While it might get some good-natured trash talk as being a “mailman shoe,” the all-black Air Max 90 is a classic of the sneaker world that is unmatched in simplicity and versatility. This AM90 Premium QS, dedicated to the Brazilian National football squad, will warrant no such jokes. A contender for the most elegant and detailed all-black AM90 ever created, it works in premium ostrich for the leather upper panels, which are set against an updated mesh. The heel counter keeps the horizontal-lined rubber bumper, which is embossed with the CBF monogram – to signify the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol. Details continue even into low visibility areas of the shoe: the sole has is underlain with a parquet-like geometric pattern, while the Canary Yellow insole is marked with the Brasilia Football crest. Fans of Brasil who want to maintain a toned-down style don’t often get such great opportunities to show support – the team prefers undeniably flamboyant colors. But for those fans lucky enough to have located one of the Nike Sportswear Brasil CBF Destroyer Jackets, these are the ultimate addition for showing support while staying refinado and chique. The CBF Pack AM90 is available in extremely limited quantities now from Six Feet Down. Order now to be ready for World Cup 2014 in Brazil. Check out the images after the jump.

Style: 454280 001
Color: Black/Black

The Court Victory Pump was the choice of tennis Wunderkind Michael Chang, and was his signature shoe as he rocketed to tennis stardom in the early 1990′s. The Court Victory re-emerged in the 2000′s as the choice of some of the preeminent sneaker designers and boutiques from around the world for collaborations. In addition to a Michael Chang colorway retro, the Court Victory Pump has been the subject of some fabulous throwback style collaborations and some fresh updates. (Check the Kicks Hi version in canvas, or the “velour pack” version created by Atmos for prime examples). Colette, which has it’s own history with Pump, is taking another pass at it with a new version with a black suede upper and a black midsole, set off by composite highlights and an embroidered colette logo in French blue. Of course the classic early 1990′s HexRide airspring cushioning is present, and highlighted by a logo at the heel counter. Colette approaches sneaker collaborations with 1000% confidence. This is appropriate, given the retailer’s deep respect; sometimes, though, it means the shoes seem to “try too hard.” Not the case with this project, which is actually drastically toned down. Check out the images after the jump; the Colette x Reebok Court Victory Pump will be available in March, and can be pre-ordered now from Atmos.

Even excluding international affairs, there was definitely no shortage of news this week. The attentions of the sports world and beyond has been focused on All Star Weekend for weeks; the event has finally arrived, bringing with it a deluge of product tie-ins, major ad campaigns, and celebrity events. Nike was obviously a major player, releasing not only All Star themed shoes, but a high-budget film short featuring Kobe Bryant (plus a peek at round 2 of one of the most hyped up shoes ever – the Air Yeezy). A more artistic tie-in was the AJ 1 as customized by Dave White, to be auctioned for charity. And basketball obviously isn’t the only focus of attention this week, which also included New York Fashion Week, a supernova of creativity, buzz, and gossip. One of the many events was hosted by VMAN, invitations to which included a cash insert, to play on the recent Kanye West issue of the magazine. Honors for the most groundbreaking show go to Moncler, however, and if you didn’t hear about it, read below. There was quite a bit of notable news from the street fashion side of things this week too; one main highlight were images of the soon-to-be-released Spring Summer 2011 collection from Supreme. Spring collection previews also came from CASH CA and adidas Originals, while Dr Romanelli released a capsule collection with A Love Movement, which is as stunning as usual. Ye wasn’t the only musician whose shoe project got attention this week; more information about the collaboration between Swizz Beats and Reebok came this week. In art news (and BAPE news), KAWS released images of a new BAPE/Milo mashup on his Facebook page. Plus, ALIFE made art news too, with a concept vending machine installation at The Hole, featuring work by some darlings of street art. Finally, Nike didn’t deserve the only advertising award this week; Porsche also deserves honorable mention for an innovative campaign which leveraged it’s social media presence (and compromised a GT3).

Mid-Winter isn’t the hottest time of year for retail, but it’s often a busy time of year for the business side of fashion: upcoming collaborations are announced, Spring/Summer collections are previewed, and of course there are multiple buyer’s shows. This past week included all of those, but the story that transcends them all is clearly the news regarding the purchase of Nowhere Co. – the parent company of A Bathing Ape – by I.T. Limited, an established fashion retail powerhouse in Mainland China; more on the deal after the jump. Nigo wasn’t the only persona behind a an Asian fashion empire we covered this week; Freshness had an exclusive feature with Edison Chen, focusing on the creative work EDC does – and steering clear of the tabloid gossip EDC generates in his role as a slightly bad boy Asian celebrity. Stateside in the fashion business, the Compass footwear show held this week offered a look at many upcoming sneaker/shoe/boot releases. One piece of footwear that stands out from the week is the Jeff Staple-designed Timberland Chukka, done with Kinetics; we also featured a video interview Staple recently did for MADE in Berlin. And Nike – a brand that doesn’t need a tradeshow to showcase new products and projects – kicked off the American Made documentary this week from the Sportswear division, while Nike Basketball released the Kobe Bryan-inspired Ophidiophobia video, and a full showcase of All Star Game footwear at the Staples Center. The Spring issue of VMAN magazine can’t be overlooked either, with it’s Karl Lagerfeld-shot cover, featuring Kanye West with an actual $1 bill in his mouth – in each copy. Also, while Supreme has been dormant since the end of the Winter sale, this week brought hints at upcoming projects – one a standby project with Vans, the other a Terry Richardson shoot of Lada Gaga, seemingly destined for future ad campaigns/T-shirts. Other Terry Richardson work in the news this week was his shoot for the Opening Ceremony X Levi’s Chambray collection, featuring less famous but very fresh-faced subjects. And not to be overlooked among all the big names and celebrity were some really solid apparel releases, including the Spring/Summer collection from Bedwin & The Heartbreakers and White Mountaineering. Check these out, along with details on all of the week’s news, after the jump.

An icon of contemporary style, Steven Alan, has breathed some inspiration into a capsule collection of footwear from Nike Sportswear. The collection includes the Air Zoom Magma, Air Zoom Toki, Talache Low, and Air Zoom Lava Dome. It’s an interesting mix of shoes, and a bit outside of the usual Nike collaboration platforms. The Steven Alan inspirations are both structural, and for the most part, subtle.  The collection is notable for the strong solid leather tones used;   other details include modified lace locks on a few of the shoes, a leather tongue label on the Magma, a side gusset on the Toki, and a D-Ring lace loop on the Talache. Nike gave Steven Alan quite a bit of creative freedom – collaborations rarely involve such structural changes. But the freedom wasn’t abused, and there is nothing to wild or risky here – just an interesting pack, with some really nice upgrades. The shoes are available online and in stores starting January 21st. Check out all four models as interpreted by Steven Alan after the jump.

The highly anticipated Barbour x Tokihito Yoshida Collection, a collaboration between the storied heritage English label and the Japanese designer is now available. One notable aspect of this project is how it maintains the classic silhouettes of Barbour, and keeps all of their fine details, while working in Tokihito‘s attention to fabric details. These collaborations between heritage labels and contemporary designers have the potential to corrupt the original with bells and whistles, but this are two sartorial partners that have clearly found a balance, in just two seasons working together. This season’s collection, the Beacon Heritage Range, is comprised of a number of classic Barbour cuts, primarily influenced by traditional English motorcycle jackets and quilted and waxed hunting jackets. The full collection is available now from End Clothing, in limited numbers. It’s a fairly large collection; browse the jackets after the jump.

If you’re like most people along the East Coast of the US, it’s a snow day today. And if school wasn’t canceled, or you aren’t working from home, traveling is a definite gamble. One option to make travel through snowy terrain a cinch is this mash-up vehicle, which combines a Dodge Ram Van body, a Ford 391 V8 engine, a Thokiol chassis, all rolling on a set of rugged snow tracks. The main thing that sets this apart from the run-of-the mill Sno Cat is that the 1970′s A-Team feel, evoked by the seriously retro van body and paint job. The Dodge Vankat, a one-off creation, is actually for sale right now, from Peak Snow Adventures of Idaho. You can also take 15 friends along with you, virtually anywhere, in the Vankat. Check out the images after the jump, and travel safe today. via: Autoblog.

The recently released Kobe VI has already seen many iterations, and the latest is this red and black variation, dubbed the “All Star.” As Bryant says, “The Kobe VI is a very character driven shoe with the alter ego of the Black Mamba prominently featured…we continue to evolve the technology to make it a performance based shoe, but aesthetically you haven’t seen a shoe pop like this before. It brings to life what drives me.” Now anyone who needs that Mamba snakeskin performance to match their black, red, and white outfits has the opportunity. This version gets the signature snakeskin overlay in a black base and red raised “islands” – which Nike says “increase or decrease in size throughout the shoe to protect against abrasion and increase durability exactly where needed.” The All Star theme is rounded out by the insole, which has artistically rendered stars, “LA 2011″ and “West.” The Kobe VI All Star is available in limited quantities at Marquee Sole. Full set of images after the jump.

Collaboration comes in all forms and styles, yet this project is far from the norm. Only in Japan can a fashion brand team up with a ramen store for a limited pop-up ramen shop. Ramen is probably one of the most diverse and loved noodle dish in Japan and MASTER NOODLE store will surely get the fans salivating for more. It is a combined effort of mastermind JAPAN and Hidechan Ramen, a famous ramen store in Tokyo. The venue of the MASTER NOODLE is on the first floor cafe space at The Contemporary Fix.

It will start on Saturday, January 8th until Monday, January 10th and two special ramens, Japan Black and Cool Japan are concocted for limited time. Each custom designed black bowls are decorated with the iconic white skull logos on the exterior and interior. Best of all, customers are able to take home the bowls that ramen are served in and these are premium bowls that can not be bought else where. As mastermind JAPAN uses black as its brand color, most of the ingredients such as the noodles, wonton fillings and garnishes are all unified in black. If you are in the Tokyo area, be sure to drop by MASTER NOODLE and give your taste buds a treat.

The Contemporary Fix
3-12-14 Kita Aoyama | Map
Minato Ku, Tokyo

Opening Dates: January 8th (Saturday) – 10th (Monday) | 12:00 – 20:00

Vuitton has been around since 1854, and a house with over 150 years of straitlaced couture fashion can’t completely buck tradition. But once Louis Vuitton watchers saw menswear models sporting faux neck tattoos courtesy of Scott Campbell last year, it was clear there was a bit of new blood involved. Now we’ve got a look at the collection of men’s bags offered by the French couturier for the coming Spring season. As LV Men’s Studio Director Paul Helbers (working under the artistic direction of Marc Jacobs) puts it: “It’s a rhapsody of three virtual scenarios for a digital bohemian, a man who travels the world from behind his computer screen.” That’s essentially fashion-speak for a collection that spans some broad influences: in this case, the traditional, the un-apologetically athletic, and the, well, tattooed. The collection includes some LV classics: weekend bags and shoulder bags in both Utah leather and a woven monogram (a distressed finish makes it clear that this LV monogram is for the gents). This collection is notable for the outliers though: first, a bag from the Articles de Voyage collection in a distressed denim look that is new for LV. Second, what is probably the most purely athletic duffle ever seen with an (authentic) LV monogram. And third, of course, is the Scott Campbell-inspired Utah Tattoo, sporting a laser-engraved tribal tattoo design. Check out the full collection after the jump; it’s probably an interesting one for those who love LV and even those who don’t. via: ilovelv.

Happy New Year everyone!! Thanks to all those who supported us this past year and thanks to each and every one of our readers. Thanks also to Tanqueray, some of our friends and family should have or will be receiving a special Freshness x Tanqueray No. Ten package. We wish you all a fresh and prosperous 2011!

The latest item in Jun Takahashi‘s Undercover Limited collection is this wool pea coat, available in black or navy. Part of the extremely strong line up of Zozovilla exclusives that Undercover is offering this season, the coat takes the traditional wool sailing jacket, and updates with some military inspiration in velco patches, and a bit of motorcycle style with an exposed zipper at the hem. What sounds like a potentially awkward mix actually works extremely well though. The coat is finished with a signature white label at the hem, and some classic sheep-embossed buttons. Check out the images after the jump, and see more info about the Undercover store at ZOZOTOWN here; the coat is available at ZOZOVILLA.