Hello. From Harajuku.
Lafayette crew. Straight outta Yokohama.
Perennial favorites.
Saw-toh-ree-ah-ree-stah.
Gravis.
Nice hat.
Same, but pricier. Keychains are $3 instead of $1.
I see you Dannyboy. I see you Marlon.
by bobbyhundreds
Monthly Archives: January 2008
ME VS. THE SARTORIALIST. TEASER: I LOSE.
Remember this photo?
The Sartorialist shot that last October when he visited Hong Kong. At the time, he wrote this: “Sorry not many (any) men’s photos on this trip, the men’s style, in general, really lags behind the women’s…”
To which I was rather confounded, considering Hong Kong is known for being a high-end fashion capital of the world, for both women and men.
Many Hong Kong residents were just as confused by Schuman’s comments, so I decided to take it upon myself to stand up for HK and prove Mr. Fartoliast wrong. I got off the MTR at Central’s Lan Kwai Fong exit, which dumped me right in front of the Shanghai Tang that acted as the backdrop for Schuman’s photos.
And then, I waited..
..For a good 20 minutes, before I could convince this grump to stop for a portrait.
Okay okay, I know what you’re thinking. If this guy is supposed to represent Hong Kong men’s fashion, then Schuman wins the trophy by a mile. But it’s not like I didn’t see dudes with better fashion sense. It’s just that the last thing they wanted to do on their Saturday afternoon was pose for some website called “The Hundreds.” So then I started telling people I was shooting for an American fashion magazine, Men’s Vogue, and then GQ. When that didn’t work, National Geographic, Hustler, Amateur Edition Sudoku. It really didn’t matter, it was like I was asking them to sacrifice their firstborn.
Oh, then this nice gentleman obliged.
I dig the peacoat with the skinny jeans, and instead of working against it, the messenger bag’s bulky strap actually works. So there you go, Mr. Scott Pooman. A Hong Kong guy with style. (And for all you ignorant pricks, yes, there are white people native to Hong Kong).
Sooo back to the waiting game. By this point, I was getting hungry, bored, and people started looking at me funny. A policeman started videotaping me from across the street, probably assuming I was some kind of pervert or terrorist.
These girls were nice.
But clearly, these weren’t men. So, after 36 minutes of feeling like an intrusive creep, I conceded. You may have won the battle Schuman, but you haven’t won the war. With 2 billion Chinese, you’re bound to be wrong.
by bobbyhundreds
WHAT I.T IS
Hong Kong’s kinda funny (not the ha-ha variety), because fashion is primarily distributed (and dictated by) a singular corporation, the I.T group. From D&G to Bape, Maison Martin Margiela to Neighborhood, Carhartt Europe to Fuct, if it’s dope, you won’t find it in HK unless it’s got “I.T” attached to it.
As of this season, The Hundreds is also being carried through the I.T channels, so my main concern is how to better acquaint the Hong Kong customer with what we’re trying to do. We’ve had our fair share of editorial coverage here in the past, but the difference with the States is that the kids here are more focused on Japanese trends, versus American brands. They’re more or less oblivious to online hype, instead basing their fashion interests on what the local print media (i.e. Milk Magazine) deems is worhty. So I ambled on over to the I.T offices to have a sit-down with Lee-Hawk and Thomas on how to translate “The Hundreds is Huge” in Cantonese.
First off, the I.T offices span 3 stories of hardwood floors, modern design, and stacks of clothes and people. The air is tense with keyboard-tapping and seamstresses on sewing machines. Kinda nuts.
It’s not difficult to get lost in this labyrinth of corridors and cubicles. At every turn, I was faced with black-hair sitting atop zombie expressions.
This is Thomas’ office. It’s lined with various memorabilia he’s collected over the years that commemorate special occasions in I.T’s history.
(Another funny thing about HK. We’re in the heart of an industrial/office district, but outside it looks like a lush tropical forest. A much better view than Bob in the Alley.)
Agyness Deyn is omnipresent.
Ok back to our regularly scheduled program. I.T also has its own stable of inhouse brands and accompanying retail stores, such as Fingercroxxx, izzue, 5cm, and CHOCOOLATE. All of that work is done within these offices as well.
So my favorite part about the I.T offices are the moving walls. You’ll be walking down a hallway, and without notice, the wall will slide open to reveal different chambers and rooms. It feels like you’re stuck in a Jamiroquai video, except without the bleeding walls, and instead of crows flying at you, it’s Hong Kong fashion girls.
by bobbyhundreds
THE BELLY OF THE BEAST.
South of Causeway Bay, through the gridlocked tunnel, and into the industrial jungles of Aberdeen, as we enter the Beast’s Lair. This is it, kids. Ground zero. aka HYPEBEAST.COM. The Beast (otherwise known as founder Kevin Ma) gives his employees the dreaded Waggy Finger O’ Death.
(Ya know, if he had a basketball spinning on that finger, he’d be a deadringer for the Boston Celtics’ mascot. Just a thought.)
So everyone knows how obsessed Neek is with Hong Kong girls, right? So when you consider Hypebeast staffer Season, her Hong Kong residency, and her uncanny resemblance to our Las Vegas frothy-mopped friend, it’s as if the entire universe is coming together on this exact point. If it looks like a Neek, talks like a Neek, shoots photos all day on a Canon like a Neek, drives a GTI like a Neek… then…
Kevin’s lunch. This is literally what you’ll find in the belly of the Beast.
Of course, exactly what you’d expect to find at Hypebeast headquarters.
Ok time for the million-dollar money shot. *Drumroll please….
Dun dun DUUUUNNNNN!!!!
I mean, that’s good, right? Like, I deserve an award for shooting that.. Right??
by bobbyhundreds
TIGHT LIKE HALLWAYS.
So I’ve been in Hong Kong this week. Here’s a 7-second rundown on the goings-on:
1) Subcrew is getting huge here. Streetwear, on the other hand? Not so much.
2) It’s actually kinda cold. For once. I need to wear a sweatshirt.
3) I’ve determined I will never get used to that smell.
Here are some pointed shots from my point-and-shoot.
Rebel on the right.
The Year of the Rat, snitches.
Might as well kick him in the pegleg while you’re at it.
It would suck if the escalator broke. Right now.
France. Right around the corner.
Chinese Wallace = Warrus.
I don’t know about you, but I see CONDOM.
You know what really builds my appetite? When the chef looks like an emergency-room surgeon.
Home away from home.
by bobbyhundreds
AMIGOS
I guess Scotty’s trying to run me out of a job with all these blog updates. His next stop on the Tradeshow Death Circuit is Barcelona, but he’s not alone in Espana.
Ivan (Worldwide).
The Vogelator aka Steven Vogel (Black Lodges).
David (High Snobiety).
Wes (Foot Patrol) and Jeremy (UnderCrown)
Mike (Obey).
Nico (The Reed Space).
Marlon (Sneaktip).
Ron (Akomplice).
Starcow!
Romeo (Obey)
IHAVEPOP.COM
Arnaud (Vans).
James and David (Addict)
Jesse (Fresh Cotton), Remco (ontourlab.com), Sebastiaan (Fresh Cotton).
It looks cold.
photos by s.ILL
by bobbyhundreds
THE SARTORIALIST. PERIOD.
“Fashion“‘s become a bit of a dirty word, hasn’t it? Imagine how it is for me, explaining what I do to a layman and having to use that word. “Fashion.” Not only do I feel like a genuine pig’s anus, but then I have to deal with all of the horrible connotations that come along with that word. The superficiality, the shallowness, the misplaced life priorities. Especially in L.A., where everyone and their dad’s in “fashion” (literally, if you’re Jewish or Korean) and every O.C. transplant enrolled at FIDM is a self-proclaimed designer. Not to mention the once-over I get when someone takes in my workman’s ensemble and ponders in their head, “This pig’s anus works in fashion? He dresses like my 14-year-old nephew. Circa 1993.”
I’ve always viewed fashion as being an alien world of runways and chalklines, so it’s difficult trying to reconcile those conceptions with streetwear. Streetwear, for one, is a bit more infused with branding and surrounding culture. But at the end of the day, I guess streetwear has as much to do with fashion as any high-end couture label when you consider the relationship with design, aesthetics, seasons, trends, and the like.
I don’t really like to discuss my personal fashion tastes and views, lest I set myself up to be marked as a “fashion designer” *gasp*, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a defined opinion on the subject, especially when it comes to The Hundreds. T-shirts aside, our garments reflect a classic American, and more specifically Southern Californian, visage. That means straight lines, a lot of work with hard angles, and solids. If we do run with a pattern, it follows the same rule, thus, plaids to pinstripes. Lightweight materials to complement our lightweight weather. Timeless pieces to complement our timeless brand. And as far as colors go, you know the drill. Dark and muted tones offset by an off-color hit. For example, a black jacket betrayed by a fluorescent pop lining. That sorta thing.
Last year, Andres introduced me to The Sartorialist, which is this retardedly brilliant photo-based blog by Scott Schuman. Schuman basically started off by taking street-shots of fashion he appreciated and blogging about it, and today has his own column in GQ. It’s like a Niketalk “What Did You Wear Today?” thread except not so Filipino, and geared for the fashion-savvy elite (and yeah, elitists as well).
It’s one of the links on my daily bookmarks bar, and I have a fat folder zipped up with some of my favorite Sartorialist photographs from the past year. I’m posting some of them here just to give you an idea of what the hype is all about. And for all you weeners who are wondering why I’m posting up boring fashion pics instead of more Christine Mendoza, remember, you don’t have to dress like this to appreciate the art and design of what fashion is, and what it can be. It’s like Ultimate Fighting. You can watch it all day long and appreciate the strategy, but when was the last time you put a belligerent Brazilian in an armbar? That’s what I thought.
all photos courtesy of TheSartorialist.com
by bobbyhundreds
LA BREA BURNING.
La Brea and 6th goin’ down in flames and Antone’s (Stussy) there to document the conflagration. This is not a drill, folks!
remarkably spectacular newswire-worthy photos by antttttttone
by bobbyhundreds
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