Is there a more misused term than ‘influencer’? Every time anyone uses it at corporate level, somewhere a puppy dies. It’s that bad. Anyone swanning around thinking they’re influentual almost certainly isn’t. If they afford themself the title that’s even worse, like thinking you’re funny, but being flowed free product specifically to wear in order to shill more to a moronic crowd daft enough to follow their lead perches at the same tier as the guy holding the ‘Golf Sale’ sign down Oxford Street. The ‘influencer’ just has a nicer jacket, but the outcome is usually similar – pushing mass-produced sportswear in a targeted way. Clowns. But this blog was never meant to be the negativity zone, otherwise I would’ve vented here in self-indulgent fashion at being snubbed in favour of even bigger toys than myself (now that’s truly toy) for events or the startling ineptitude of so many blank eyed public relations people making a limited edition pig’s ear out of the brands they’re paid to promote. I don’t want to make this blog that place, so let’s talk influences. Like Chucky D said, most of my influences don’t appear on no seeding lists. But a few do.

As the decade creaks to a close, it’s natural that we’re going to get retrospective. As the last post indicated, there’s been a fair amount of backward glances to the early part of the noughties. Can it be that it was all so simple then? Thinking back to a time when favourites on Internet Explorer bore little resemblance to the colossal list Firefox spits out at me when I click that tab, I don’t think the early English language news sites get their dues at a time when we’re assailed by fake Hypebeasts and Sartorialists at every turn. Blogger always felt a little more intimidating than WordPress to trick out and render it readable. Nikolai’s Rift Trooper site,  once carrying a difficult-to-remember web address, which has altered a little, but retains some great articles was invaluable – extensive central London wanders logged and note heavy, heads up on John Carpenter books and links to the mysterious Simon at Concept Shop made it a daily source of information that seemed built to convey rather than as an excuse for freeloading. How much has London’s retail landscape changed in six years? A lot.

Over in Germany, I don’t think the country’s obsessive dedication to, for want of a better term (all suggestions welcomed), street culture is truly acknowledged. Marok’s Lodown and Being Hunted keep on bringing it. Any magazine that runs for a few years deserves respect, but Lodown’s been running since 1995 and still stays relevant. As with anything long-lasting, it’s easy to take Lodown for granted, but that publication, plus the Super Lo8 videos and Visual Engineering books, was integral to my decision to sell my soul to big brands for shoes. Lodown doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Lodown’s certainly sustained a lot better than Tokion too. I sometimes forget that’s still running – a far cry from the heyday of the Neo-Graffiti project (remember the Margaret Kilgallen figure? That takes out your entire artist series in one piece of vinyl).

Beinghunted may well be one of my core inspirations for documenting this culture, or at least voicing an opinion on it. From its birth in October 2001, there was a certain precision to the site – simple but intelligent in its treatment of some interesting creations globally. Like Rift Trooper’s e-spot, it was total fanboy fodder too (“For you to know. More.“), but that subtle spot of flash with a moving header certainly gave it more of a sheen. Lodown never seemed too solemn, and neither was Beinghunted, but Jörg wasn’t afraid to call out the brands for acts of lameness. Now that right there was influential – more pertinent now as we’re part of an electronic sycophant community.

The site’s impact on today’s quick fix “news culture” was influential too. Having their own double-label pieces in 2003 was pretty new to me too (though Unorthodox Styles had the Recon joints in July 2002) and the fact it felt like a kindred spirit to its readership, showcasing the new Relax covers and warning the site users how fast product was shifting. Opening The-Glade.com in 2004 and in 2006, the Firmament store after a Munich-Berlin move showed just how far the project had come. A product like the ‘Also Known As’ publication could be passionately previewed and sold within the same outlet. The Firmament Boy’s Own collection, and recent Beinghunted Stone Island Shadow and Wood Wood pieces prove they’re still leagues ahead of the competition too. Shouts to Jörg and Andre. Oh yeah, and while the slate seems to have been wiped clean online with regards to information pre-hype site (I blame Geocities), Beinghunted’s entire archive is accessible.

This talk of Magazine House’s relax has got me digressing too. Was there anything to rival that magazine for flawless presentation? The covers between 1999 and 2004 were works of art, and it was elegant, borderline impenetrable at times, particularly towards the end, but affordable too. I defy you to find me a more visually stimulating magazine. relax seemed to move from hype brands to something very different altogether at the exact point that Nigo and co. went global, and the leisurely magazine’s antithesis, the quick fix info blog exploded. I’ve never known exactly when it started, I’ve heard 1989 and 1996 (according to Tiffany Godoy’s ‘Style Deficit Disorder’), but its end in August 2006 seemed pretty lowkey.

In its dying days (circulation tumbled from 46,239 in 2001 to 19,982 by the end of 2005) it switched to something not dissimilar to what Apartamento does very well, but the focus on LOHAS (Lifestyles of Heath and Sustainability) wasn’t quite so fun for anyone copping it, especially if you didn’t speak the lingo and were just on the hunt for pretty pictures. The James Jarvis September 2004 interpretation of  ‘Pet Sounds’ is a thing of beauty. I had the fortune of having access to Mr. Russell Williamson’s back issue collection at the U-Dox office, and thanks to the NMCA archive, there’s a few covers below. Great stuff.

www.beinghunted.com

www.rthq.com

Après les figurines d’Artoyz, c’est au tour de la marque de basketball K1X de proposer une série rendant hommage aux 4 éléments, avec 4 ballons de basket customisés par des artistes de renom et tirés à seulement 444 exemplaires chacun.

Et si le ballon multicolore de Marok qui représente l’Eau n’est pas franchement indispensable, l’interprétation de l’Air par Frank 151 et Stay High 149 est beaucoup plus réussie avec son revêtement en cuir blanc et gris, malgré un visuel qui aurait fait fureur dans les années 90. En attendant le ballon Feu de Bill Mc Mullen, et surtout la version Terre réalisée par Mode2, qui devrait être assez violente.

Pour voir plus de photos des ballons de basket Eau et Air, vous pouvez cliquer pour

Ganz nach dem Motto “off the street – on your wall” stellt der UNDPLUS Urban Gallery Store Kunst aus dem urbanen Raum aus. Der Focus liegt auf Prints und Postern von Streetart- und Graffitigrößen wie Marok, Nomad, Studio80 und R.K.D.U.

Kunst aus dem urbanen Raum

Installationen kommen von StudioAnti und Paul Snowden, die schon lange auf dem internationalen Kunstmarkt bekannt sind.
Alex Flach und David Mallon zeigen mit ihren Fotoaufnahmen die pure Schönheit der Straße, auch wenn sie manchmal brutal ist.
Passend zu den Bildern von David Mallon gibt es Fixies und reduzierte Vintage Cycles aus den 70ern. Kann man auch an die Wand hängen, wäre aber schade!

Urban Gallery Store

Zusätzlich, um den Store-Charakter zu erhöhen, gibt es eine exklusive Auswahl an T-Shirts von dem Münchener Musiklabel Gomma und der Organic T-Shirt Company ThokkThook, welche es in kürzester Zeit geschafft haben, mit ihren linearen und ungewöhnlichen Graphics, den T-Shirt Markt zu erobern. Weiters sind Raritäten von The Lousy Livincompany, Violent Elegance, den Artschoolvets und der klassiker Wasted German Youth von Paul Snowden mit im Programm.

Aufgrund der limitierten Auflagen schließt der Urban Gallery Store von UNDPLUS bereits am 30. August wieder seine Türen.

more Infos
http://www.undplus.com/

Off the Street Kunst aus dem urbanen Raum

_____________________________

Torstrasse 68
Berlin – Mitte

For some reason these designs just jumped out at the kid. This is that gear you rock with gray jeans, tortoise wayfarers, and some Reebok Pumps on your feets. Around here we call it Retro-Futuristic.

More info at Hypebeast.

Bringin’ 88 Back!

Continuing with their artist series previews, Los Angeles-based label WeSC introduces three additional artists that will be a part of the brand’s 2009 Fall/Winter Collection. Included in this batch are Marok, Delta, and the return of Stash. Like the Kazuki and Madsaki collection, this line up finds each artist developing their own designs on a t-shirt template as well as a crewneck/hoody.

I cannot lie, I absolutely love this collection of upper garments that WeSC is putting out, especially in their artist series. Quite honestly, I do not have a favorite piece, but what I can say is that I lean toward the crewneck sweater presented above. Thoughts?

Also, be sure to check out the rest of the pieces from WeSC’s Fall/Winter artist collection.

Berlin’s Marok teams up with sunglass makers Colab on a series of frames.

Available now at The-Glade.

From:Hypebeast

WeSC short for WearetheSuperlativeConspiracy has some of the biggest collaborations with everyone from Stash to Delta. Here is a little preview for their upcoming collaborations for the Fall 2009 Collection.

We all love to gawk at impressive shoes and clothing, but take this video as your daily inspiration to do something greater with yourself. Channel that love for material things into a talent that can be commodified, because behind every item you obsess over is someone creating it and more importantly, getting paid from it.

Marok x Nike 1World Air Force 1 Interview

I’ve seen people rise from nothing to something in this game. You can do it too. I’m serious about that.

Wenn eure Lieben einen etwas anspruchsvolleren Geschmack haben was Weihnachtsgeschenke angeht, dann seid ihr dieser Tage in der CircleCulture Gallery genau richtig. Denn dort gibt es nämlich gerade einen Weihnachts-Sale mit limitierten Künstlerauflagen von ein paar ihrer vertretenen Künstler, und zwar schon ab 60 EUR. Um nur ein paar zu nennen: Banksy, Daniel Tagno, Anton Unai, XOOOOX, Dolk… Eine komplette Liste und ein paar Beispiele nach dem Klick. Bei der Gelegenheit könnt ihr euch übrigens auch die aktuelle Ausstellung von Jaybo anschauen.

Jaybo

Space Invader

Banksy

FRIENDS & HEROES – LIMITED URBAN ART EDITIONS
mit XOOOOX, BANKSY, DANIEL TAGNO, SWOON, CHARLIE ISOE, FAILE, ANTON UNAI, DOLK, MAROK, ANDRÉ, JAYBO, SPACE INVADER, NOMAD, SHEPARD FAIRY/OBEY, NEON, MYMO, ALEX FLACH, EELUS, EMESS, DAVE KINSEY, JEREMY FISH…

CircleCulture Gallery

Gipsstrasse 11

10119 Berlin

Di – Sa 14 – 18 Uhr

Eine Auswahl der Bilder aus diesem Sale seht ihr hier.

Via Highsnobiety

Nice, clean AF One collab with Berlin-based artist Marok…love the transparent mid-sole.

(High Snob)

Alman sanatci Thoma Marecki (Marok) uzun zamandir grafiti dunyasinda ve Lodown Magazine‘de ki islerinle efsanelemis bir isim. O nedenle Nike bu ozel 1World Air Force 1′u cikartiyor. Isteyen Nort Berlin magasinda 13 Aralik 2008′te alabilir!

German artist Thoma Marecki (Marok) has gained a lot of street cred because of his graffiti and his work at Lodown Magazine. That’s probably the reason why Nike asked him to part of the NIke 1World Air Force 1 sneaker pimping shizzle. If you like his design you can buy it at Nort Berlin on the 13th of December!

Thanks to High Snobiety‘a sagol!

ARC x Saucony Shadow 6000 | Burgundy & Grey

Nike Spring/Summer 2009 Air Max 90 Moire

Nike 1World Project: Marok Air Force 1

Via highsnobiety

Rene Lacoste ruled the world tennis scene for much of the 1920s and 30s, winning seven Grand Slam championships (Wimbledon, the French Open, and the US Open) and earning himself the fan-appointed title of “the crocodile” because of his hostile nature on the court.

Now, 79 years after Rene introduced the first Lacoste tennis shirt (not commercially available until 1933), the Lacoste company is celebrating its 75th anniversary and its founder through art, commissioning 11 Berlin artists to interpret the brand’s notorious crocodile logo. The pieces are up for auction online and on exhibit at KaDaWe Berlin’s atrium, temporarily named Gallery 12.12 (after Lacoste’s original tennis polo), until July 12.

Here are some of my favorites:

PAST FORWARD by TOFA

CROCODILE IN THE WOODS by Thomas MARECKI a.k.a. MAROK

HERE BE DRAGONS 2 by Anne Sofie VISTVEN

View the entire collection, and bid on the pieces here.

Wer sich für Street Art interessiert, der sollte diesen Monat der Circleculture Galerie einen Besuch abstatten. Hier eröffnet nämlich diesen Freitag eine Ausstellung mit 7 Berliner Künstlern, die das Thema von einer neuen Perspektive beleuchtet. Ab dem 7. Dezember sind Werke von Anton Unai, Marok, Jaybo aka Monk, A. Ciudid Witzel (Bild oben), Neon, Nomad und Daniel Tagno zu sehen. Mehr Infos und Bilder nach dem Klick.

Die Vernissage findet am Donnerstag dem 6. um 19 Uhr in der Galerie statt.

“Berliner Straße”

Circleculture Gallery

Gipsstr. 11

10119 Berlin

www.circleculture-gallery.com

Unagi Books, a new publishing house just released a new book from Thomas Marecki, aka ‘Marok’, the publisher and art director of Lodown magazine. This book combines visuals from Thomas, with texts and itws from Renko Heuer.