RSVP Gallery in Chicago has been open for a few months now and the buzz around the art gallery/luxury boutique has been phenomenal. We recently caught up with two of the three partners of the space, Marc Moran and Virgil Abloh, to get a better idea of what RSVP Gallery is all about. In our conversatin with Marc and Virgil everything abut RSVP Gallery is covered from the brands it carries to the various upcoming projects we can expect to see come out of the RSVP Gallery. Additionally you can get a closer look at various products that are currently stocked at RSVP Gallery including Kaikai Kiki plushies as well as Lupe Fiasco’s Trilly & Truly apparel collection.

> Freshness Feature: The Art of Consumption – RSVP GALLERY ®

Washington D.C. native Wale’s debut album,  Attention Deficit, dropped yesterday. Frequent readers of Freshness should be very familiar with his name, his music, and his style, as he’s known for his unique flow, top-tier shoe collection, and well-chosen fashion pieces. The album features, as the title indicates, a host of different styles and influences–all of which Wale melds together with ease. 

After repeatedly breaking opponents down and the NBA’s trans-continental marketing blitz during the last 5 years or so, Carmelo Anthony is now a household name to hoop fans in all corners of the globe. He has dominated every level of competition he’s faced, and this season he seems poised for the next plateau—winning an NBA championship. Off the court, ‘Melo keeps busy as well, as he founded a record label and co-produced the film Tyson.  Along with his media endeavors, Anthony has also enjoys a great relationship with Jordan Brand, as he takes part in the design of his signature Melo sneakers. His first release, the Melo 1.5, grafted iconic design elements of the Air Jordan I (1) and II (2) with some suggestions of his own. For the M6, Carmelo Anthony’s latest signature model, the aesthetic is farther away from easily recognizable Air Jordan staples from yesteryear.

To coincide with the release of his latest signature model—the M6, Freshness caught up with Anthony to discuss his accomplishments on and off the court, his goals, his style, and even his relationship with Jordan himself.

> Freshness Feature: One On One – A Conversation With Carmelo Anthony

At the root of the word aficionado is affection, the devotion to something or someone.  For DJ Clark Kent, that devotion is to his sneakers.  Numbered now around 2,400 pairs, his collection continues to grow.  Yet, it isn’t the volume or the pricing of his collection that matters.  As with any aficionado, it is the emotional capital which Kent focus on.  The pair Air Force 1 he brought years ago to the ones he designed for the recent East vs. West project with Eddie Cruz. Kent could recite the backstory and the importance of each.

We recently had the opportunity to join Kent on his continue quest for sneakers while visiting island nation of Taiwan.  In between the visits to stores and music events, we posed a few questions to long time Brooklynite on the state of the music industry, his take on the raise of urban culture, and of course his love of sneakers.

> Freshness Feature: The Aficionado – A Conversation With DJ Clark Kent

Here is an irrefutable fact: tattooing is a deeply personal act and process. However, until one has experienced the tedious and lengthy process of Horimono (full body tattoo), it is difficult to say that one has undergone the full cannon and arrived at the highest technical level of tattooing. The Japanese tattoo master, Horiyoshi III specializes in the highly refined art of Horimono and still injects the ink under skin meticulously by hand (a method known as tebori) unlike the popular mechanized tattooing process we are familiar with. As the second person to be bestowed the honorific title Horiyoshi III, the tattoo master now expands his horizons and medium to beyond the skin canvas and shifted his legacy onto newer territories of apparel and accessories with Horiyoshi the Third. Featuring the same art work and motifs Horiyoshi III’s tattoos are based on, a full range of high quality knits, tees, outerwear and accessories enable all to enjoy his designs without having to go under the needle. Freshness is honored to have gotten a word in with the tattoo sensei, so check out our interview and get a little deeper into the other side of tattoo that carries more weight that scratchings on skin.

> Freshness Feature: More Than Skin Deep – Legacy of Horiyoshi III

Come every September issues, descriptive terms like “influencer” or “trend setter” dotted the pages of fashion magazines, men or women able to alter course of the market at a whim.  In spite of their far reaching capacity, however. They still have to operate within the confine of the marketplace and be in tune to the ever changing trends.  Then there are the “Market Makers”, who operate under completely different sets of rules, where products and designs initiate the marketplace to follow, or just simply establish a new one.

2 men who undoubtedly are in this latter category are Fraser Cooke of Nike Global Brand Energy and Hiroshi Fujiwara, head of fragment design and among many others.  We caught up with both gentlemen in Taiwan recently for a candid conversation in regard to Nike Global Brand Energy, SoHo Project in Tokyo Bay, and the positive angle to the current economic down turn.

> Freshness Feature: The Market Makers – A Conversation with Fraser Cooke & Hiroshi Fujiwara

An Interview with Ann-Marie Paz and Anthony Hope, Designers of Nike Air Maxim 1
Interview by: Poe
Produced by: Dan Hwang (DAN H.)

As the proverb goes, “your eyes don’t lie”. For some people, seeing is believing, and that’s what Nike’s legendary footwear designer, Tinker Hatfield tapped into when he created the original Air Max 1. With a visible Air Unit that is an icon in itself today, the see-through and exposed air cushion inspired by Centre Pompidou in Paris had become an integral part of Nike’s Air Pack today.

As Nike constantly challenges itself to create, recreate, innovate, and most recently, re-evovle, the team re-energized the quintessential Air Max 1 running shoe by working new modifications into preexisting elements to create Air Maxim 1. Air Maxim 1 was released with worldwide anticipation this year as many are psyched to see their favorite running shoes reworked in a modern context with the latest technology.

The task to re-evovle a favorite is always a daunting as well as challenging one. Freshness had a chance to speak with the masterminds behind the project of turning Max to Maxim– seasoned designers of the Nike Sportswear team, Ann-Marie Paz and Anthony Hope.

Check out our interview and learn more about the process, blood, sweat and tears ( maybe just the sweat) that went into the new classic, Air Maxim 1. Like we said, seeing is believing.

> Freshness Feature: An Interview with the Designers of Nike Air Maxim 1

An Interview with Kikuo Ibe – The Father Of Casio G-Shock
Interview by: Emily Chang | Translated by: MASA
Produced by: Dan Hwang (DAN H.)

Practicality, a word crucial to any engineer, including one by the name of Kikuo Ibe.  So when he broke a valued watch of his some 20+ years, Ibe decided to create a practical watch for every men (and women) that will endure punishments of daily usage. You see, Kikuo Ibe wasn’t just an engineer, but the Chief Engineer of Research & Development of Casio.  Today, he is also considered at “The Father of G-Shock”, the timepiece that define not only practical applications but survivability as well.

Recently, right after the launch of G-Shock’s “Shock The World Tour 2009 – Asia”, we made a brief visit to Casio research facility to talked Ibe-san regarding how it all started, the implication of G-Shock in urban culture today, and what lays ahead…

> Freshness Feature: Interview with Kikuo Ibe – The Father of G-Shock

STAGES – Nike x LIVESTRONG – A Global Art Exhibition
Written by: Poe
Produced by: Dan Hwang (DAN H.)

The linguist definition is polysemy, a word with multiple meaning. In this case, it is used to describe the STAGES. To professional cyclists, the term carries importance since it is by winning stages, a rider will come closer to the goal of wearing that yellow jersey at the end of the competition. For those diagnosed with cancer, the word takes on a sinister aspect – the progression of the disease and severity of it. However, during March of this year, a new definition was added to the word STAGES, a global art exhibition, established by Nike and LIVESTRONG – Lance Armstrong Foundation, to raise funds and awareness for the fight against cancer… Special thanks to Karl Hab for additional photos of the opening reception.

> Freshness Features: STAGES – Nike x LIVESTRONG – A Global Art Exhibition

Interview and Produced by: Yu-Ming

In the subculture that Freshness has been writing about the past few years, much of the topics involve collecting or collectibles. There are many types of collectors and our friend Clarence Nathan collects Supreme stickers, while some have started to collect them in recent years as the Supreme ‘box logo’ became a valuable collectible, Clarence has been collecting them for over 14 years. Click through below for his recount of collecting stickers since the late 80s and a photo journey through his collection of Supreme stickers.

> Freshness Feature: Supreme Sticker Collection – An Interview with Clarence Nathan

Interview by: Thomas Bradley
Produced by: Yu-Ming

To collectors, some collect items of interest, some collect items of value, others may collect for prestige, than there are those who collect for the love of the item. In the five years we have existed we’ve seen many of these collectors. The different forms of collectors have different ways of keeping storing their collections. Many will prefer their items in mint condition with their original packaging and some may take them out of their packaging for display. Than there is The Mayor who’s amassed a collection of now 1000 pairs of Air Force 1s. He’s a different type of a collector, he keeps all of his AF1s in clear shoe boxes for organization, neatness and the joy of seeing each and every one of his pairs. The Mayor was recently given his 1000th pair by close friend and AF1 aficionado DJ Clark Kent in honor of The Mayors passion for the AF1. -Yu-Ming

Interview continues below…

Written by: Poe
Coordinated by: Debre, Rina (New York MIX)
Produced by: Dan Hwang (DAN H.)

Resides on the quiet hillside, SOPH. is not necessary the easiest store front to locate, even by Tokyo standard. Recess from street view, the store is located on the fringe of the Harajuku neighborhood. So secluded in fact that even most Tokyonites would have a difficult time point it out to visitors. However, whether it was by design or just a coincidence, the location plays perfectly into SOPH’s brand concept since being on the fringe allowed its creative director, Hirofumi Kiyonaga, and his labels (SOPHNET., F.C.R.B., uniform experiment) to easily blur the definitions between each genres of clothing.

SOPH.
3-34-10 1st Floor Jingue-Mae | Map
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Japan

Hours: 12:00 to 20:00

> SOPHNET.

Feature continue after the jump…