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.

Back in December we told you about a roadway mishap in Japan that many had taken to calling the world’s most expensive car accident. In case you missed it, here’s a synopsis: a caravan of exotic sports and luxury cars were on their way to a weekend motor festival when one Ferrari driver attempted to change lanes and hit a barrier, skidding out of control and causing the vehicles behind him to collide into one another. The resulting list of casualties: eight Ferraris, three Mercedes, one Lamborghini and a couple of Toyotas. 14 vehicles in all, with damages estimated at over $1 million. (Thankfully, zero human casualties.) In the event your morbid curiosity and/or sense of schadenfreude is still not satisfied, click through for video of the gruesome aftermath. An appropriate title for the short film? Ferrari Graveyard. via: Jalopnik

While the name Michael Miller might not immediately ring any bells, the man has quietly moved through the hip hop world for the past 25 years cataloging the culture through his lens. His impressive portfolio includes a campaign for Stussy as well as over hundreds of album covers, with his work leaning West Coast what with Miller being an LA native. Cracking open his vault, his inaugural show West Coast Hip Hop, A History In Pictures consisted a collection of 43 black and white pieces that have never been seen by the public before. The imagery therein conjures the sinister scenes of Los Angeles’ lower class, capturing the likes of Ice Cube and Tupac as they rose through the ranks to become global icons. Follow us after the jump for a photo recap of the recent show that went down at Known Gallery. via Juxtapoz

Photo by Wire Image

Hidden beneath the hype and hysteria from last night’s Super Bowl Halftime Show was something unique. No, it wasn’t M.I.A.’s inexplicable action when she flipped the bird and lip-synched the F-Bomb during her routine. Nor was it Madonna‘s subdued performance (in comparison to her Blond Ambition World Tour). Instead, it was right underneath everyone’s nose, when SkyBlu of LMFAO stepped onto the stage. Beneath the electro-pop sensation’s wild mane was the most expensive Beats by Dr. Dre headphones to date. Crafted with help from Graff Diamonds, one of the world’s foremost precious gems dealers, Beats by Dr. Dre placed over 114 carats of diamonds on the headphones. Because of the volatility of precious gems and metals pricing, the collaborators could only estimate the total price around “a million dollars,” give or take a few hundred thousand here or there.

The perennial event returns this month as Michael Dupouy, the creative maestro of La MJC, makes his annual pilgrimage for the release of ALL GONE 2011. One of the first stop on this thousand-mile book tour was ageless port-of-call for creative types, Amsterdam, and the trendsetting shop of Patta, where Dupouy was on-hand to sign select copies. Along with shop’s own Masta Lee, fans took the opportunity to see the annual catalog of ultimate consumerism first hand. In between sipping drinks and chatting with friends, revelers also get to chat with Dupouy and smile for the camera from 60/62.

New York based filmmaker Casey Neistat was one of the few lucky who received an invite for last week’s Nike+ FuelBand launch event in New York City. Casey shot video throughout the six-hour event and condensed the footage into three short minutes, starting with a brief look at Jimmy Fallon’s introductory monologue and even briefer appearances by Nike CEO Mark Parker, as well as superstar athletes Lance Armstrong, Kevin Durant and Carmelita Jeter. Casey is outfitted with his own FuelBand with assistance from a Nike+ tech, then it’s off to the Brooklyn Barbell Club to put the device through its paces, followed by a rigorous regimen of pizza making. (Sure, it counts.) Check out the video following the click.

Last week, Pointer‘s Berlin store was the setting for an official launch party for Pointer’s collaboration with Lavenham, the British apparel brand specializing in quilted country clothing. The collection centered around two colorways of a retooled Pointer Saha Trek, made in Portugal and built with a cushioned EVA footbed and quilted textile upper courtesy of Lavenham. A blue chambray style featured a contrasting orange interior, while a yellow colorway, made exclusively for the event, was lined with blue chambray. The collection included a shoe bag and overshirt, as well as iPhone/iPad/MacBook sleeves in matching fabrics and hues. Check out images from the launch event after the click. via: The Daily Street

Project has just released a video recap of its New York show that wrapped last week. In it, designers, vendors and journalists offer their impressions of the event, including Project president Andrew Pollard, who observes that consumers want a connection to their brands and demand authenticity, something Project delivers by creating an environment that “stimulates community.” According to designer Todd Snyder, Project brings in the best buyers and audience for his eponymous label, while writer Darrell Hartman enjoys the overall vibe, observing “It really feels like the sort of place you can sit down and hang out for a while.” Having looked at the video, we definitely agree. Check it out after the click.

Keeping a steady momentum till the Olympic Games this summer, Nike is currently hosting a photo exhibition at its Nike 1948 London space, featuring intimate portraits by photographer Adam Hinton on individual U.K. athletes. From cyclist Mark Cavendish and long distance runner Paula Radcliffe, to the venerable Rio Ferdinand, each subject has been rendered to their most exhaustive state in order to showcase a sense of their utmost commitment to their crafts. The images, along with inspirational statements from all involved, are essentially pledges to Nike’s new slogan: that there will be a difference this year, that collectively, they will #MakeItCount in 2012. The exhibition will available for public viewing from now till February 22nd at Nike 1948 London. Images via: Daily Street

Nike 1948 London
Arches 477 – 478 Bateman’s Row | Map
Shoreditch, EC2A 3HH London England

Exhibition Date: Now – February 22nd, 2012 (Wednesday)

Japanese sculpture artist Haroshi took approximately six months to produce all of the artwork for HUF. Haroshi and his works were welcomed with open arms at the HUF x Haroshi x DLX opening ceremony. The event was attended by many skaters and guests, filling up the large warehouse venue. While the guests enjoyed the artwork, live performances were provided, courtesy of Tommy Guerrero, Money Mark, Ray Barbee and Fredo Ortiz. To wrap up the night, they had a high ollie contest using the fire hydrant sculpture, which was gradually made higher as the competition went on. Check out the video recap, which was shot and edited by Martin Reigel, after the jump.

Often called “world’s deadliest off-road race”, the courses on Dakar Rally are equally stunning and unforgiving. But the rally also serves as a real-world test track for vehicles, especially those not known to have off-road capabilities such as the MINI. Thanks to Germany’s X-raid racing team and sponsor Monster Energy, the MINI ALL4 Racing entered this month’s 2012 Dakar Rally with high hopes. Four teams in total, including nine-time Dakar Rally winner Stéphane Peterhansel, his co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret, who has three Dakar wins of his own, and Michel Perin, another triple Dakar winner. Pairing with each team was candy-color coated MINI ALL4 Racing, a converted MINI Countryman. Predominately made of weight saving carbon fiber and powered by a twin-turbo diesel engine, the MINI ALL4 Racing is able to generate 315-horsepower with a top speed of 180km/h or 112 mph. Though not as fast as its racetrack going cousins, the MINI ALL4 Racing was made to be equally durable and speedy at the same time. While it is roughly 5% larger in volume, most of the room is taken up by full-sized spare tires, steel roll cage, and shock absorption system. A carbon fiber cockpit includes all essential data at the ready with a bare minimal design to prevent information overload. Thanks to attention to details like these, Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottre were able to edged out against the competition and took home another Dakar Rally Car Category title at this year’s race.

Since becoming its host in 2009, comedian Jimmy Fallon has made his show “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” an impromptu platform for debut on the latest gadgetry. This morning was no exception as media/press from around the globe gathered for the announcement of Nike+ FuelBand. With ?uestlove‘s steady drumming as introduction, Fallon made a quick “welcome” statement before having Mark Parker, CEO of Nike, along with Nike+ developer Trevor Edwards among others, to take the stage for overviews of Nike+, NikeFuel, and the new Nike+ FuelBand. To comprehend the application, Nike also asked cyclist Lance Armstrong, American sprinter Carmelita Jeter, and basketball star Kevin Durant to iterate their personal usage of these new products. Then it was onto to live demonstration and try-outs with Nike+ technicians onsite.

Photography: Yu-Ming/Freshness