Lifestyle Brands

What on earth is a lifestyle brand?

"A lifestyle brand is a brand that attempts to embody the values and aspirations of a group or culture for purposes of marketing"

Thank you Wikipedia. 

My first case study in answering this question is Diamond supply co.

All you need to do is to go onto the Diamond website to see that Diamond do offer items and designs that embody the skate culture which they have always firmly anchored themselves in, offering skateboarding hardware and even selling bolts in a Cannabis grinder. Delving rather deeply into skateboarding's culture and offering solutions that are helpful, whilst still letting skaters buy into Diamond in all aspects of their life.

let me reiterate: ALL ASPECTS OF THEIR LIFE.

Where does this stop being lifestyle marketing and begin being a case of selling just about anything and bumping the prices up because it has a name on it.prime example Diamond's rugs and cushions, just in case you forgot that you skateboarded in the few hours you reside in your home. One clear example of this is the "simplicity is the key to brilliance" rug costing roughly £229 (after conversion) lets have a look...

Pretty ironic given the design is far from simple.but what really hits me, is that this is a nice rug and I would happily have it in my living room however if Simplicity 
really is the key to brilliance surely a plain, simple rug would suffice.Like this extremely soft high pile rug from Ikea. The same dimensions but for next to a quarter of the price.

Carhartt

Also another brand that I feel falls into the category of lifestyle brand is Carhartt. Carhartt, especially Carhartt WIP (Work In Progress), has a maturity about it unlike many other under the vast umbrella of skate/streetwear. whilst offering a lot of simplistic designs that include various types of fabric they also use loud and deep camo prints in there design.

So lets delve deeper than the standard tee shirt or ever-increasingly common thick cuffed beanies. Carhartt offer many solutions to everyday problems. Carhartt actually offers solutions to every problem you may face to, from and in: College, school or work...

That annoyingly loud pre-adolescent on the bus? Headphones.
Need to take notes? Notepads and Pens.
Not quite finished that project? USB that'll fit on a lanyard or phone
Dreading taking your mom's floral Cath Kidson stool while you camp out for the next big drop? Camping Chair.
Fallen asleep on your ever so comfortable $350 Diamond supply co. rug when you have somewhere to be? Alarm clock.

See... any problem, its also worth noting that many of these essentials that Carhartt offer are at an affordable price. My wallet was the cheapest I could find after my favourite Obey Posse wallet fell apart after 6 years and I must admit it's already looking like it'll last much longer.

I suppose they really are the "Rugged Urbanwear" like they occasionally claim.

Pictured: (left) Carhartt Jetlack Alarm Clock, (right) My £18 Carhartt Wallet.
 

Generic Sneaks: NB vs Nike

So in this small feature I'm going put various different models and brands against each other. To expand and have an in-depth look at some of the everyday sneaks and I wanted to start with a pretty simple but worrying  comparison.

I'm going to start chronologically back in 1976 when Nike released the Elite. Which has now donned the the name "Elite Vintage" due to the fact they still release new versions of this model true to the original shape.This is a classic  in its own right and offers the basic look and shape in which most classic runners are based. With a 2 part sole to raise the heel , a smooth shape from top to toe (forgive the pun) and curves on the heel and toe of the sole for a fluent motion when running and simply comfort while walking.

then if we fast-forward into the 80's New Balance retaliated with their version of the Elite. In which I assume design was as simple as that of sticking a different badge on the same car or choosing the size to have your brands ever so original box logo. This is in short a poor design effort from new balance, and when considered alongside the context of originality surrounding the Elite and its lasting effect on the silhouette of running shoes this round belongs to Nike. 

Now, to offer a fairer comparison is to look at how each brand responded to the changes in the times and in turn, the shape of runners. The late 80's with a thicker heel and a greater slope from the tongue to the toe giving steeper and clearer "dip" in the shoes and in 1988 and 1989 both Nike and New Balance responded with their evolution to the runner. I've chosen to look at the New Balance 1500 and the Nike Air Pegasus 89. 

It is worth noting that the 1500 is noticeably easier to compare to the Air Max one coming out a year before in 1987 and featuring a similar structure and overlay however the AM1 is very much on its own level of influence and would simply not be fair comparison. but a good focal point to measure 

Both the 1500 and the Air Pegasus have a more triangular appearance to their predecessors and exaggeration the curvature of the sole as previously mentioned. However this is where Nike's persistent dominance of runners ends. The 1500 is a far superior shoe in terms of appearance they are an easily adaptable shoe for multiple collaborations and colourways and has a clear reputation amongst the sneaker community as a reputable alternative to the AM1. Not to mention it does show New balance clearly taking influence from Nike but not just re branding it but actually making it their own. For these reasons I'll happily come down on NB's side this time solely for my hatred of the Air Pegasus 89...

Air Pegasus or as I'm going to refer to them as the "89" has multiple visible and design flaws in my opinion. Firstly the shoe is nothing original for Nike and takes the weaker aspects from the Air range including: Max 1, Vortex, Elite and Windrunners to create a shoe that looks thrown together with the many irrelevant cut aways and additions  that make the shoe look more like an Elite in a shell than a whole new trainer, which is also the case for the Pegasus 92 which was an Elite in a Huarache Shell. The 89 is also tremendously toned down compared to the AM 1, the shoe is ugly, without a doubt but given the success and significance on the AM1 ignoring it's success was, to be blunt, a bit stupid and has left us with a tremendous skid mark on Nike's lucky boxers : it's Air Range.

 The 89 is simply a sign that the seed never falls too far from the tree and will try to compete but die because of the tremendous power of the parent tree. Yet the recent revival of this classic example of artistic failure shows you can dig any old crap out the ground and it'll sell. 

Stussy...

STUSSY

It is time for Generic to expand, with the mass of my coursework projects out of the way I now have more time for the blog. One of the things I want to achieve in the next few months is to have something preferably an article discussing most brands work for both reference and accessibility. So I decided to start big with, arguably, the godfather of OG streetwear Stussy. So I went and asked the person I know knows much more than most and certainly more than me. so here is brief overview of stussy courtesy or James "Jam Jam" Watkins:

"So I've been asked to write an article on Stussy for Josh’s blog and of course I was pretty honoured, as I don’t really consider myself as being particularly up to date with current streetwear trends etc.  But the reason he gave for me doing it was that I knew more of the back-story and history. And I suppose over the last few years of having been into streetwear, Stussy have been the brand that I will consciously have checked upon. The very mention of the name Stussy, the original brand that kick-started the streetwear trends and culture that are booming today will be, as of March 2013 into their 33^rd year, an amazing achievement for a company that have had to adapt to a very difficult market. In March of 1980 a young surfer by the name of Shawn Stussy decided that surfing was his true passion and he decided to brand his signature all over the boards he was making and to get the company and his namesake out there he would print graphic tee’s with said brand name. Summers spent surfing and winters spent skiing is how he met company co-founder and public accountant Frank Sinatra Jr. (Not in any way related to the singer!) Frank could see that this was a brand that would have authenticity, raw artistic talent and totally original character and in 1984 they set-up Stussy Inc.  He viewed the people within his company as a ‘tribe’ a family as such; he also had some people working for him that would go on to create their own streetwear brands such as:

 James Jebbia - Founder of Union; Founder of Supreme

Eddie Cruz - Manager at Union; Founder of Undefeated

Keith Hufnagel - Stüssy Skateboarding Team Rider; Founder of HUF

These people have now forged their own particular style and judging by the companies they started and founded, have made their own splash in the streetwear world. In 1991 they opened their first boutique shop in New York’s trendy Soho area, no one involved in the company quite realized what this had started and what it would later turn out to be.

So from ’91 onwards the company were doing very well, sales were on the up, the designs were still as fresh and inspiring as ever. Many stores have opened since the boutique in ’91, there are now altogether 15 stores (otherwise known as chapters), not all based in the U.S. either, he went international with stores in Milan, Madrid, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Seoul  and Kuala Lumpur. He took over the world and it all really stems back to him scribbling his signature on his first surfboard. In this part of the article I want to really go into a bit more depth as to why I think Stussy is the best in this business and why it will still be the best. For starters the list of companies that they have collaborated with over the years; Nike (this is in itself an depth list that I shall touch on later), Converse, Vans, BAPE, UNDFTD, Adidas, Supreme, Parra & Carhartt. It’s also not just the other streetwear brands that the collabs have been limited to, they have worked with companies involved in the comic book industry (Marvel & Real Deal) Musicians (Bob Marley & J Dilla) and even in the world of cartoons and animation (Beavis And Butthead & John K). This is another reason what enhances and pushes them forward, sets them apart form other brands. I feel that other brands can sometimes rely on big flashy designs and bright colours that often distract from any decent design direction, all Stussy need is the signature on a tee and its near perfect and I’m not saying that Stussy haven’t used the above mentioned ideas on their tee’s and clothing in the past, but they can go back to a simple design and they are still miles ahead of the competition. The other thing that I really love about them is that they have instantly recognisable branding, the two versions of Shawn’s original signature, the double ‘s’, very reminiscent of the chanel logo, the bent crown logo, the Rastafarian Lion and the skull with the crossed surfboard and skateboard. It also goes to show that once Shawn had left in ’96 that the company was still successful and that he was happy to give more time to his family and eventually set up S/Double.

Another aspect of Stussy that I like are the adverts, below are a few of my favourite examples:

Yet again, simple designs, Shawn has taken old adverts and used his unique handwriting to make it his own. The adverts did their job, they sold t-shirts and other items of clothing and I believe it was due to the simple yet clever designs of the early ad’s. Even the more up to date advertisements for current drops are still doing their job, as is displayed in the link below:

http://www.stussy.com/nike

Simple, basic printer colours, explaining the products and giving a small history between Stussy and Nike’s past collaboration’s also educate you as to why these successful companies do so well together when they collaborate. And I think this maybe another reason why I love Stussy as much as I do, they have a great relationship with Nike, which is my favourite trainer brand. The collaborations that they have had in the past are the best collabs done by any two companies in the streetwear market, here are my favourite examples of Stussy x Nike:

Stussy X Nike Sky Force 88, amazing shoe, made even more amazing by the Stussy throw on it, particularly like the two camo variants.

Stussy X Nike Dunk World Tour, a stable classic here for Nike, which is given a few touched which yet again separates it from anything anyone else was doing, the green/red and purple/black/silver are the best colourways.

Stussy X NikeNike Court Force XXV, Wow, that’s all I can say on these, wow. Absolute classic, such a good choice for Stussy to collab on, these are stone cold classics and the colours are excellent, black/white and the purple/black/white are the cherry on the top.Stussy x Nike Dunk High, very, very rare, to have such a high profile drop this early on (2001) and to have it on a premium dunk with ostrich skin on the brown variant and snake skin on the black variant, these are true marvels for any sneakerhead and street wear fanatic to own.Stussy x Nike Blaze, my favourite, in my mind it really doesn’t get better than these, amazing, unusual and a unique choice of colourways (either the midnight navy with turbo pink swoosh or cool grey with emerald green swoosh) Stone cold classic. They’re literally second to the Tiff dunks and anybody who knows me, knows that they are my holy grail!

 That’s all I can really express about Stussy, there are only so many ways that I can really put it, but you’ll find the same with any fan, or fanatic, or connoisseur for Stussy if you ask them the question:

Why do you like Stussy?

And they’ll simply reply, Just cus!"

So there we have it james' insightful and in depth look into stussy. Stay on it for more.

"Street Goth"

Street Goth

Street Goth is a look that is getting a lot of attention at the moment which I think has itself good chances of hitting the mainstream. I myself am a fan of the look which has started with big rap artists like Kanye West and A$AP Rocky donning a darker look, Courtesy of Givenchy, Raf Owens, Alexander Wang and Rick Owens.

Now Generic is not quite in the realms of high end, more uses it as a tangent it likes to refer to. So for a full insight into the history of the look, who’s doing it and how to do it I suggest looking towards Highsnobiety and its articles on the subject. Like THISONE.

WHERE IS IT GOING?

As I mentioned before there is a high chance of this look going to the high street, and this week I noticed a "street goth-esque" section in Fast Fashion retailer H&M(another reason behind my disappointed with the denial of a Givenchy Collaboration). The look obviously had to come from somewhere and must exist somewhere already, otherwise no one would be wearing it in the first place and upon further inspection there are a lot of brands that aren't too expensive existing already pushing “the look” with their own twists these do tend to be the “darker” streetwear brands but I have seen a few dropping good pieces to contribute to the look. Here’s a list of who has made some contributions:

10 deep
Actual Pain
Blvck Scvle
Flying Coffin
Fuct
Mishka
Mighty Healthy
Rook
Rebel 8
SSUR

MY FIRST LOOK

Here’s one of those little fashion mock ups all the Tumblr kids and those cheap women’s Gossip magazines make. I made this to show the look in full but without anything too bank breaking. 

Winter Blues

Winter Blues

Now, if I was really inventive I'd have saved that title for me talking about a look that heavily features blue. But no. Unless I was going to release a long post decomposing every single NB colourway that adds nothing to the already over-saturated market of runners or take a look at every single brands S/S 13 collection there hasn't been alot of news that has interested me, . There is a post  coming up later about the multitude of Year Of The Snake releases. but the more I write the more are released, which is a pain considering they are all trainers(which I already post about... ALOT)

Yes, it is true that none of us have any money right now with Christmas clearing us all out and many of us paying bills and suffering the reduced hours that we were given last month that went  to Christmas temps that never left. And personally with a holiday to pay for, my usual onslaught of online shopping has significantly been reduced to save my heartache.

BUT!

Despite me slating them merely 2.5 paragraphs ago some of the Spring Summer releases for the high end fashion brands have given me hope towards the success of the "Street Goth" look this year. Especially with the strong support from Givenchy, as seen on the runways of Paris. Of course men in skirts isn't going to catch on yo the the layman in the high-street but I'm sure some good alternatives will pop up (WATCH THIS SPACE). It has disappointed me that the rumours behind a Givenchy x H&M collaboration have been confirmed as fictitious, as I thought this would bring a good fast fashion response to  the emerging look

Also, on a note I slightly picked up on during my "Infra-Bred" posts but never fully made was the return of more "risqué" and "out there" designs, which I used the Jordan 4 Thunder/Lightning pack as an examples as despite being relatively moderate in design. I think they are lighting the path back to the Golden Age of streetwear/street fashion and general counter culture, by using concepts to reinforce styles, thus moving away from the "homogeneous"and the "Generic" and closer towards the originality and art based style that existed before the economic downturn enter the "2nd Golden Era of Streetwear"

Infra...

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."


I've just listened back to a recording of myself from boxing day after I was a pint bottle of Bulmer's, quite a few JD and cokes and copious amounts of wine down, hence the Hunter. S.Thompson quote. It takes two minutes of listening to drunken drivel to actually reach the focus of my "in depth" discussion with my phone... my boxing day purchases especially when all goes silent and I state "Today I have bought some beautiful shoes"

After this the question I ask is one of terminology. What should I call shoes when I talk about them? Because I think the term trainers doesn't seem specific and seems to be the word used by those who don't really under stand, as I'm sure you've all heard "£100 on a pair of trainers?!" and I feel it doesn't reinforce the knowledge or culture behind streetwear. While Sneakers seems quite an american and cringey term that seems a little too risqué for a little unimportant blog like this one. Ill settle for sneakers and if "sneakerism" were a religion and shoe with an infrared colourway would make it a holy artifact. Which in respect to Nike make any of the Air Max 90 Infrareds the holy grail of sneaks.

But yes £100 is what I spent on my Nike Air Max 90 OG Vintage Infrared which I think is a good deal considering all places selling them for less had them in a January release and by the time I had money in my bank many pre-sales had ran out. So to get my shoes at least 5 days early I queued up in JD Sports on boxing day amongst the cretinous customers all pushing to spend their Christmas and dole money on some new 95s, PTs or Air Pegasus 89s... god I hate Air Pegasus, but I digress.

Following the hellish excursion for food supplies for the day and that sweet, sweet IR we faced the second ordeal of the British public transport system, all in search of some accessories and clothes to set off my new sneaks. My first port of call was the Candy Store where I bought one of this seasons staples: a thick cuffed beanie (Carhartt) and I finally gave in to the camo trend that assaulted fashion this year like the military that it was designed for, with a grey camo tee (Benny Gold).

But on one final, none vain, note you have the patience, creative drive and money you could customise yourself (through Nike ID) some spiz'ikes with some of that critically acclaimed Infrared, whic has also been underplayed by nike, but lets face it they dont need the "spare change"