for detailed profiles of all the upcoming products.

House of Hoops by Footlocker will be opening a new location at the Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento, California this Saturday, October 8th, 2011. If you happen to be in the area, make sure to stop by the opening event with host Big Al of 102.5 KSFM, music by DJ Sugabear and special appearances by Tyreke Evans and Ticha Penicheiro. As with previous HoH openings, expect the latest from Nike Basketball, Jordan Brand and maybe even some exclusive recent heat.

Event Date:
Saturday October 8th, 2011 – 2:00pm

House of Hoops
Arden Fair Mall
1689 Arden Way
Sacramento, CA, 95815
916-925-1696

Earlier this week Jordan Brand held a “Flight Forum” in their Beaverton campus to introduce signature footwear for their three current marquee basketball athletes, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade. The Forum introduced officially for the first time the Jordan Melo M8, Jordan CP3.V and the Jordan Fly Wade 2, all of which you might have read about earlier in the week on Freshness. In addition to footwear, Spring 2012 apparel was also showcased which will include updated graphics and individual lines for Melo, CP and D.Wade. Shortly after the presentations, attendees were treated to a wear-test with footwear from each of the silos of performance which includes, Fly Through – Melo, Fly Around – CP, and Fly Over – D.Wade. While the NBA season may still be in question, all three models will be released over the next few months starting with the Jordan Melo M8 – Oct 12, Jordan Fly Wade 2 – Dec 17, and Jordan CP3.V – Jan 11.

Last week as our friends on the East Coast were just learning of the impending Hurricane Irene, we were in sunny Manhattan Beach California for a day of fun with the Scion iQ. The morning started with a brief history of the Scion brand, followed by the introduction of the Scion iQ from Scion VP Jack Hollis. Just as a side note, the iQ is all new to our U.S. readers but for some of our European and Japanese readers, the iQ has been in market as the Toyota iQ for about 2 years. The iQ seem ideal for those two markets but for the urban cities in United States some of those needs have carried over and also part of a new necessity. Urban space and the price per mile is now an important factor in the decision making of new car buyers in tighter cities from those with tighter wallets. There are a number of competing cars in this new category of micro-subcompacts but the Scion iQ comes with wealth of innovations making it a strong competitor.

Scion calls their iQ “small in size, but big in innovation”. Eleven innovations were introduced and all of which added up to a smaller car with a roomier fit. At just 10 feet in length, the iQ is the “world’s smallest four-passenger automobile” with 50/50 fold-flat rear seats. While we didn’t really give this a try, the two rear seats are more appropriate for one adult or two small children. Regardless, having the option is the key here. The price per mile should be a welcoming fact as gasoline prices fade in and out of historic highs, the iQ offers 37 miles per gallon combined, that’s both city and highway miles.

We took the iQ for an hour test drive from Manhattan Beach to Santa Monica and can say it’s a pretty good ride. Comparing to my personal 4 door sedan, the iQ’s handle and performance is some what close but at the same time it was a definite surprise as I had low expectations due to its small size. Another interesting fact in regards to size is the turning radius of 12.9 feet making it a great handler in tight spaces. If you happen to be in a narrow two-lane street, pulling a u-turn here should be quick and easy, potentially not even needing the shoulder.

For those of you interested in checking out the Scion iQ, our friends in the West Coast will be the first to see them this coming October. The Southeast and Gulf States will get them in January 2012 followed by New York and the rest of the East Coast in February 2012. Scion will put the iQ out on a Pure Price philosophy, forgoing the need to haggle or hassle over the price of just under $16,000. Head over to Scion for more details on specs and sign up for availability notices. And for those wondering, we made it back to NYC on Saturday morning to join in the East Coast’s Hurricane Irene preparedness.

Edison Chen & Kaws

Last night in New York City, Kaws and Hennessy threw a launch party for their collaborative Kaws x Hennessy VS Cognac Bottle with industry friends, art friends and even international friends. Some of Kaws peers included, Haze, Todd James, Eric Elms and even asia actor, musician and CLOT director Edison Chen was in attendance while ?uestlove provided the tunes for the night. The private and exclusive launch party took over the New Museum Sky Room featuring bottle art on all glass surfaces, collaborative bottles on display and a 3D motion video taking over the lobby. Look for the the limited edition of 420,000 Kaws x Hennessy VS Cognac Bottle on September 1st 2011 in the following cities: Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Miami.