For the first time ever, world-renowned Japanese artist Takashi Murakami will stage a solo exhibition in the Middle East. Qatar Museums Authority will host the show, entitled “Murakami – Ego,” featuring more than 60 works from 1997 to the present, as well as several new pieces created exclusively for the upcoming exhibition. Billed as the portrait of the artist as a cartoon, “Murakami – Ego” presents the artist as both a cipher and critic, exposing and commenting on pop culture and our consumerist society. Murakami has conceived the actual staging of the exhibition as itself a work of art, installing LED pedestals with digital animation, a circus tent that doubles as a cinema, and a new 100-meter long painting that wraps around the entire space. Curator Massimiliano Gioni likens the preparation of the show as “akin to building a little city.” The exhibition will also feature some of the artist’s most well-known pieces, including “Kaikai Kiki Lots of Faces” and “Pom and Me,” which will be presented in their entirety for the first time. “Murakami – Ego” will open at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, on February 9th and run through June 24th. Check out a behind the scenes video following the click, and for more information about the exhibition, visit the Qatar Museum Authority’s Facebook page.

Courtesty of Geoff Hollister & The Oregonian

Often called “Nike’s Employee #3″, Geoff Hollister passed away yesterday, just three days after his 66th birthday, after a long battle with cancer. The Oregon native was born on February 3rd, 1946 and was an Oregonian in every sense of the term. After graduating from South Eugene High School in 1964, Hollister went on to University of Oregon, where he ran under the tutelage of track & field coach Bill Bowerman. To optimize his runner’s performance, Bowerman often asked Hollister to run in his prototype footwear. Not long afterwards, Phil Knight offered Hollister a job at his start-up with Bowerman, Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), then a distributor for Japan’s Tiger sneakers. After opening BRS West, the company’s first retail store, Hollister became ever more involved when BRS spun off a sub-label from Tiger in 1972. That new entity was Nike.

Thanks to Hollister’s intuitions as a runner and business acumen, Nike thrived in the then largely ignored running community. Seeing a need to develop next generation of track & field stars after a dismal showing in the 1976 Summer Olympics at Montreal, Hollister organized Athletics West, a sponsored program for athletes and coaches alike. His ability to think outside of the box helped to create innovative product like the Nike Aqua Socks. And when cumbersome track jackets weigh down Nike athletes, Hollister introduced the lightweight Nike Windrunner Jacket and its iconic 26-degree chevron design. During his later years at Nike, Hollister helped to secure the brand with a Swoosh a place in youth track & field programs across the U.S. When Bill Bowerman passed away in 1999, Hollister developed the Bowerman Project in honor of his former coach and mentor.

Geoff Hollister is survived his wife Wendy, who still works at Nike, 2 children from a previous marriage, his son Tracy, daughter Kaili, several grand children, as well as two younger sisters. Not to mention, the thousands who benefited from his programs and products

The Vans DQM General has just taken delivery of a fresh new batch of releases from Vans California‘s Spring 2012 collection. First up is the debut of a new style, the Chukka TC CA, that takes the traditional chukka boot silhouette and adds a white leather toe cap to the 10 oz canvas upper. It’s available in black, khaki, and burgundy colorways. The Spring Era 48 CA takes the classic Vans model and dresses it in a premium suede upper, with tan leather heel tab and lining, as well as leather laces and blue siped sole. It comes in ebony, chocolate and taupe styles. Next up is another low-profile shoe, the Summer Buck 106 CA, with nubuck upper in black, grey and olive colorways. Rounding out the spate of new releases is the Native American CA, a classic skate shoe from the Vans archive done up in nubuck leather with waxed laces and tonal leather toe cap. It’s available in dark shadow and canteen. The entire collection is in stock now at the Vans DQM General.

The VANS DQM General – New York
93 Grand Street | Map
New York, NY 10013
TEL #: 212-226-7776

They are of different genders, races, religions, sports, interests, ages, even nations. Yet, they are connected by one reason – cancer. While grim, their shared afflictions, struggles, and grievances also gave them a collected strength and resolve to see the end of the disease. In bring hopes to the other 28 million cancer survivors and their love ones, Nike announced Team LIVESTRONG. Along with seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, a group of world class athletes, each affected by the disease directly or indirectly, will join the fight in education, prevention, and research for a cure. You too can be a part of the movement, simply show your support or share your story via Twitter at @NIKELIVESTRONG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nikelivestrong. With the current advancement in treatments, a diagnosis is no longer the end but the beginning.

Designers Roy Norton and Tom Kasher were dreaming up a Triumph Motorcyle concept that blended a retro theme with modern elements while they were still in university. Once the two landed positions at motorcycle design studio Xenophya following graduation, they reached out to Triumph Product Manager Simon Warburton, who liked the pitch he heard. He subsequently drafted a brief requesting “a bike based around our 865cc air-cooled parallel twin, styled to appeal to younger riders.” The guys took inspiration from cafe racers, bobbers and past Triumph bike models and crafted a Speed Twin Concept with the base of a Triumph Bonneville, restyled and now featuring girder forks for a retro feel. Barbour cloth was used on the seat fabric and grips for an added dose of style, while the filler cap and instruments were also redesigned. The resulting motorcycle seen here was created using a combination of model board, foam and automotive styling clay. It has since been successfully remade into a full-scale model with Firestone tires, inverted levers and Thruxton brakes, ensuring that future designs by Roy and Tom are more than likely to reach the production stage. Click through for more looks. via: Bike EXIF

However fleeting it was, millions of football fans around the globe saw a glimpse of JS Music Notes tracksuit by adidas Originals and Jeremy Scott during last evening’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. Originally set for a March 2012 release date, the lively outfit looked perfectly next to LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., and star of the show, Madonna. Perhaps you will see the ensemble once again at this weekend’s Grammy Awards Ceremony. And if not, you can catch it at select adidas Originals retailer next month.

For many of us, Calvin and Hobbes miraculously transmuted the wonder of early childhood into discrete comic strip panels. And not just the sense of adventure and imagination, but also boredom, pathos, and most importantly, friendship, as the series chronicled the exploits of a spiky-haired moppet named Calvin and his stuffed tiger companion, Hobbes. The comic strip ran from 1985 and ended in 1995, when creator Bill Watterson announced that he had accomplished all he could within the parameters of the comic strip medium. And now fans of Calvin and Hobbes will have the opportunity to own an ultra-rare piece of original artwork by Bill Watterson through public auction, something that’s never before happened. The ink and watercolor illustration, depicting the titular characters napping peacefully under the shade of an autumn tree, will be part of Heritage Auctions‘ Vintage Comics & Comic Art Signature event in New York on February 23rd. The piece is expected to fetch at least $50,000. via: Artdaily

Country gentleman meets street-style connoisseur in this Forza Hunting jacket from STPL. The jacket has a black quilted polyester shell that lends warmth without excess bulk, and features tonal cotton corduroy accenting at the collar, pockets, interior placket and shoulder detail. On the subject of pockets, there are seven in total, providing plenty of cargo space for accessories and small items. Snap button and zipper closure, along with ribbed cuffs and hem, round out the details. The Forza Hunting Jacket is available now both in-store and online at the Reed Space.

Reed Space
151 Orchard Street | Map
New York, NY 10002

The one who brought that signature guitar riff to Velvet Revolver and Guns N’ Roses, including the opening to “Sweet Child o’ Mine”, electric guitar wunderkind Slash has been on a tear since embarking on a solo career in 2008. As the new album’s release date, a follow-up to the 2010 self-titled album, draws near, the metal/rock legend opened his studio and recording sessions to Ray-Ban‘s Never Hide Films for an unique perspective on the process of music making. Episode 1 of a multi-part documentary short, Ray-Ban Never Hide Films presents Slash In The Studio.

Protect yourself from the elements in style with this Carhartt WIP x London Undercover folded umbrella. Finished in a handsome brown-based camouflage pattern, the foul-weather accessory comes in a compact sleeve with metal clip, as well as a special double-branded London Undercover x Carhartt tube. Branding on the five-panel umbrella itself comes in the form of a blown-up Carhartt WIP logo in white, plus Carhartt and London Undercover trademarks engraved on the wooden handle. Click through for more looks, then find the umbrella in stock now at London Undercover’s online store.

Marni‘s collaboration with H&M doesn’t release until March but a new commercial for the collection, directed by Sofia Coppola, gives viewers a taste of what’s to come. Shot in Marrakesh, Morocco, and set to the dulcet tones of Roxy Music’s “Avalon,” the clip follows British actress Imogen Poots as she traipses around the sun-drenched landscape while showing off pieces from the collection, all of which are dressed in Marni’s signature bold prints. In an accompanying behind the scenes video, Coppola explains she took on the project because she’d never worked before on a project centered around fashion, and that she admired Marni because the brand has its own distinct look. Check out both videos after the click, and look for the Marni collection to land at select H&M stores starting March 8th.

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.