Canada’s NRML will enjoy its 15th anniversary in 2012, and to celebrate, the streetwear retailer has gotten together with LRG on an exclusive limited edition Letterman Jacket. Crafted from heavyweight black wool, the garment features snap-button closure, warm quilted lining and contrast striped ribbing at the cuff and waist. Double branding in the form of embroidery and appliquéd patch at both the front and back of the jacket round out the details. With a production run limited to just 50 pieces, the NRML x LRG Letterman is available in-store now.

Click through for more looks of the collaborative jacket as modeled by local Ottawa rap duo Bender and Patience, who with DJ Calkuta make up Flight Distance. Their latest album, Bad Information, can be purchased through iTunes.

NRML
184 Rideau Street | Map
Ottawa, ON K1N 5X6 Canada
TEL#: 613-562-2043

Visit any travel site about vacationing in Puerto Rico and you’ll encounter warnings about La Perla, a small seaside neighborhood in historic Old San Juan. A barrio notorious for its poverty and high crime rate, La Perla is just the kind of setting photojournalist KC Ortiz prefers to examine. He went there to document graffiti artists Vizie, Steel and Omens, of the notorious Masked Society Kings and Villains crews, as they bombed the walls of the crumbling township. Sponsored by LRG, the project culminated in a photo book entitled Los Salvajes (The Wild Ones). Oritz and Noah Banks also shot video footage during their time in Puerto Rico, and the resulting film, part of LRG’s artist driven series, reveals the street artists both at work and play. Set to a rollicking salsa soundtrack, the video’s real star has to be La Perla itself — an impoverished region set against a lush, tropical background, filled with inhabitants who fully embrace music, food and life. Check out the video after the click.

Chicago-based photojournalist KC Ortiz describes the focus of his work as casting a light on the world’s forgotten and overlooked. His mission has taken him to remote regions throughout the Third World, where the common currency is hopelessness and violence.  He’s documented the Hmong insurgency in Laos and captured scenes of West Papua freedom fighters succumbing to the Indonesian military. His latest project, sponsored by clothing label LRG, took him to Puerto Rico, where he followed local graffiti artists Vizie, Steel and Omens — members of the Mad Society Kings and Villains crew — as they plied their trade in the crime-infested slums of Old San Juan’s La Perla district. Ortiz’s work there has been compiled in hardcover book form, with a limited run of just 50 copies, each hand-signed by Ortiz himself. Entitled Los Salvajes (The Wild Ones), the volume is comprised entirely of black and white photographs and bound in a stark white minimalist cover. It’s available for purchase now directly through LRG.

A reminder its never to far from its roots, Lifted Research Group (or simply known as LRG) along with graffiti artist Pose One formulated a special spray can in honor LRG famous “Green Beast” – the Scumbag Smoking Giraffe. Produced in part by Australian paint company IronLak, you certainly will not get sub-par quality paint with this. Limited and only available at LRG online store. In the meantime, see the multiple installments Pose One created for LRG on walls in Chicago, Los Angeles, and finally New York in a series of videos after the jump.

Skater Tommy Sandoval’s pro-model shoes from FALLEN Footwear underwent a make-over recently, courtesy of LRG. The exclusive re-design left all of the functional aspects intact while “went to town” with its appearance. In a layering of 2-tone denim, LRG also added accents in its signature green and large Lifted Research Group‘s Tree emblems embroidered on the heel panels. Padded tongue and ankle collar, EVA-prep insole with gel heel insert, and vulcanized outsole in abrasion resistant rubber, these shoes are meant to be skate in.  Available now at all core skate shops.

its been a week since the unexpected death of Jonas Bevacqua, the designer best known for his entrepreneur spirit in creating the Lifted Research Group, or LRG. While the world still reeling from the shock, tributes and condolences are flooding in. This includes Brooklyn-base clothing label entree, who created a tribute wall in New York City in honor of Bevacqua and LRG. In place of the accustomed “Rest In Peace”, the graf crew added a savvy twist to “RIP” with the words “Rest In Paradise”. A fitting tribute to pioneer.

Jonas with Diddy during Magic, 2007

When I heard the news earlier this morning, I didn’t want to believe it. But as twitter filled with words of remembrance for the founder of LRG Jonas Bevacqua, the shock finally hit. Our prayers and thoughts go out to  friends and family of Jonas Bevacqua and LRG.

His soulful voice often betrayed his true as someone much older. But Fresh Music subject, singer Aloe Blacc, is nevertheless wise, or wiser, than many of his contemporaries. Partly due to his struggles in the often unforgiving music industry, partly because the growth of illegal download from unappreciated music listeners, but whatever the main cause might be, Blacc would still be in obscurity had it not being a lucky break – his song “I Need A Dollar” became the theme song to HBO‘s hit TV series, How to Make in America. Now serving as a brand ambassador for clothing brand LRG, Blacc is adding a new visual reinterpretation to the hit song with help from LRG itself and director Jeff Woodings. Enjoy!

LRG is taking an ambitious approach to the new year, with a 10-part series of releases planned from the 12-year old clothing company. For delivery one, the brand left it’s California base and traveled North to the beautiful San Juan Islands off the Washington coast, to shoot photo and video lookbooks for the collection. The collection is one of the more mature we’ve seen from LRG, including cardigans and refined flannels, jeans and pants with a grown up cut, and several accessory pieces in canvas and leather. The collection is well suited to the island hopping in the Pacific Northwest that the accompanying video shoot shows. LRG did a great job stepping outside of their typical style a bit for this collection, and the video shoot is very well done too – a nice look at a beautifully rugged part of the country that is often overlooked. Check out the collection and the video after the jump. The Spring Collection delivery one is available from LRG stockists now.

Sure, it never gets that cold in SoCal, but Costa Mesa’s LRG has those residing away from the Californian sunshine taken care of for the Fall/Winter 2010 season. LRG has teamed up with Karmaloop to create a capsule collection exclusive to the retailer. The collection features the LRG tree and panda, and the collection comprises of holiday happy crewneck knit swear, beanie, t-shirt and scarves. The collection is currently available for purchase online via Karmaloop.

Perhaps after this past week, Steve Jobs should be worried. Very worried. Because while it is no longer alone in the tablet market, its cellular competitor, Blackberry, has announced its new tablet, the Blackberry PlayBook, which proves to be a strong contender in the market currently dominated by Apple. As Blackberry RIM’s shared jumped 1.4 percent and the company attempts to scoop up a sizable share of the market, other labels keep up with the weather and continues to steam roll their way through Fall. Supreme has released information on a few notable collaborations, especially one with Nike SB and another with Universal; adidas Originals paged in the Force and Lord Vader once again, and MINI pimped one of its rides for the world rally. Nike keeps on running with the girls, and Jordan Brand paid attention to the little ladies as well; meanwhile, LRG brings their folks from the streets to the Alpine Higher Than Hell, and G-Shock decides that it is not only protected against physical quakes, but is also able to deliver shocks of color without so much a tremor of uncertainty.

An interesting statement with the flair of an oxymoron, LRG, had decided that Alpine is high as hell this season, but they are determined to scale it in style. The Holiday 2010 collection from SoCal’s LRG has been tried and tested in the powder, with the brand’s skate and snow team ripping through the slopes in them. Technical shell jackets, dark fitted denim, blue-collar flannels, fur, fleece and boots ensure that the LRG men are warm even when knees deep in snow. Check out the look book images from the first delivery of the Holiday 2010 season, and look out for them at your LRG retailer soon.