Brand Blast: Pendleton

Although Pendleton may not be the most exciting brand in streetwear (hope you enjoyed that slideshow) they are becoming an increasingly substantial partner with popular streetwear companies. Since September (we're talking 4 months here), Pendleton has collaborated with at least 3 major brands (Trainspotter, Junta Watanabe and Hurley) and a world-famous clothing store and webstore Opening Ceremony.

Trainspotter teamed up with Pendleton's wool division to produce an outfit that features a hat and what is essentially a designer rain coat.

Images after the jump.

Brand Blast: 686

It's been a minute since we've done a Brand Blast but the other day, I came across one that deserves a mention. I'm talking about 686, the skate/snowboard brand out of Irvine, California that combines technological innovation with outerwear. Although they have several lines, I want to present you with the brilliantly-designed Time. Time's goal is "to work with a partner who shares similar inspirations and offer a limited product that’s like no other. We keep production limited and retail distribution exclusive, making the TIMES line fresh every year". All the stuff is limited edition so we're talking mega-exclusivity on each of these pieces. So far 686 has collaborated on projects with Levi's, New Balance and KR3W. The prices between the three lines are relatively similar but for the sake of comparison, here's a look at a jacket from each of the three companies:

686 Times New Balance 580 3-Ply Jacket; $289.99; available here

686 Times KR3W K-65 Jacket; $279.99; available here

686 Times Levi's Trucker Insulated Jacket; $269.99; available here

And a few weeks ago, 686 released what they called Supernova collections for their New Balance and Levi's collabs. The Supernova/New Balance collection is a boxset containing 4 pieces (a sneaker, snowboarding boot, New Era cap and what looks like a windbreaker) in a bright orange/turquoise colourway. The Supernova/Levi's collection is a single piece of clothing: a beautifully crafted pair of Levi's jeans that feature trimming in the same orange/turquoise colourway. These jeans are nothing less than gorgeous and only 10 pairs were made worldwide! I don't even want to know how much the Supernova pieces cost...smh... Check out some pics below.






A huge high-five to anyone who can figure out where this zipper is. I was thinking on the side of the jeans??

Shouts to Hypebeast twice

Ladies Brand Blast: Married to the Mob

Ladies, I've been working hard to find something to post for you but I don't even know where to start (a little help in the comments section would be much appreciated). In the meantime, I stumbled across this. The brand is called Married to the Mob and they just rolled out their Holiday 2009 collection this past week. The premise of the brand, according to their website is this: "While there were tons of great street brands for guys, there was virtually no version for females" and thus MTTM was born.
For the Holiday collection, we see plenty of knits, thick materials and high heel boots. All this may seem unsurprising considering it IS cold winter, and you'd be right. The thing that really caught my eye with this collection was how they didn't back away from colour, even though the weather conditions may be less than sub-par. It seems that MTTM is really into patterns and they make sure that if you're wearing their clothing, you will get noticed. Weather = bad mood. Guys gawking at you in your stand out colours = good mood.
Via Hypebeast

Brand Blast: Burkman Bros.

Adirondack Mountains on the weekend? Frat boy during the week?
I'm not sure if that's what Doug and Ben Burkman were envisioning when they designed their Autumn/Winter line for their label Burkman Bros., but that's sure what came out. The brothers, before starting their own outfit, were designers over at Gap Inc. and the influence is clear; some of the pieces, like the khaki-coloured twill pants and polos, scream prep. But then you get to the footwear. By adding a pair of hiking boots, the outfits immediately take on a different look: ruggedness. The plaid madras shirts and linen pants look sturdy and shouldn't be worn any further than 100 feet away from a forest or a farm (I'm thinking Maine and Manitoba).
And the best part? The Burkmans are from Toronto. We're always down for sending love to homegrown talent.
Their line has just been picked up at Holt Renfrew; good on you gentlemen.
Check out their website and their Holt's listing.