Lifted Research Group, Inc. (L-R-G Clothing Company) is proud to announce an exclusive collaboration with Oakley. This collaboration will introduce two limited edition Oakley A Frame snow goggles set to hit the shops for 2009. Each model is available in one of two exclusive L-R-G designed styles.

L-R-G will keep your eyes shielded this winter with Oakley’s legendary A Frame goggle, an innovative design that has become the benchmark for fit, comfort, and optical performance on the snow. Integrated surge ports provide controlled airflow to the F3-coated anti-fog inner lens and combine with the precision of High Definition Optics (HDO®) for unbeatable clarity in just about any condition. Triple-layer face foam with moisture-wicking fleece provides a luxurious fit, and the articulating outrigger strap attachments are engineered to work with or without a helmet.

The L-R-G x Oakley A Frame Purple goggle features L-R-G Interlocking Trees all-over printed on the frame and the L-R-G logo is laser-engraved on the lower corner of the Black Iridium® lens. The L-R-G x Oakley A Frame Black goggle gets a mirror polished black frame finish combined with a special Gold Iridium® lens, featuring an innovative etching technique that adds the L-R-G landscape detail across the entire lower edge of the lens. This model will also include an additional replacement lens with the smaller L-R-G logo laser-engraved in lower corner. Both L-R-G designed editions are coordinated with matching straps bearing L-R-G x Oakley logos on opposite sides.

Shortly after announcing the discontinuation of its footwear, Ben Sherman has announced it will remain in the category with a new licensing partner: London-based Hudson Shoes.

“Since deciding to cease our in-house footwear business, we have had strong interest from most of the key players in the footwear sector to take the Ben Sherman footwear license,” said Ben Sherman CEO Miles Gray in a statement. “However our clear preference has been to establish a partnership with Hudson, who we feel tick all the boxes in terms of footwear expertise and full understanding of the Ben Sherman brand and its potential, and we really look forward to working with the Hudson team.”

Marc Verona of Hudson said, “This is a fantastic opportunity for Hudson. I am really looking forward to the challenge of putting a new team together to reposition the Ben Sherman footwear brand with some iconic pieces.”

Reps from Ben Sherman said retailers will receive fall orders as planned. Hudson’s first collection with the brand will debut in January 2010.

For London Fashion Week, Madame Tussauds is bringing together topmodel Kate Moss and America’s Next Top Model’s Tyra Banks in a specially created themed fashion area from 15th September. Moss joined the Madame Tussauds’ A-list in 2007, the sculpture will be revealed in a new fashionista glam look. Her figure will be totally made over swapping an understated classic ‘little black dress’ for an opulent gold evening gown. Her tousled shoulder length hair will be re-styled in a shorter hairdo and pulled back from her face to reveal her party make-up.

Madame ToussaudsThe British fashion icon will be joined by Tyra Banks, making a special visit from Madame Tussauds New York. The model-turned-TV presenter will be dressed in a red carpet floor-length black gown with a plunging neckline and feather detail on both shoulders. The dress is accessorized by a black clutch bag and crystal earrings.

The dynamic duo will feature in a themed fashion area where guests will be able to pose alongside the fashion duo. Prices to Madame Tussauds are from £12.50, pre-book queue-free tickets on 0870 400 3000 or at www.madame-tussauds.co.uk.

Madame Tussauds Studios London has been making wax figures for over 150 years. Each piece takes four months, and a team of 20 dedicated sculptors, to create. Over 500 precise body measurements are referenced, real head hairs are inserted one by one, and countless layers of paints and tints are applied to build up skin tones.

55DSL, the younger lifestyle arm of Diesel will literally be hijacking 15 Diesel stores across the United States selling 15 their key pieces from the fall/winter 2009 collection men’s collection, the 55DSL x adidas Originals XV/55 sneaker, and their limited edition 10.55 t-shirts for 15 days only.

The 55DSL x adidas Originals XV/55 is the first ever shoe for 55DSL and will have its US debut at the Diesel store hijacking in all 15 locations. This limited edition sneaker combines the technical expertise of adidas Originals with the signature style and colors of 55DSL.

Also part of the heist are the 55DSL limited edition t-shirts entitled 10.55. The 10.55 collection is a unique collaboration in which five different world renowned graphic artists have total creative freedom to design exclusive limited edition t-shirts.

For AW09, French Connection Menswear takes inspiration from deeply masculine locales - the season starts off with a PRISON story, presenting styles and details with a heavily distressed penitentiary influence. The collection then moves on to revel in a HORROR theme where colour, texture, and print work symbiotically to convey the move in to darkest winter. Finally, the range leads in to Christmas with a colourful and kitsch MOUNTAINEERING inspired collection guaranteed to get you on the go.

French Connection enters the season with a very wearable nod to 1930’s workwear. Soft powder pinks and Oxford blues are complimented by micro spots and stripes and vintage bib or removable collar detailing. Chic fine knits, chambray shirts, a salt and pepper suit, and a dark cotton trench raincoat are all noteworthy pieces. The mood darkens with the introduction of the Gothic. Take your pick from horrifically cool Beetlejuice striped shirts, motor jackets in leather, or a delicious maroon wool suit with white tipping and buttons. The mountaineering story provides technical down-filled removable linings, ropes and toggles, paired with fashionable gingham shirts and covetable knitwear - from funky fairisles to boiled wool with cable detailing.

French Connection Formal sees the use of key fabrics mohair and flannel, to provide tactile warm winter suiting. Using a sophisticated palette focusing on dark browns and salt and pepper greys, the formalwear retains a seasonal debonair flair. Three-piece varieties return in abundance, while a shorter one button jacket is added to instantly up the fashion element. Dedicated formalwear shirting shys away from loud prints and returns to softer colours and textures. Other notable additions to the range include dickie bows and tartan ties, as well as a new ultra soft slim Crombie with cashmere.

FCUK presents vibrant street sportswear with highlights of ‘pop’ colours. Bold dark wash denim and a base monochrome palette are livened up with bright piping on baseball jackets and bold prints. A Scooby Doo-esque take on horror introduces fun colours and graphics in a macabre way - all over spider web prints, to sophisticated tongue in cheek slogans, to an eyepopping fluoro pink tee with repeated blue eyeball graphic. Bright colours prevail with hip-hop style retro track tops and alternative windbreakers with multi seams and jersey collars.

FC72 focuses on heavy detailing this season to liven up staples such as a cotton donkey jacket or denim dungarees. Overdying, paint-splattering, crushed knits, and heavy stitching all lend to a distressed penitentiary feel, solidified with a fun barbed wire stripe print. Bondage and a Thiller-esque vibe introduce tapered jeans with oversize zips, ripped denim, waxed marble jeans, and even the Tombstone Zombies, a zombie football team! The season ends on a softer note, with brushed cottons and cosy bright chunky knits with fairisle detailing. Flag logos, floral prints, tartan branding, and a puffa gillet all give an outdoorsy feel, while the key slogan T-shirt sums up the entire collection “You ain’t seen nothing Yeti”

Mad for it t-shirt brand ‘Amplified’ bang the drum about the most legendary groups and have produced these ‘Stone Roses’ prints to mark the 20th anniversary of the groups self titled debut album ‘Stone Roses’.

The range is a collection of authentic cover art work from the bands biggest and earliest collection of chart singles including I Wanna Be Adored, Sally Cinnamon, She Bangs the Drums ands and Waterfall. The group’s eye catching Pollock-eque artwork is as an important aspect of the group’s baggy legacy as much as the creeping bassline, waves of cool guitar hooks and Browns effortless nonchalant vocals of “I Wanna Be Adored”.

The Band had intended to purchase an authentic Pollock painting to use for their album cover but couldn’t get Silvertone Records to commit to the £¾ Million asking price. It was then left to the bands guitarist John Squire to copy a Pollock to the best of his ability, the result was arguably one of the most iconic album covers of all time.

A factory that makes jeans for Gap and Levi Strauss is illegally dumping chemical waste in a river and two unsecured tips where it poses a hazard to children. The scandal was uncovered by a Sunday Times investigation into pollution caused by a plant in Lesotho, southern Africa, which supplies denim to the two companies.

Dark blue effluent from the factory of Nien Hsing, a Taiwanese firm, was pouring into a river from which people draw water for cooking and bathing.The firm was also dumping needles, razors and harmful chemicals such as caustic soda at municipal dumps that have attracted child rag-pickers as young as five in search of cloth fragments to sell for fuel. Many of the children, who work for up to 10 hours a day, complain of breathing difficulties, weeping eyes and rashes.

A report by the Telegraph has revealed consumers are being tricked into buying cheap fake goods on the internet by companies pretending to be based in the UK, trading standards officers have warned. Many websites are based in China but use co.uk as part of their domain name, fooling shoppers into thinking the company is UK-based. Officials estimate up to 480,000 sites selling a range of goods from designer clothing to hair straighteners that are based outside the UK but carry the co.uk domain name.

Trading standards officers believe the co.uk suffix is lulling consumers into a sense of false security and have warned internet shoppers not to presume that sites that carry it are British. Anyone prepared to register using their name and address, and pay a £5 fee, can buy a co.uk domain name for a two-year period.

In total about six per cent of registrations for co.uk domain names come from foreign companies, mostly based in China, according to trading standards.”There doesn’t need to be a UK link,” said Paul Miloseski-Reid, a trading standards officer based in Richmond, Surrey. “So it’s really open to abuse by criminals who want to pretend they’re local, when they’re selling unsafe, counterfeit goods.”

In a survey of 52 countries, trading standards found that most countries have far tougher rules than the UK. Usually they demand some sort of link with the country whose domain name they are adopting. Nominet, which is responsible for giving out domain names in the UK, said that the UK operates one of the most liberal internet regimes in the world. Nick Wenban-Smith, legal counsel for Nominet, warned that internet shoppers “need to be vigilant.” He advised consumers who are unsure about the origins of a website to use the “Whois” tool, on Nominet’s website.

Paul Smith SPACE GALLERY is delighted to announce an exhibition “Dream Empire” by Japanese artist Keiichi Tanaami and English artist Pete Fowler.

The exhibition inspiration is derived from the music of Super Furry Animals and developed from the artwork created for the jacket of the album Dark Days/Light Years.

Based on this inspiration, Tanaami adopted a theme of “Mysterious Journey to an Alien World” to create his works. Utilizing an almost infinite number of images through integrating, selecting, connecting and other editorial processes, to represent Memories of the Inner Journey.

Meanwhile, Pete Fowler has journeyed back and forth between mutual images, pursuing his concept of creating psychedelic art works without limiting himself. While creating his work he enjoyed the process in which Tanaami, whom he respects as a great artist, lead their works in unexpected directions.

The exhibition will run from 1st-23rd August and displays eighteen artworks, some of which have been specially made for Paul Smith SPACE GALLERY.

Dream Empire, Keiichi Tanaami and Pete Fowler.
1st-23rd August
Paul Smith ‘SPACE’
5-46-14 Jingumae Shibuya-ku
Tokyo

Tel: +81 3 5766 1788
Open: 11.00am - 8.00pm
Closed: Wednesday

This year, John Smedley celebrates 225 years as specialists in fine, lightweight knitwear. The heritage brand was there at the birth of the industrial revolution, back when the first factories and looms were being built. The company has since come a long way and continues to innovate and evolve, and today is known as one of the world’s leading luxury knitwear specialists.

Founded in 1784 as a spinning mill, it wasn’t until 1825 when the second John Smedley took the reigns and set out a new vision for the company, where spinning, knitting and manufacturing takes place under one roof using only the finest raw materials. In 1893 John Smedley became a limited company and developed a production line capable of manufacturing fine gauge, fully fashioned underwear and outerwear. The company’s iconic Sea Island Cotton products came in 1922 and were first used to knit John Smedley underwear, unique for its fineness, luxurious staple length and high tensile strength.

Celebrating its 225 years, the company has launched the 225 Fine Underwear range. These pieces are made in England from pure natural fibres with the craft and skill of generations. You can also preview John Smedley’s Autumn Winter 2009 collection on its new anniversary website. The menswear collection combines signature styles and new pieces and revolves around three personalities that epitomise the spirit of John Smedley: Owl, Raven and Peacock. Each character is different, but all share a passion for luxury and design. The womenswear collection is based on reflection, back to the 1920s when notions of appropriate dress were being challenged. Loose, unusual shapes, layered with tapered classics create distinctive silhouettes.

Fans of the brand can share their Smedley stories by uploading these online on their anniversary website at www.johnsmedley225.com for a chance to win £225 worth of online vouchers.

Hold on to your plaid-patterned bowties; K2 Snowboarding and Original Penguin, the classic American sportswear brand, are teaming up for Winter 09-10 to create a high-end all terrain freestyle snowboard, boot and binding. The partnership marries K2’s technology and Original Penguin’s unique style to provide winter athletes with an eye-catching look on the snow. Original Penguin’s quirky-traditional take on fashion and K2’s high-performance technology will be literalized on the mountain, creating a combination unlike anything else.

“The collaboration is a way for us to provide our core customer with something that they have never gotten from Original Penguin while staying authentic to our aesthetic. There is great synergy between the two brands and lots of crossover appeal; I am confident it will be well received” says Daniel Lakhman, Director of Marketing for Original Penguin.

Known for staying a jump ahead of the trend, K2 approached Original Penguin last year to design a board. Original Penguin’s Creative Director Ann Payne dug way back into the archives for an exclusive selection of Original Penguin prints. With a vault full of fabric at their fingertips, the K2 and Original Penguin design teams joined forces to create a montage of classic patterns that would adorn K2’s newest board. “Penguin is clearly a cool brand with its finger on the pulse of design and style” said Jeff Mechura, K2 Snowboarding Global Brand Director. “Working closely with their NYC design team, we were able to develop package that both slays the hill and looks polished on the street.”

The finished look maintains the tradition of the Original Penguin brand while pushing the extreme sports area to new heights. The limited edition gear, which will sport logos from both brands, features the new K2 “Slayblade” board, “Maysis DBL BOA” boot and “Auto” binding.

The board’s Hybrilight construction results in an ultra light weight feel and the boot’s integrated Harshmellow dampens the vibrations and cushions landings allowing for maximum speed. Add Flatline Technology for the perfect balance of power and playfulness and the Original Penguin / K2 board becomes the most technologically advanced, highest performing arsenal ever assembled to slay the mountain.

The set will retail for $950.00 USD and be available at winter sport retail stores throughout North America and Europe starting August 2009.

“Trousers London have built a cult following in Japan, successfully featuring in key Tokyo stores, as well as in the UK with celebrity fans including Matthew Williamson. Trousers London are returning to Margin for the 4th time with their sharp range of cutting edge, directional denim.”

Trousers London is a London-based premium men’s jeanswear label. Showcasing their Spring/Summer 2010 collection at MARGIN trade fair on the 2nd and 3rd of August.

New to the collection are 4 men’s jeans with the familiar, close attention to quirky detailing as their predecessors. Models Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten take the designs into double figures. Two straight-leg and two low-crotch models complement the growing family of designs.

The Trousers London brand was launched during London Fashion Week in February 2008 by a team of four creatives whose training and professional experience span the fields of design, architecture, advertising and business. This multi-disciplinary background helped fuse into being the brand these visionaries had so boldly imagined.

Trousers London is an experimental, ambitious, future-focused jeans label inspired by London. From unique designs and shapes, to small but important details, Trousers London stands alone among the clones of the daily jeans parade. Making jeans for the genuine modern-day gentlemen, for the man who loves the thrill of the new and is always at the forefront of the avant-garde.

At Trousers London, we believe in ecologically friendly materials and care that our products are not born of exploitation. The range is crafted with patience and skill in small batches, in our Italian factory using organic premium denim. Each new jeans model is numbered in the order of its design. Our debut collection consisted of Trousers One, Two, Three and Four.

To ensure the exclusivity of our jeans, as well as carefully selecting materials and applying intricate details, every pair is given a unique ID number. Each model of jeans is limited edition. In the first collection each pair was one of only 150.

NEW BALANCE INTRODUCES THE KALEIDOSCOPE 460 COLLECTION FOR FALL 2009

The 460 launched in spring 2009 to overwhelming reviews. The next incarnation in women’s lifestyle sneakers, the 460 is the perfect balance where sport meets fashion, comfort co-exists with style and no detail has been spared.

Featuring textured mesh uppers the 460 boasts trendy colors and contrast stitching. This collection features a kaleidoscope insert and collar lining detail. Each pair has a unique kaleidoscope tongue label.

The 460 Kaleidoscope collection will be available in four colorways: white/pink/purple, white/coral/teal, navy/beige/red and grey/pink and will retail for $65.00.