D.I.Y. Original Fake x Reebok Freestyles

Ever imagined up a pair of fantasy kicks? I do sometimes.

And when I saw these amazing Original Fake shoelaces in Tokyo earlier this month, I just knew they'd be perfect in a brand new pair of white sneakers.
I love a good sheltered workshop - and I love sneaker collaborations - so I decided to create my very own D.I.Y. sneaker collab. And instead of just lacing them up and shoving them back in the box, I decided I'd make it into an online tutorial for everyone to enjoy :)

Here's how make your own D.I.Y. Original Fake x Reebok Freestyles in just 4 easy steps!

Prep time:
10 minutes

Materials required:
1 x fresh pair of white Reebok Freestyles
1 x fresh pair of Original Fake shoelacesStep 1:
Remove boring, white laces from Reebok Freestyles.
Step 2:
Lace Reebok Freestyles with awesome Original Fake shoelaces.
Step 3:
In true Kaws style (see the eyes in the logo below), cross your velcro straps.Step 4:
Enjoy you're beautiful new D.I.Y. collaboration!
Please Note: As far as I'm aware, there are no official Original Fake x Reebok Freestyle collabs past, present or future. I made these for my own enjoyment!

Just Do It

I think I just found my ultimate Halloween costume. And they have instructions on how to make it! Click here.

Graf Couture

You know you've made when you're invited to work on an editorial for French Vogue. Loads of fashion blogs are fronting this shoot in a frenzy of graffiti-meets-couture posts - but I suggest you get the real deal direct from the horses mouth. Kaws blog.
The shoot was put together by Photographer and Director, Mario Sorrenti, who invited Kaws to collaborate (and I love collabs). If you haven't heard of Sorrenti by name, there's no doubt you'll know his work. Sorrenti's 1993 photograph of Kate Moss for Calvin Klein Obsession is arguably one the most prolific and memorable for both the brand and the model.
When I first looked at Sorrenti's flicks, I thought to myself 'remove model, insert Lady Gaga'. And not necessarily to the benefit of the shots. As beautiful as I think Sorrenti's November 09 Vogue editorial is, I'm a bit over the Lady Gaga thing that's seems to be sticking to almost everything like flies to shit right now.Although I have to admit, I do like the lace mask.

But as much as graffiti couture is so hot right now according to all the fashion blog hype saying this shoot is God's gift: it's really nothing new. One of the most iconic examples of fashion design-meets-graffiti comes in the form of the late Stephen Sprouse. Sprouse was using graffiti in his couture as early as 1983. Here's one of his 1984 sketches:
Of course Sprouse's designs are now iconic and easily recognised as part of recent Louis Vuitton collections.

Beginning in 2001, Sprouse began working with Marc Jacobs on a collaboration collection for Louis Vuitton. The results looked a little like this:
Since Sprouse's untimely death in 2004, Jacobs' has gone on to spearhead a number of Sprouse-inspired collections for Louis Vuitton (I'd love a pair of the 2009 leggings!).
All this couture shit has pushed graffiti fashion prices a little out of reach for ordinary folk like myself (US$600 for the Sprouse leggings is a little steep). If you still want a little slice a graffiti couture but can't afford the price tag, there are some alternatives. Here are just a couple of my favs... Check out Sex and the City stylist Patricia Field's pieces that pay tribute to Sprouse. You pick up Pat's signature leggings for US$68 or a tote for just under US$200. A lot easier on the bank account than Louis!
Or Insa heels.
Or of course, you could check out some of Kaws' very own Original Fake line. Not much for the ladies though, unless you're down for something over size...

Seperated at birth?

Why oh why didn't I think of putting my kicks on for a photo when I was dressed up as a Geisha? Dumb ass.

Who Tang Clan?

The buzz sweeping my feeds at the mo is the Wu Tang Clan tour happening in Melbourne and Sydney at the end of the month.
I'm not gonna pretend I'm a fan, because I'm not. I'm not going to say I listened to them back in the day, because I didn't. I'm not even gonna say I like any of their tunes - because I don't. And to top it off, I think their merchandising is super fugly. But I know who they are, and after a little digging, something has me seriously confused.

There seems to be some discrepancies over the lineup. Promo pictures can be deceptive...

The full Wu Tang lineup is as follows:
- Ghostface Killah
- GZA
- Inspectah Deck
- Masta Killa
- Method Man
- Ol' Dirty Bastard (deceased)
- Raekwon
- RZA
- U-God
- Cappadonna

But it appears that the Melbourne & Sydney shows won't exactly include a full lineup. Of course, Ol' Dirty Bastard is dead, so that's a no brainer. Ghostface Killah has his own tour at the mo, and according to his website, he'll be playing in Aspen the night Wu Tang play in Sydney and Boulder the night they play in Melbourne. Method Man has been arrested on a 33K tax evasion charge, so that counts him out. Cappadonna has only been a full member since 2007, so he's hardly part of the original lineup. And U God was locked up in the klink for the best part of Wu Tang, so he's kind of a token member.

That leaves 4 original (participating) members who'll be touring: GZA, RZA, Inspectah Deck & Raekwon. So this is where I get confused - how can they call it a Wu Tang Clan tour, when literally half the original participating members won't be there?

And did I mention tickets for the Sydney show are $90?

I really appreciate getting what I paid for. When I saw Faith No More in August, it was the real deal - the full original FNM lineup. But the Wu Tang tour seems to be a front if you ask me.

It's kind of like when you go to see Nine Inch Nails, and the only original member is Trent Reznor. It may as well be the Trent Reznor, featuring songs by Nine Inch Nails. It's not particularly satisfying, and you'd probably be better off sticking on a CD on and listening to it in the comfort of your own living room instead of sweating it out in a moshpit full of 16 year olds.

It reminds me of that scene in the movie Rock Star (Markie Mark, Jennifer Aniston) where Izzy Cole pulls a fan out of the audience and leaves him on stage to replace him - and no one in the audience seems to notice or care.
It reeks of desperate, greedy fat cats thinking up new ways to make money. But there are alternatives...
You can keep it real and go see NAS instead. He's playing in Melbs on the 28th and Sydney on the 31st. But the risk is he might play heaps of new stuff and not much old stuff.
On the upside, Qbert is supporting NAS (and if I could, I'd go just to see him play). No faking!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

I'm back in Sydney. And it feels so good to be home. The past few months away have been brilliant, but exhausting! So now I'm home, it's time for some rest and relaxation.

I was meant to go painting today, but the shitty Sydney weather put the kibosh on that. I even did a rad babushka character. Oh well, hopefully next weekend. Until then, I'm having a True Blood marathon.
And it's awesome. It makes Twilight look like Hi5. I love it!

Eat your heart out Imelda

I'm pretty sure I need an Imelda Marcos t shirt. This one is by Louis Claparols.

Sherlock's Parklife Flicks

Click here to see more...

Only New York

I love Only New York's summer lookbook. Shame summer is over... I just looked up the weather for November and I'm looking at an average temperature of just 12°C. That's like Sydney winter. I'm gonna be freezing my ass off by the looks of things.

Tokyo: A beer and baseball montage

Last night we all went out to the ball game. Baseball is Japan's national sport, so it only seemed right we go see the Tokyo Yakault Swallows play.
It all started out innocently enough. Laura and I chugged a quick Asahi before we went into the stadium...
We purchased our tickets to sit in the home team stand.....And started drinking more beer. A lot more beer. Giant beers. In every brand imaginable. Asahi, Kirin etc. Which lead me to a startling discovery - beers have different flavors. I always thought all beers tasted like beer (not to mention kind of disgusting). But to my surprise, I actually like Kirin. It's heaps nicer than any of the other Japanese beers we had.The fans were crazy hilarious. They had people conducting chants, and the whole crowd was into it. They even had a brass band tooting away. And when the Swallows hit a home run, the crowd went nuts, everyone put up umbrellas and waved them in the air while they did a special chant heckling the pitcher. Apparently the chant says the pitcher should go back to the showers (so everyone in the crowd has an umbrella). Japanese logic obviously!Thankfully, we ended up with a home team win. We were pretty excited!It's about this point things got a little silly. Or more accurately, I got a little bit silly.I was tooting my horns on metro......And Josh put me in a head lock to keep me under control. Then apparently I started punching him and pushed him towards the edge of the platform. It looks like I was having mad fun!Back at the hotel, the wifi posse hit the net...Are these two not the cutest bitches you've ever seen? KAWAII!
It wasn't long after this I passed out cold. And despite all odds, I didn't wake up with a hang over this morning (thank God)!

Tokyo: Inspiration in the backseat of a Tokyo taxi

The first time I caught a cab in Tokyo, I was both shocked and amazed. Shocked at how much the ride cost, and amazed at the cab itself. Firstly, the door opens automatically. Then when you get in, you discover that all the seats are covered in lace doilies just like your Grandma kept in her glory box.
It's not like lace is anything new - it originated in the 15th or 16th century and has been in and out of fashion ever since.Maybe I'm a little inspired by my mode of transportation. Or maybe I just really dig on lace. Ironic as it may seem, those daggy seat covers reminded me of just how cool lace can be. I mean, I read Leopard Print & Lace religiously. Those lady's see the radness of lace.
Of course, this isn't the first time I've written about lace. For a while I was (and continue to be) quite smitten with lace furniture - click here to see.
Then before the start of winter, I was obsessed with lace (and other kinds of) gloves... clicky.
And if you wanna go way, way back... when I was a kid, I loved using paper doilies as stencils and painting lace patterns on things. I wonder why I never see doilie patterns stenciled around Newtown?Now I've got my eye on these lace Air Jordan 1 Retros. I saw them again today at Kicks Lab in Harajuku. I still haven't made up my mind completely, but they're on my radar. Along with a bunch of other lace stuff......Like lace leggings (maybe not white ones, but still). I've been looking for the perfect pair for quite a while without success. But I'm going to try again tomorrow when I visit Opening Ceremony in Shibuya.Or these beautiful Maison Michel lace animal ears as worn by Lady Ga Ga and the Olsen twins.
Even I have to admit Maison Michel is a long way from the backseat of a Tokyo taxi... either way, lace is rad. I might need to get Mum to teach me to crochet again.