Michael Lau x Nike - Crazy Force 1 Release HK

Headed out to Quarry Bay yesterday for the release of the Michael Lau x Nike Air Crazy Force 1. Getting there just a bit before doors opened we had no hope of getting a pair of sneakers (the line went down 6 floors on a stairwell) but it was cool, just wanted to check out the exhibit and save our $2,400HK for another day.

Greeted by this sign and a dark hallway, the scene was set.

The exhibit was a long room that emulated a psychiatric ward, complete with staff wearing medical jackets.
Lau created 25 demented animations of the crazy character losing his mind in a padded room. The videos were seen through little Nike swoosh cut outs lined down the walls.


The life size crazy Lau character was pretty creepy ...... it even got us going crazy.

Nike and Lau did an amazing job, even the check out window was a giant swoosh in the wall.
Making Nike connects lol.
Now I can see why people go crazy in these rooms!


The exhibit was really impressive as Nike and Lau went all out for the presentation, not missing a single detail. Definitely worth the trip all the way out there, so if you have a chance I would suggest seeing this while it lasts.
The line was pretty nuts, so the 150 pairs went fast, but apparently there will be another release of the shoe (possibly without the toy and package) at NSW in Causeway Bay on the 3rd. No US release in sight, but hey you never know.


-john-

Dusty - Mong Kok Store Opening

I'm a little late on this post but local brand Dusty held the grand opening of their Mong Kok store in Hong Kong just last week.







If you aren't familiar, Dusty is one of the most successful street brands in Hong Kong, carrying full lines for men and women as well as accessories. They recently opening stores in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Macau, Taipei, and Singapore. The newest store in Mong Kok is somewhat small but they have a lot to offer and the design is simple and nice, similar to the store Causeway.

A nice collection and great people over at Dusty, so go and check out one of their many locations worldwide.


-john-

Murakami Lecture @ Christie's HK

Sometime yesterday afternoon I found out that Japanese artist Takashi Murakami was going to be giving a lecture at Christie's Hong Kong. Well, somehow I was able to register for the event last minute and got to see a really good speech.

Great Fall day in HK, weather was perfect.
Seeing this display when you're really thirsty is like finding an oasis in the desert. As a huge water fan I was rather excited to see this line up and especially to see Fiji in Hong Kong for the 1st time.

Ok ok, back to the topic, this man.

In his speech/ presentation he showed a bunch of movies and clips from his own Kaikai Kiki co. These few caps are from Kanye West's Good Morning video.

Then I got a quick picture with the man, he's an awesome guy.

Murakami gave a really interesting lecture on the eclectic Otaku culture of Japan and how they influence and are influenced.
The Otaku culture is basically a huge group of people who just completely immerse themselves in anime, manga, certain Otaku pop stars, video games, etc. Murakami jokingly said himself after showing a video of these people, "Yes, they are pretty uncool." But he explained that every subculture is going to be seen as uncool of you don't understand it and can't relate. Using himself as an example, Murakami went on saying that when he used to live in America for a few years he loved to listen to the Smashing Pumpkins, however upon returning to Japan the music was dull because he no longer was able to breath the air that they did and feel their inspiration. He follow by saying how hard it is for people outside of Japan to relate to the culture especially because they don't know what daily life is like in Japan and why people are driven to live an Otaku life.
While Japan appears to be perfect and people live normal lives, there are many people who don't feel fulfilled or satisfied with their lives. This leads back to the constant Identity issues that the Japanese are always faced with. This all being the reason that the Otaku culture is so popular. If people find no value in their own daily lives, what better to do than become obsessed with the lives of characters in comics, shows, and games. The downside of this as Murakami said is that many of these people are socially inept and the crowd of mostly men remain single (the 46 year old artist admitting that he himself is still unmarried). He described them as junkies, but games and comics are their drug.

In closing Murakami took some questions, and in short:
-He doesn't think that the financial crisis should hurt the Japanese art scene much, and he still plans to hold Geisai at least once or twice a year to continue the artistic boom in Japan.
-Fashion in 15 years will be led by the Otaku culture, even though now it is only a small market almost exclusively to Japan.
-It doesn't matter if his fans fully understand the impact and meaning behind some of his and other pop and superflat art (since it's much deeper than cute girls singing and animals talking). He just enjoys that the genre is out there and being enjoyed. Plus, some of it doesn't make any sense at all in the first place.

It was quite a good lecture with tons of visual aid, which always helps. He's a really awesome guy and his vision is all about peace in the world, and he tries to bring that through his art.


"Art is a miracle created by the human race which could bring about a revolution without bloodshed."
- Takashi Murakami's definition of Art


-john-


ps. kindly don't quote this, it's just my understanding from my notes and memory of what he said. Thanks

CLOT - December 2008 Releases

Ready for winter (well a Hong Kong winter), CLOT will soon be releasing a Major General Pea Coat along with some battle shorts.






I actually saw Kevin Poon wearing the jacket yesterday, looks really nice in person; so do the new CLOT crush denim!

The Major General Pea Coat will drop on Nov 29th and the shorts on Dec 4th @ Juice HK.


-john-

Adventures in HK: Failed Missions & Thanksgiving

Had to run over the USA Consulate yesterday to add some pages to my passport before I head out to Tokyo.



But got there only to see that the Consulate is the only damn building in all of Hong Kong to close for Thanksgiving. FAIL.


Then hit Bape really quick to pick up the new catalog, shoulder bag included. It's a man bag movement!


We were fortunate enough to put together a great Thanksgiving meal too. Just look at all that food.


Meezy really enjoyed it, can you tell? ..... cheer up kid.


Happy Holidays to everyone. Cause I still love you all, damnit!

About to go look for some of those Thanksgiving leftovers and head back to the Consulate hoping that they don't take Black Friday off too. smh.

Passport on pivot.

-john-

True SF - The Christmahankwanzaka Collection

Getting right into the holiday spirit, True is sure not to discriminate no matter what you celebrate this season with their Christmahankwanzaka collection.





SHOTS FIYAD!! the script reads "True Poseur" .. (aka poser)



San Francisco based True introduces this holiday gift collection keeping in mind that this recession is affecting us all. There is something in this group for every denomination & income level. The Christmahankwanzaka collection drops on Black Friday, November 28th at True, True East & online at trueclothing.net


-john-

Adventures in HK: Kwai Hing

Having to run some errands, I ventured out to Kwai Hing yesterday with my boy Manila, one of the best people to adventure with. Kwai Hing is just into the New Territories of Hong Kong, a more residential and industrial area so there wasn't exactly a whole lot to see, but we managed.

So the whole reason of coming out here was to fix a hard drive in this buildng
Waiting in here felt like a movie for some reason. The Matrix maybe? Office Space? Can't put my finger on it.
Oh...Nugget! chicken nugget chips, so good.
Love this.

I'm really going to miss meals for $4US. Good food too.

These kids were awesome, took us all the way to the MTR. Thanks guys.
Then it was on to Mong Kok arcades... if you haven't played this game you're missing out! Forget Guitar Hero, this is the future. Saw that it's coming out for Wii too, a must have.
My 1st encounter with traditional Chinese emo kids. Cheer up man.
Finally we discovered a great NBA fan store. This guy had a sick collection of memorabilia, especially this Jordan case which he made sure we knew was not for sale. Dude even had MJ baseballs, and minor league bobble heads.


Saw a lot, ate a lot, didn't spend much at all. That's a successful day of adventure.


-john-

On Line in Causeway - CLOT x Original Fake (part 3)

Ok, so now for the last installment of this series from the Clot x Original Fake drop.
On to the youngins...


Names: Tam, Chau, Shawn, Cliff
Ages: 16, 15, 16, 17
Favorite Brands: Vans, Supreme, Stussy, Original Fake, Moussy
Wearing: Subcrew, Base Control, Nike, Visvim, Supreme, Bape, G-Shock, Seiko
"Edison Chen is ... : cool & handsome!"


Names: Peter & Sammy
Age: 16
Favorite Brands: Peter: Clot, Silly Thing, Supreme, Stussy / Sammy: Vivianne Westwood
Wearing: Peter: Stussy shirt, Chocoolate shorts, Y-3 belt, Supreme Bag, Stan Smith Adidas (even tho Meezy wrote down "Steven Smith" ..smh) / Sammy: Local brand shirt n shorts, Porter Bag, Jack Purcell Converse
Edison Chen is... : ... Handsome & famous"


We're still tryin to get a name for this segment but we'll be back with more from the streets very soon.


Jah bless

-john-

DJ AM x Undefeated - Black Friday Tee

So more "Black Friday" news as DJ AM and Undefeated team up for a tee to be released on the 28th. That same day Super DJ, DJ AM will be playing the UNDFTD Black Friday Party in LA.




The tee will be released at all Undefeated stores on Friday the 28th and all proceeds will go to Access Help.

Looks like one good weekend to be in Cali, should be a great event


-john-

via highsnobiety