Weekend Reading: October 21, 2016
- Words Grailed Team
- Date October 21, 2016
"Weekend Reading" is a weekly rundown of our favorite stories from around the web.
Streetwear, losing it's edge?
"This year we have seen Supreme release a house brick under its SS17 collection and Kanye disregard the fashion system in favour of selling his show tickets... It’s little wonder that the motives of streetwear brands are being called into question..."
via: Shift London
A$AP Bari on Vlone, Lil Uzi, and Changing the World
“It’s like the X-Men, and we’re a group of mutants,” says A$AP Bari of Vlone, the cult-fashion label that he helms alongside A$AP Rocky. “I’m Professor X just trying to bring people together to change the world.” To continue the metaphor, these mutants’ special powers are, essentially, their own fiercely particular type of personal style, or as Bari puts it, “Everybody that’s a part of Vlone has his own thoughts and creative vibe.”
via: Vogue
How Ralph Lauren Polo became one of the most shoplifted labels in history
"Stolen Polo clothing is easy to spot. There will be a small, square hole where the tag was ripped out, or an ink spatter from the burst tag. Or it will have been pressed and put in a protective plastic sleeve by someone who, from the early eighties to the early noughties, shoplifted the label in one of the most elaborate stealing sprees in history."
via: The Guardian
Will Musicians Stick With Yves Saint Laurent After Hedi Slimane's Exit?
"Changing the creative director of a fashion house is a big risk. Sometimes the change can inject new energy into a brand and broadly expand its customer base, as Alessandro Michele’s appointment at Gucci did (where sales are up 5.4 percent year-over-year to $2.1 billion in the first half of 2016). At other times it can damage a house’s reputation and alienate existing clients, sending sales into a tailspin."
via: Billboard
Trump vs. Clinton: How the next US president could shape retail's future
"The election's heated rhetoric is already distracting from holiday shopping. But the candidates' stances on trade, tax reform and labor could have a much bigger impact."
via: RetailDive
Van Doren And The In Vogue | How Vans Became A Million Dollar Industry While Keeping Its Cool
"What does the typical Vans wearer look like? Ask that question to ten different people and you’re sure to get ten pretty different answers. Once solely the property of LA skate culture, they have now spread across the globe into all parts of mainstream fashion and style. From the teenage grunger at a rock gig to the 40 year old dad in the playground, it seems you can’t walk down a single high street in the country without seeing someone rocking the canvas shoe."
via: Mpora
Virgil Abloh's Fashion Path: From Interning Alongside Kanye to Helming His Own Label (Twice)
"Outside the L'Université Paris Descartes on a Thursday evening in October, a line of hiply dressed young women and men stood hundreds deep, hoping to nab a standing spot at Off-White’s Paris Fashion Week show. The crowd, and the difficulty of getting through it into the venue, was a testament to just how influential a figure the label’s designer and founder, Virgil Abloh -- who also serves as the creative director of Kanye West’s think tank, Donda -- has become."
via: Billboard
How UNIS CEO Eunice Lee battles the ‘Everlane effect’
"Eunice Lee, founder of contemporary menswear company, UNIS New York, doesn’t take gross oversimplifications of her business lightly. That’s especially true when the insults are coming from a fellow competitor."
via: Leanluxe
Sid Mashburn Goes Deep on the Navy Blazer
""There's something a little bit mythic about a navy blazer," says Sid Mashburn, who opened his eponymous shop in 2007 and has been making waves in menswear ever since. "It transforms a day into an occasion, a closet into a wardrobe, a guy into a man.""
via: Valet
Watch What Happens When Kendrick Lamar Meets Rick Rubin for an Epic Interview
"For the cover story of the holiday issue of GQ Style, we invited Rick Rubin to ask Kendrick Lamar whatever questions he wanted for our cameras—and the producer didn’t waste the opportunity. The result? A wide-ranging conversation about music, success, growth, integrity, and Kendrick’s inspirations, including Eminem and Dr. Dre. The other result? New music."
via: GQ