So, this weekend I searched through all the fashion illustrations that I loved so that I could get some ideas and thought I’d share with you…

Kelly Sheppard

Pinky

Aurelio Costarella

Miu Miu

X Miss Kitty X

Hiroshi Tanabe

Hanna Müller

Alex Strang

www.youtube.com/watch?v=74t603vtV0c&feature=related

Kakkmaddafakka did what I expected them to do: make the audience go crazy. It’s hardly possible to escape with their Rock/Pop/Funk/Disco music mix. They played a lot of songs from their recent album “Hest“, including “Restless”, “Self-Esteem” and “Gangsta”. The three piece backing vocal choir, dressed like triplets deserves a special mention here. The John Travolta workout choreographies were brilliant, especially for the song “Heidelberg”. Kakkmaddafakka are known for their rousing live shows by now. And rightly so.

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From Bergen we’re going straight to Norway’s capitol Oslo and to fusion-jazz band “Jaga Jazzist“. Sleaze Nation once described their sound as “Like Charles Mingus with the Aphex Twin up his arse”, and this hits the nail on the head. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a gig where earplugs have been handed out at the entrance, but now I know why. Listening to a nine-piece orchestra with their mixture of Post-Rock, Electronic Music and Jazz, felt like being struck by thunder and lightning at the same time, earplugs surely needed. But don’t get me wrong, the sound and the show was great. Drummer and band leader Martin Horntveth and his eight band mates created something I would rather call atmosphere than song. The (song)themes were ruptured by alternating tempi, solos and improvisations, eventually add up to one big picture. And after 1 1/2 hour we all knew what Charlie Haden meant when he said: “As long as there are musicians who have a passion for spontaneity, for creating something that’s never been before, the art form of jazz will flourish.”

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First of all, I went to see Hauschka for the first time ever. I totally devoured Volker Bertelmann aka Hauschka‘s last album “Foreign Landscapes” and was really curious about his prepared piano show. There is just one word for this guy and his music: ace. He was using tape, little tambourine metal jingles, marbles and some other weird stuff I couldn’t identify, to put it on the piano strings. The sounds he created were savvy and magical, I haven’t seen anything like this before. Although he was “just” playing his instrument, watching him add and remove things to change the sound of the piano, felt like watching a scientist inventing something. His idea of making electronic music without using any electronic devices works quite perfect.

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“A Hawk And A Hacksaw” from New Mexico were the next band on stage, a duo consisting of accordionist Jeremy Barnes and violinist Heather Trost. For the show they were supported by a trumpet player and percussionist. Their latest album “Cervantine” is a great piece of Eastern European traditional music, leaning towards the Balkan Beats movement, but being more world music and less pop. To be honest, the show was a bit of a disappointment. On the musical side everything was perfect, but the band couldn’t get things going with the audience. A friend of mine said : “I’ll pretend they’re just in bad mood and give them a second chance.” Alright then, let’s do it.

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Sunday was Sweden day. I went to see “José Gonzalez and the Gothenburg String Theory“, which was an awesome show. But the real surprise was the support act called “Loney Dear“. Loney Dear is the Jönköping based singer songwriter Emil Svanängen. Anyone who ever went to a gig (I guess most of you did) know how hard it is to capture the audience when you’re just the opener. But Loney Dear did it, and not only with his wonderful music, but also by being a totally likeable guy. His attempts of making the audience sing had real comedic potential, I felt like being in an audition for a catholic church choir. The sing-alongs were, let’s say artistically demanding, but he refused to give up: “Come on people, you’re from the Bach country!” That hit home.

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José Gonzalez performed his songs together with the Gothenburg String Theory. All songs had been newly arranged and all versions including “Crosses”, “Cycling Trivialities” or “Teardrop” blew me away. And when he came back on stage for his encore and played “Heartbeats”, people eventually went crazy (I wonder how many of them knew that Heartbeats is actually a cover version?) My personal favourite though was the conductor “Nackt”. I haven’t been to many classical concerts before, but this guy was not just conducting. This was like watching a Jane Fonda Aerobic video…admirable passionate. I guess he must have had an oxygen tent backstage.

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Every Sunday afternoon, after dancing all weekend at bars and clubs around town, a bunch of Mexican Colombianos gather outside the 7-Eleven at the bottom of the Latino Tower in downtown Monterrey. They hang there because their favorite radio station, XEH 1420 AM, is located on the 20th floor of the building above the store. They use a pay phone to call the station all afternoon to request songs and shout-outs to their friends and girlfriends. While other northern Mexican music genres like narcocorridos are blatant anthems for local drug dealers and their violent exploits, the songs Colombianos listen to are about love, peace, and friendship.

They wear huge plaid and Hawaiian shirts over the baggiest Dickies you’ve ever seen. These are color-coordinated with their Converse and shoelaces whenever possible and then topped with a customised baseball cap worn just tight enough that it doesn’t cover their whole head but gingerly rests on their bangs. Every visible inch of hat space is cluttered with airbrushed or embroidered writing, including its wearer’s nickname, his girlfriend’s name, his clique’s name, the radio station he listens to, the neighborhood he’s from, etc.

The most important aspect of Colombiano fashion, as you can clearly see in these pics is its signature haircut, which draws equal parts inspiration from American hip-hop, Puerto Rican reggaeton, and ancient depictions of Aztec warriors. The back is shaved, leaving a rat tail at the bottom. The top is kept short and spiky, with meticulously trimmed, Romulan-era emo bangs in front. Finally and most important, they grow long, Snoopy-like sideburns that start at the top of their heads and are glued to their cheeks with sickeningly large handfuls of hair gel. They call this Estilo Colombiano.

You can also check out a video shot by Stefan Ruiz here, which shows the whole creative process.

The Vice Style issue is out once a year so it’s pretty special!

For the past week, I have been working on a project for my design class where I have to create a collection comprising of around 35 products for SS11. We had to choose an inspirational designer and choose a theme and base our collection on the chosen theme keeping the spirit of the designer in mind. Seeing as I’m presenting at the end of next week, I will divulge more information around then – ahhh waiting is half the fun! But I can tell you that the chosen designer is someone that I have written about on here more than 3 times – the theme might be obvious to some based on these sketches…

Check back next week for my full collection! x

Since his graduation in 2008, Andy continues to discover new ways to combine his artisan style with raw elements with materials including reclaimed metals, wood, bone and stone, creating a balance between old and new…

Each Nature Speaks ring is custom made in Brooklyn, New York. Custom Collections are made for select retail locations & custom rings are made for private clients. For wholesale, and retail ordering please contact us at lifschutz.jewelry@gmail.com

www.andylifschutz.com

I recently came across emerging designer, Flik Hall and instantaneously fell in love with her designs. Her SS11 Collection instantly caught my eye, and seeing as we’re almost coming into summer now – take a look at her SS11 collection titled Mannequin Parade.

Flik Hall got into print design during her time at Central Saint Martins and after finishing, Hall started a placement with House of Holland. It was during this time that she decided to set up her own label, which was launched for SS10.

Here are a couple of pieces from her AW11 collection.

For more press info, please contact Blow at info@blow.co.uk or you can email Flik on Flik@flikhall.com

www.flikhall.com

One Minute Puberty from bitteschön.tv on Vimeo.

Ada Zanditon

Ones to Watch: Anja Mlakar, Kirsty Ward, Sara Bro-Jorgensen, Tze Goh

Eudon Choi

Krystof Strozyna

Jasper Garvida (catwalk & backstage)

Elliot J.Freeze

Jacob Kimmie

Lako Bukia

Masha Ma

JazzKatze

Fashion Mode: Carlotte Actis Barone, Florian Jayet, James Hillman

A La Disposition

Bunmi Koko

VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION ON FLICKR