Jean-Paul Gaultier x Levi's

French designer Jaun-Paul Gaultier, typically known for creating scents, has teamed up with Levi's to create a new denim collection featuring dark fades with red and white accents. L'Officiel Homme, a French magazine published by Milan Vukmirovic, co-founder of the French fashion boutique Collette, provides the first set of pictures from the collection. Although the pieces look like they were made from the same spool of material, the dark raw denim makes the collection seem distinctly Levi's, while at the same time provides for a different take on the usual jean jacket.

Personally, I'm happy that denim jackets are coming back hard (check out the jacket in BBC's Spring collection) and I may have to snag one when the weather gets a bit warmer.

BBC/Ice Cream Spring 2010 Lookbook

Pharrell's clothing line Billionaire Boys Club/Ice Cream unveiled its Spring 2010 collection today and I must say, I'm fairly impressed. Besides some basic graphic tees, I haven't liked much BBC-wise lately but this new set is hot! By combining twists on classic patterns, bold colours and the perfect set of shoes, BBC really nailed this one. Below are only a selection of the shots in the collection but for the sake of space (and tolerability) I didn't want to include the whole shoot. But just in case you want more, the link is available at the bottom of this post.

Kanye West for A Bathing Ape

Yeezy is the model for BAPE's Spring 2010 collection and I have to admit, most of this stuff is nice. The only piece I would refuse to wear without even thinking twice is the camo jacket. By no means am I usually a fan of BAPE clothing but recently they've dropped some nice lines and products including the Kid Cudi tee. In particular, I'm really feeling the pants in these shots. Although they look like they're too big, they aren't baggy. I also really like the light blue shirt in the 3rd picture and the pattern on the belt in the 6th picture. All in all, this is a solid set of stuff for the Spring (alliteration not intended).

Jeremy Scott for adidas Orginal by Original

Fashion designer Jeremy Scott has teamed up with adidas to create a third line of Originals by Originals apparel for the Spring/Summer 2010 season. ObyO has also previously partnered with Kazuki, Alyasha, and David Beckham and J. Bond to create diverse sets that range from "Wild Style" to "High-Tech Fashion" to "Originality American-style". Personally I have always been a fan of adidas apparel; I think they manage to do a great job of mixing athelticism with fashion (their track jackets are second-to-none).

While this collection definitely falls into "Wild Style", there are some pieces that are street-worthy. The collection drops worldwide March 15th, 2010 in Originals stores (Torontonians, that means 389 Queen St. West for you). Check out some more shots after the jump.

Gift Guide Item #3: Men's Vancouver 2010 Bamboo Short-Sleeved

"This not so basic short-sleeved shirt is made from 50% bamboo making it slightly softer and more eco-friendly than 100% cotton shirts. Bamboo contains naturally antibacterial and anti-fungal properties that are not lost during processing or repeated washings."

Yes, I stole that directly from the website but it says what I would have said - just in a more concise way. $20 for a socially conscious piece of clothing that blasts the Olympics...I'm down. Available at the Bay and online here for the guys. There's also a fairly similar version for the ladies, and is available here.

Pappalardo x Product (RED)

Continuing with the idea of acknowledging that HIV/AIDS exists 365 days a year, I'm sure you've all heard of PRODUCT (RED) products (which range from Gap clothing to iPods to Dell computers to Hallmark cards). Although these products will not eradicate the issue, they develop a sense of consumer consciousness with the hopes that they'll research the cause that their products are advertising.

The newest (RED) product is a Converse sneaker designed by skateboarder Anthony Pappalardo. From the picture it looks to be made of suede and it's a blue and white colourway with red trimming. Pappalardo's name is stiched on the side and on the back is a red heart. Personally, I like the detailed stitching around the tongue; it kind of looks like a spider web. To see more of these shoes, check out the promo video here.

And once in a while, to keep things interesting, I'd swap the blue laces for the (Nike)RED ones that just came out a couple of days ago.

Via Hypebeast

Down by the Bayou

In honour of the still-undefeated New Orleans Saints' absolute pummeling of the New England Patriots earlier tonight in the much-anticipated Monday Night Football showdown, I felt that a little fashion profile of the Big Easy was in order. For that, I present you Rubensteins, the famed men's speciality store in NO that carries high-profile brands like Lacoste, Ralph Lauren, Ermenegildo Zegna, and lesser known brands like Coppley, A. Testoni and Zanella.

Founded in 1924, this boutique has provided generations of New Orleans' finest dressing men with the clothes they need to look good and professional at the same time - because after all, gentlemen should be doing both at the same time anyways. The store also features a plethora of services ranging from shoe repair and tailoring to concierge service and closet cleaning. There is also an apothecary on site that sells ladies' perfumes and men's grooming tips and products. Talk about well-rounded.

To finish up, Rubensteins was "named Style Leader in both 2007 and '08, placed among the top 100 best specialty stores in America and named Best of Class by Esquire magazine for 2008." Not bad at all...

Here are some pictures of their Fall collection from their Facebook fan page:




Plus, you know we had to shout out New Orleans' monster hip-hop export, Lil Wayne. Check him go hard with his posse on their remix of Jim Jones' "We Fly High" here.

Rinze Van Brug x Oumlil

New York-based photographer Rinze Van Brug hooked up with Moroccan clothing designer Hisham Oumlil to shoot Oumlil's Fall/Winter collection. A few things immediately come to mind when looking at the collection: clean, precisely cut and (most importantly) wearable. These coats are gorgeous (my favourite is the purple-patterned one) even though I'd look like a dwarf under the bulk of it.

"The goal was to unite the tradition of old world tailoring with a progressive aesthetic, so as to elevate men's fashion to a level where design and craft are of equal importance," says the website. Objective achieved.