Interview and Written by: Tom Bradley
Produced by: DAN H.

Interview with Mark Graham of ilovedust

ilovedust is a design collective working in stylized solutions for products and brands of all sizes. They recently worked with the globally recognized Jordan Brand on a special release of the iconic Air Jordan I basketball sneaker. The AJ I is largely considered to be among the most sought after, revolutionary consumer products of the 20th century so it is only fitting that classic American jean maker Levi’s would put its spin on the footwear icon. Lending gold rivets and denim tailoring to Jordan’s trailblazing silhouette, LEVIS drapes the AJ I in timeless cool, adding the attractive Air Jordan III “elephant print” design cue to further endear the shoe to sneaker heads everywhere. Freshness took advantage of the rarely provided interview opportunity afforded by ilovedust and the AJ I x Levi’s experience has been made even richer as a result.

> ilovedust
> Nike - Jordan Brand
> Levi’s Strauss

Complete interview after the jump…
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The name PhuEk! or Phu! in short is a self-created lingo. Entirely imaginative and not based upon adherence to actuality. 3D art is his pursuit, especially in vinyl customizing. Phu!’s Phuturistic concept is a manifestation through his artistic form of thought and personalized treatment in which he exercises the habit of recycling. And it’s with this Phuturistic niche, Phu!’s customed vinyls have been commissioned and showcased in various international exhibitions and shows worldwide.

> Phu’s Blog

Please introduce yourself

I’m Phu!, a toy customiser from Singapore. I received my formal education in Visual Communication at a local Art college for three years. Although I was also trained in other area such as painting, toy customising is my niche. And I have a day job as a Creative Director in a publishing firm.

Full interview after the jump…
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Produced by Debre/ Freshness Japan
Edited by Poe
Photos by Aki, Debre

Whether its high-end fashion to urban apparel, the city of Tokyo is a canvas for designers and brands to showcase their latest as well as experimentation of untried ideas. In comes Levi’s ®Japan, with its F.L.U. collection. The collection address concepts and trends found on the streets of Tokyo as well as urban centers around the world, intermingle with the heritages of Levi’s®.

Juxtaposed against this backdrop is Ewan Reynolds, the multi-talented designer who co-directs F.L.U. with Takahiro Okazawa. Reynolds was also responsible for the interior of Elesco, F.L.U.’s new flagship in Aoyama district of Tokyo. On the side, Reynolds established PLAYFORD, a label that explores the mixture of athleticism and urban culture. Freshness had the rare opportunity to talk with the busy designer on a number of subjects recently, including the the upcoming collection of F.L.U. and the theme of Elesco. Here is what he has to say…

> PLAYFORD LTD.
> Elesco
> Levi’s ® Strauss Japan

Hello, please tell us about yourself

Hello, my name is Ewan Reynolds. I direct, design, and operate my design firm, Playford Ltd. I’m also the Co-Creative Director of Levi’s® F.L.U. line.

Full interview after the jump…

> Continue reading…

Visvim’s founder, Hiroki Nakamura, will now be releasing a new line that is a bit different than what you normally see from Visvim. The new line consists of products that are more in touch with the environment, something that could be considered similar to Nike’s Considered line. The new line from Nakamura is entitled, Folk, and the series should be hitting select Visvim retailers soon. You can read up on Nakamura, Visvim, and the new Folk series, here.

Interview by: Thomas Bradley
Photography by: Tabatha McGurr/MTTM

Tabatha McGurr, more affectionately known as “Tab”, is the young voice of market-leading women’s streetwear brand, Married to the Mob. She has quickly established herself as one of the most vibrantly honest personalities within the community. With a family heritage so heavily laden with creative tendencies, Tabatha ceases to disappoint as she demonstrates her deftness with the written word almost daily on her internet platform, www.marriedtothemobnyc.com. In this interview Tab discusses what its been like growing up in such an artistically rich family, where she figures into the MTTM equation, the current state of N.Y.C. and there’s even mention of her dog, Coco…

> Married to the Mob

Describe what its been like growing up with parents who are as creative and intelligent as the two you’ve got?

Well it’s certainly not the kind of thing you describe like an outfit. I can go ahead and say that its “awesome” and they “opened my eyes to all sorts of cool shit” but that’s boring and obvious. The fact that they are both from very different backgrounds is a really important factor in explaining how I was raised. One half of me is an empowered French woman, and the other is a peculiar and very intelligent New Yorker. They weren’t and aren’t the kind of parents that sugar coat everything. Not like those moms you see in the subway going “You see that man Billy? That’s a homeless person, don’t talk to him.” There’s a video of us in ‘94 (I was born in ‘90) or something, where a woman is asking me what my favorite movie is, and I can’t remember the title but I named the characters, “Alex, Georgie, Pete, and Dim”.

Complete interview and photos after the jump…
> Continue reading…

Check this newly revised video, now with English sub-titles, with videographer Sebi as he check out SOLEBOX of Berlin and chat about the latest releases with Hikmet.

SOLEBOX
Nurnberger Strasse 16 | Map (German Only)
10789 Berlin Germany
TEL #: +49-30-9120-6690

> SOLEBOX

Weekly Drop is finally back and this time they did not disappoint with a feature interview with the man behind many brands including Stussy and HUF, Benny Gold. Benny has now launched his own brand that is available at many different retailers that carry HUF, including Major in Washington D.C.

Check out the interview here