Brittany Antoinette Wilson's dad has been a collector for over 30 years, starting with comics and expanding to baseball caps and sneakers. His sneaker collection, now around 500 pairs, reflects his passion for fashion and appearance.
Scarcity is humanity's great motivator. This has been true forever, since back when we were basically apes: The most important resources-food, shelter, mates-were the ones that were most in demand. Shortage meant value, and being attuned to value meant staying alive. We learned to focus on the rare thing at the expense of what was around it-psychologists call this "tunneling"-and to prioritize avoiding loss over gaining rewards.
Beneath a dome that once watched over the French Communist Party's debates in the 1970s, a large self-illuminating dinner table is prepared. Its oval shape stands in the middle of a room noisy with conversation and Object Blue's elegant, beat-driven dinner soundtrack. Guests like Gabbriette, Cruz Beckham, Paloma Elsesser, Damson Idris, ASAP Nast and Pusha T gather under a DayGlo hanging light box. The setting looks, not at all accidentally, like Kubrick's vision of a war room in Dr. Strangelove. And it is a party.
I remember standing in a boutique in San Francisco, sliding my credit card across the counter for a pair of $400 sneakers I absolutely could not afford. My second startup had just folded-eighteen months of burning through investor money, eighteen months of watching something I built crumble in slow motion-and I was drowning in debt. But there I was, walking out with a shopping bag and a receipt that made my stomach turn, telling myself this was an investment in how people perceived me.
Crocs unveiled its first new global brand platform in nearly a decade to better appeal to a younger generation of consumers, according to a press release. "Wonderfully Unordinary" centers on self-expression and real-world experiences in a culture "saturated in imitation and algorithmic sameness," Crocs said. The titular anthem spot depicts a pair of featureless store mannequins as they come alive and grow increasingly human after being outfitted in Crocs' signature porous clogs.
Patel's bespoke shoes were black, white, and yellow, and featured a number 9 on the side to signify that he is the bureau's ninth director. A "K$H" logo on the tongue is Patel's personal logo (FBI directors have personal logos now), and a skull from the Marvel character Punisher appeared across the back of the shoe, along with the FBI's slogan "Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity."
CFGNY is having a big spring. The self-proclaimed 'vaguely Asian' art and fashion collective is in a group exhibition about the production and representation of Asian fashion at Pioneer Works, transforming the third floor into a cardboard-lined shipping container filled with studio portraits shot in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a growing fashion hub.
Now, returning in 2.0 trim, it's been treated to a New York-inspired update thanks to the folks at HSDT. Proportions and comfort have been elevated, while the sneakers' visual language has taken shape through features inspired by NYC's everyday structures. This continues the brand's "The Architecture of Everyday Life" ideology, focusing on scaffolding and steel beams, stairwells and sidewalks, mesh fences, utility grates and metals.
Choosing a particular model does not necessarily mean focusing on excessive colour, but rather knowing how to identify the lines and volumes that communicate a precise aesthetic vision that breaks with convention. This process requires a certain awareness of materials and proportions, as a shoe with a strong design has the ability to transform even the simplest outfit into a sophisticated and modern style statement.