Young, Fresh & New!

Sydney based Young Republic is setting their sights on becoming the go-to destination for designers and lovers of independent fashion all around the world with the launch of their new international online marketplace today.
Visit: http://www.youngrepublic.com.

Founded by Aussie duo Marianne Sea and Andrew Yang, Young Republic features a plethora of unique, eclectic and one of a kind womenswear, menswear, jewellery, accessories and products for the home created by international independent and emerging designers. Likened to Etsy for fashion, the appeal for these designers to sell on Young Republic is a no-brainer – the website allows them to transact online with no joining, listing, or upfront fees; features a dead-easy portal to manage products, orders and stock inventory; and provides free-to-use social interaction, community management and marketing tools to assist designers to grow their brands.

Designers are quick to jump on board this new opportunity to bring indie fashion to the masses. Young Republic’s newly launched site already features over 500 Australian and 100 International designers, all destined to be the next big names in fashion.

“The beauty of Young Republic is that it is so youthful and current. It is a fantastic tool for putting designers in touch with their target market and giving each label an opportunity to be seen,” states Lauren Brooks, the Australian designer behind Baumbach.

Fashion lovers from all over the world are able to shop the streets of Sydney, New York, San Francisco, London, Paris and Tokyo without leaving the comfort of their own homes, and can easily discover and recommend pieces that cannot be found in local stores.

“People love going to the weekend markets because they can buy unique one-of-a-kind items you won’t find with the big brands,” says Young Republic co-founder Marianne Sea, “We wanted to bring that exciting experience online”.

Credits: Young Republic

Browsing through the website I spotted a lot of items I would love to get my hands on come payday and selected 4 of my top picks to share with you below..

1. Vintage Style Golden Metal Collar Insert/Clips by Paisie.

2. Keyhole Crop Top by Kendelle.

3. LA Hipster Tee (currently on sale!) by Horselove.

4. Isit Geometric Triangle Necklace by Eclectic Eccentricity.

Just as you may have started to get bored of the usual online stores along comes this gem! Check it out..
http://www.youngrepublic.com

Jeremy Scott & New Eras Arab Spring

Over the top, daring, eye catching always come to mind on a Jeremy Scott collection. SS13 he presented nothing less with ‘Arab Spring’ for his most recent Fashion Week showcase.

Animal skin, crazy infusions of gold & cheeky sheers set the hip hop meets Arab prince tone..Think Fresh Prince meets Aladdin.

This summer headwear was street fashion hottest accessory whether you were rocking a snapback,  cool headtie or even statement hair and Scott is right on it for next year with this offering of fitteds. Teaming up with New Era, just as with the latest clothing collection the caps centre on fusing urban styling with luxurious & double-take embellishing. 

This pack of baroque applique, toffee leather and tassled snake styles are a breath of fashion air and is something that’s been missing from caps of late with the heavy US sporting influence. It is yet to be announced as to how/where the caps can be purchased but I predict these will be just as successfully as the Jeremy Scott x Adidas Originals collabo.

YSL: Jungle Fever Footwear

It seems no fashion house is complete without a cool casual footwear collection and YSL is no different. This season French luxury fashion label Yves Saint Laurent has launched a capsule collection of fierce footwear. Trainers are no longer seen as the footwear for sports or urban street styling.

YSL offers a bold jungle inspired range from snake skin imitation high tops to cheetah fur textured slip ons these pieces will allow you to add a bit of casual chic to almost any outfit whether you want to dress down a suit or dress up your basic Nike trackies. In keeping with one of the biggest SS12 trends ‘Tropical’ and taking it in a masculine direction I predict these will be a hit.

Dr Martens x Lovebox Competition

If trainers aren’t quite your thing don’t worry I’ve got another little footwear gem for you…

 

Dr Martens are giving away VIP tickets to Lovebox. And they want bloggers to email photos of their festival outfits teamed with Dr Martens to firstandforever@drmartens.com for a chance to win. (Deadline 11th June.) Pretty simple hey.

 

Check out http://www.facebook.com/drmartens to see the entrants and winners!

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Brand Watch: Activist Eyewear

The greatest thing about the development of social networking is that it’s so much easier to touch base and discover exciting new people and brands. The latest discovery via Twitter has been Eyewear brand Activist Eyewear. Brooklyn crafted and Japan crafted this brand prides itself on authentic influences of the streets that surround them in New York and work alongside high skilled craftsmen to bring its customers cutting edge products.

 

The unisex products are very thoughtfully produced and each style is produced on a limited run with 718 pieces made in each colour way which is homage to their hometown area code. Once it’s sold out, that’s it! It’s a great concept especially if you are like me and love to key pieces you won’t find every other person on the high street with.

No brand these days is making waves if it isn’t experimenting with some sort of new technology and Activist is no different. The frames of their eyewear is deigned with an innovative design named Split-Fit which is designed to relieve pressure from the temples and ear area which you often get from ill fitting generic frames. The split design is crafted specially to provide comfort and a secure fit.

Activist Eyewear very kindly gave me personalised edition of their SS12 Lookbook and I’ve picked out some of my favourite pieces. (Click on images to enlarge.)

 

For me the Krieger frame is my number one pick, available as an optical or sunglasses frame and in four colour ways. I love the white and the pop of extreme polarised ActiVIZm lenses. All frames are available in four colour ways and are the perfect way to finish off any SS12 outfit.

Follow Activist Eyewear on Twitter

 

Louis Vuitton Gets Animated

LV present their latest line in belts with a cool Saul Bass inspired short titled “A notch on Louis Vuitton’s Belt”. The minute long film follows the trail of a belt snatching femme fatale and the men who can’t seem to keep hold of their Louis Vuitton belts. The short cleverly advertises the Spring/Summer 2012 belt collection in animated form created by artist Jo Ratcliffe.

Graphic designer and filmmaker Saul Bass may not be a name you’re familiar with but his handy work is instantly recognisable and can be seen around us in everyday life and in classic movie opening sequences. From designing the Kleenex logo to creating the opening sequence in the original Oceans 11 the work of Saul Bass is as classic as the luxury of Louis Vuitton.

Dr Martens Spitalfields Bespoke Service

Hipsters, Mods, Rockers & all other lovers of Dr Martens will be pleased to hear that they have another chance of standing out from the crowd. Those thoughtful and creative people at Dr Martens will be reopening their bespoke service at the Spitalfields store.

You will now be able to request which type of stitching, eyelets, lining, laces, leather, sole & colour you want your Docs in. So if you’re fed up of those cringe moments you and all your mates turn up in the same floral or metallic Martens, this service will be heaven sent!

Citizens of Farah Competition

I know there must be a lot of great looking people who read this blog and so when I heard about this competition I thought it would be a great opportunity that I couldn’t just keep to myself!

Menswear label Farah vintage have a exciting completion running which will see the winner be the face if their next ad campaign and the chance to assist photographer Gavin Watson!

Farah Vintage blossomed in the 1980s with fashion savvy hipsters within the music scene and has been solid ever since. Today Farah is still rooted in its heritage and great casual fashion. Whether you are a budding photographer, model or just up for something new you can enter the comp simply upload a recent photo if yourself to the Farah Vintage Facebook page wall with ‘I want to hang with Gavin Watson’ in the comment box by April 6th.

Good luck!

PUMA x Hussein Chalayan

Puma always up for a great collaboration has teamed up with designer Hussein Chalayan and their output does not disappoint. The Urban Mobility Backpack is a very cool and very practical accessory which I reckon will be flying off the shelves (especially in London with our ridiculous and unpredictable weather).

The waxed backpack at first glance looks like your average backpack but take another look and the flap at the top is in fact a hood! Great for those who have on-the-go lifestyles or those who just want to be on trend and sport a cool backpack. This is part of the PUMA Black label and is available to buy now this Spring/Summer.

Drake x GQ: Exclusive Freestyle

On my list of best dressed males in hip hop (Or any sub genres for that matter) Drake would be somewhere near the bottom of the list but it seems the people at GQ HQ have seen past Drizzys awful styling and seen potential.

As you may or may not be aware but Drake was one of GQs Aprils three cover stars for the Style Bible edition. GQ magazine features Octobers very own in a very dapper ‘grown & sexy’ shoot which I have to say I think this is the best I’ve seen him look to date. The rap star is interviewed in the mag and speaks on everything from his relationship with his father to getting women. “The seconds after a man reaches climax, that’s like the realest moment of your life.”

Keeping true to his rapping roots Drake has dropped an exclusive freestyle for GQ on all those things he likes to talk about: girls, money, fame (you catch my drift) in one short minute. Enjoy.