White Mountaineering is probably one of the more exciting labels around at the moment and Union has just released some images of some fantastic pieces they have received from this season’s collection. A nice selection including chambray shirts, flannels, braided belts, socks and bags are present, but the highlights for me have to be the Chambray and Typewrite jackets. Both styles utilize Gore-Tex and feature a soft colored beautiful lining. They look like perfect Spring jackets and according to the staff at Union, you must see the them — as well as the whole lineup of arrivals — in person.

Thanks to Union for the imagery and info.

White Mountaineering Spring/Summer 2010 is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Here is a look at the new and very impressive eyewear collection from New Zealand’s own Karen Walker. Entitled Sun God the 2010 season has, as always, a varied collection of frames, colors, fabrics and shapes. I really like the metal frames with bright colored ear cushioner tabs at the ends. All very bold and dynamic, Karen Walker always offers a freshness to her designs that help you stand out and feel unique. The frames also feature the Karen Walker signature ‘arrow’ design running from the front frame and down the arms. I think most of her frames act as unisex too!

See full collection here at Karen Walker Eyewear.

Karen Walker Eyewear 2010 Sun Gods is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

We have previously given you a look at an exhibit that haroshi did entitled “Harvest” and now we have a visit to his studio. As i’ve said before artist studio visits is one of my favorite things and here we get a good look at materials used, works in progress, and future works.

Source: Hypebeast

haroshi Studio Visit is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Raekwon’s unreleased “Flawless Crowns” is available now for download. The Hip Hop legend continues to make some of his unreleased tracks available for all his fans who have waited too long for new music from the Wu Tang man.

Download “Flawless Crowns” here.

Info: Inquiring Mind

Raekwon “Flawless Crowns” is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

“Redwing wabasha leather and canvas mid cut 5 eyelet boot in copper brown leather with olive canvas quarter panel. A true U.S. handmade, quality leather upper with Vibram mini lug sole unit. With leather insole, rawhide laces and brass eyelets. Beautifully constructed.”

Red Wing Wabasha Leather & Canvas Mid Boot is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

The first US solo exhibition from Greek artist Alexandros Vasmoulakis is taking place at LeBasse Projects in Los Angeles opening on the 20th March. In this highly anticipated solo project, entitled ‘Is Everybody Happy’, Vasmoulakis brings his first major body of work to the US after becoming recognized across Europe for his work both on the streets and in galleries. His title takes a sarcastic dig by using his disproportional faces as tools to portray the revolt and individual agitations one may have within society today he also plays with scale and composition to get his message across.

This following example describes the emotional pressure and agnst in his works; ‘The collage-like women stare insistently towards the spectator, carrying these uncanny shiny smiles that express derision and irony in conjunction with confusion and anxiety’.

‘Is Everybody Happy’ exhibition from Alexandros Vasmoulakis starts on 20th March 2010 and runs through until 17th April 2010 at LeBasse Projects, 6023 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA.

Alexandros Vasmoulakis at LeBasse Projects is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Vice Magazine recently interviewed Karl Lagerfeld. The icon of modern fashion speaks openly about not taking his sunglasses off for interviews, using faxes and his Dior Homme weight loss plan. Chanel have come out in recent days confirming that the Kieser will not be leaving the helm at the french fashion house, so we all know we’ve got years of Karl to come.

“Vice: So, you’re very busy as usual.
Karl Lagerfeld: I’m always busy, but this is a really busy time. I like really busy times.

I do too. I’ve been watching various documentaries about you. I’ve been kind of surprised, as I’ve learned more about you, by how your philosophy has become very distilled.
Down-to-earth.

Yes, very down-to-earth.
Sophisticated down-to-earth.

That’s almost like a paradox, but I understand.
I love paradoxes.

Me too. I think it’s all about paradoxes. People don’t get it; they think you’re being contradictory, but two things can exist simultaneously that are opposed. There’s no mystery in that.
Truth is only a question of point of view.

I like that you make it clear that you don’t want to be photographed or filmed without your sunglasses on. I don’t either. Who would?
They’re my burka.

Exactly. A burka for the eyes.
A burka for a man. I’m a little shortsighted, and people, when they’re shortsighted, they remove their glasses and then they look like cute little dogs who want to be adopted.

I’m actually nearsighted in one eye and farsighted in the other.
You can’t operate at all with what you have?

No. They say I’ll never need glasses because I only use one eye for distances and one eye for close up.
That’s perfect, no? I want to stay shortsighted or else I will need glasses for reading. But I don’t want them because I sketch, I do everything without glasses, except for speaking to strangers. Especially if they wear glasses, too.

I hate it when photographers are like, “Can we have one with your glasses off?” Why? You can see me just fine.
I had an interview once with some German journalist—some horrible, ugly woman. It was in the early days after the communists—maybe a week after—and she wore a yellow sweater that was kind of see-through. She had huge tits and a huge black bra, and she said to me, “It’s impolite; remove your glasses.” I said, “Do I ask you to remove your bra?”

You have to be careful what you ask for. Something that you do, which I also try to do in my art, is to treat all aspects of creativity equally. Fashion, photography, books, whatever—it all comes from the same place.
Yes, exactly. Everything comes from the same head. The three things I like best in life are fashion, photography, and books. There are a lot of other things I may like but that I’m not gifted for. I’m not gifted for music. I’m not gifted for singing. I don’t like to act because my life is a pantomime anyway.

Well, the gifts that you do possess have certainly served you well.
I’m perfectly happy, and what makes things even better is that I can do things the way that I want to. I have no problems in terms of down-to-earth issues; I can do everything I’m doing in the best conditions. My fashion business, Chanel, is the biggest luxury ready-to-wear brand in the world. Fendi is a part of LVMH, which is very big, too.

You’ve been famous for quite some time, but the whole landscape of celebrity has changed so dramatically in recent years.
That’s part of our life, our culture.

Do you think it’s become kind of toxic?
Yes, but you cannot fight against it. There’s a price you have to pay for fame, and people who don’t want to pay that price can get in trouble. I accepted the idea of celebrity because of a French expression: “You cannot have the butter and the money for the butter.”

I like that. You have to choose one or the other.
And now I cannot cross the street. I cannot go anywhere.

But you don’t mind being alone and isolated?
I have bodyguards. I have big cars.

Do you travel with bodyguards?
Oh yes. But I don’t travel commercially. Whenever I go around the world I go on private jets.

What if you went to a nightclub or something?
I don’t. I never go anywhere, not even from here to the Quai Voltaire, where I live. Never ever. People wait in front of my house.

How long has it been that way for you, with fans outside your home?
For the past ten years. Before that, it was OK. And when I was younger, people didn’t really know me. I had the time to be young and not to be troubled by this kind of thing.”

Read the entire interview here.

Karl Lagerfeld Interview is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Wangechi Mutu is a Kenyan Born artist who moved to NYC where she went on to gain her MFA from Yale in the 1990’s. Still based in New York, Mutu’s imagery of black women by the use of Photos and Paintings in collage have become iconic. Her newest works are on show at AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) Toronto and is entitled ‘This You Call Civilization?’.

“Wangechi Mutu’s work boldly explores the contradictions of female and cultural identity, drawing the viewer into conversations about beauty, consumerism, colonialism, race, and gender. Her representations of the human form are disturbing and transfixing, at once utterly complex and strikingly direct.”

Thanks to Jose Parla.

Wangechi Mutu ‘This You Call Civilization?’ is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Images: Streething

New Balance MTG580 “B-3 Jacket” Gore-Tex is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Supreme have worked with famed cartoon artist R. Crumb on a number of products in recent season have compiled another impressive capsule collection adorning his art work. Working together with Porter on a collection of accessories features R. Crumb’s distinctive “Fuck” writing as the motif completing an impressive finish on the tonal items.

Thanks to the Plog for the images.

R. Crumb for Supreme x Porter is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Here is another impressive item that Visvim have made available on their online outlet. This Epoch Stole, which follows suit of the racing theme this season and is part of the ongoing relationship with Faliero Sarti comes in three colorways. To get yours you have to follow the Product Request Form over at visvim.tv.

Thanks to the Plog for the info.

Visvim Epoch Stole is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

LeVine, who started out with a humble Philadelphia gallery called “Tin Man Alley” that he opened with a $40,000 loan from his parents, has marked the occasion of his anniversary with with a group show (info here) featuring new and old work from artists like Eric White, Shepard Fairey (who the Trenton-born dealer launched), Parisian stencil-art legend Blek Le Rat, and Brazil’s Titi Freak.

ARTINFO spoke to LeVine about to see how he got to where he is today, where the the market for his art is trending, and whether he’s positioned to benefit from the forthcoming closure of Deitch Projects.

ARTINFO | Jonathan LeVine Gets No Respect :

So you’ve been here for five years. How do you feel about getting to this moment?
It’s actually my ninth year in business, but it’s my fifth year in New York. I started curating when I was 26, out of bars in New York. Maxwell’s,CBGB’s, Max Fish — that was the foundation of me opening my business. I’ve built my business from the day I’ve walked in. It’s a much different entity than it was five years ago.

How so?

Much larger staff, bigger space, more outreach. My artists are more high-profile than they were five years ago, people know who I am. I’ve had a lot of successes.

Perhaps because you‘ve been able to achieve such successes with street art, some peg you as more of a shrewd businessman than an inspired art connoisseur. Is there any truth to that?

I would say that’s completely untrue. It’s exactly the opposite. If I was a shrewd businessman, I wouldn’t be in this business. Anyone who knows me knows I’ve been involved with this before it was anywhere close to being what it is. Most dealers are shrewder than me. I come from an art background as a fine artist, I have two art degrees, I used to play music. I didn’t want to be a businessman. I happen to be very good at business naturally.

How would you describe your clients? Isn’t there a tendency in street-art circles to sell to people who are interested in design-driven areas like cartoons and toy culture but don’t necessarily know much about art?

That’s who a lot of other dopey street-art dealers sell to. I’m an old school dealer. And the collectors I sell to I’ve been selling to for years, and they’re very well educated. I’m not selling to Wall Street guys, I’m not selling to people with stupid money. I’m selling to people with taste, who are connoisseurs. They may not necessarily be the biggest collectors, but I do sell to big collectors, I sell to celebrities. But I don’t sell to those middle-American people. That’s what Opera Gallery does. That’s what the British market was doing. I don’t want to exploit my artists. The reason I do this is because I believe in this as a movement, and I believe it should be accepted into the art world just as much as anything else is.

What would you say to people who don’t consider your artists to be fine art because of their pop-culture approach and subject matter?

Well, that’s their opinion. The artwork that I represent represents a generational shift. The art market is like, “Oh this is cartoon work, it’s not serious.” Whatever. Murakami’s doing it, right? Jeff Koons is doing it, right? My generation, our generation, grew up on TV. Our culture is pop culture. They’re using this imagery because it’s their reality to access something deeper. It’s not that I’m selling a lot of art just because I’m shrewd, there’s a whole movement — it’s humongous, it’s international, and it’s a parallel universe to the fine-art market. My friends just had a show of Brazilian street artists at MASP [the São Paulo Museum of Art], in one of the biggest cities in the world, at one of the biggest contemporary art institutes in South America. They did it with young, living street artists and 300,000 fucking people showed up.

Continue reading at ARTINFO.

Jonathan LeVine Interview is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

The New York based design company, DBA was founded in 2008 with the goal of developing unique products that combine aesthetic strength, technical innovation, and ecologically effective principles. These biodegradable pens are a direct reflection of their unique design philosophy.

Comes in packs of 3 for $8USD at the DBA store here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

DBA 98% Biodegradable Pens is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

With the new solo show from artist Ryan McGinley about to open in New York this week there is bound to be much hype. Here we get a look at where the photographer has created his new series of portrait works, for which he refined himself to only create within his studio walls. An ‘L’ shaped studio located in Lower East Side which used to be shared with artist Dan Colen but now is used for the hangings of his new works. “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere,” opens Thursday March 18th at Team Gallery in Soho NY.

See images below of inside Ryan McGinley’s studio and read here for the article surrounding the visit.

Ryan McGinley Studio Visit is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

N.Hoolywood blend the past with today better than most, this upcoming Spring 2010 Sneaker is very much on today or even tomorrow end of the scale. The Japanese brand take a super minimalist approach to their upcoming footwear release.

Image: TK via HS

N.Hoolywood Spring/Summer 2010 Sneakers is a post from: SLAMXHYPE