"Weekend Reading" is a weekly rundown of our favorite stories from around the web.
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Trump Told Michael Cohen to Lie to Congress About Trump Tower Moscow Deal: Report
"BuzzFeed published an explosive report on Thursday night alleging that President Trump instructed his former lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about his involvement in the unsuccessful Trump Tower Moscow deal during his 2016 campaign. The allegation came from anonymous federal law enforcement officials who are currently investigating the deal."

via: Splinter

The North Face Purple Label Is Finally Available Outside Japan
"It remains to be seen whether 2019 will be any less terrible than the trash fire that was 2018. But here’s one small thing 2019 has going for it: As of Wednesday, January 23, you will finally be able to buy The North Face Purple Label outside of Japan. Though plenty of brands release exclusive products in the Japanese market, few lines have remained as difficult to obtain—and as tantalizing to menswear heads—as The North Face Purple Label. Purple Label (not to be confused with the Ralph Lauren sub-brand) was launched in 2003 by Nanamica designer Eiichiro Homma, who had spent almost two decades on the design team for the Japanese imprints of The North Face and Helly Hansen. Well before 'gorpcore' took over fashion (see: Frank Ocean’s REI drip), Homma recognized a hunger for heritage-inspired performance wear with a casual, streetwear-adjacent edge. His approach to Purple Label was to tweak classic North Face silhouettes (like the Sierra parka and Nuptse jacket) by making them out of formal fabrics like Harris tweed plaid, and to use technical mountaineering fabrics in casual sportswear. Rather than simply reissuing long-gone pieces from the archive, Purple Label always presented something brand new."

via: GQ

Meet Everard Best, the Designer Currently Championing the Idea of DIY Streetwear in Paris
"Everard Best used to get teased a lot in school. He was the kid always wearing 'the most outrageous outfits' and jeans that they said 'didn’t fit.' In Best’s mind, he was crafting his own identity by mashing up vibrant colors and oddly cut denim, an act of self-expression that, eventually, would lead him to pursue a career as a designer. He grew up in his father’s Long Island tailor shop, learning the skills he’d need to make that dream come true. 'I learned everything I know about the construction of clothing from him' Best says. 'In 2011, while I was still in high school, we started making samples in my parents’ house, and from there I started Lease on Life, my first brand.' His father had given up the tailoring business to take on a few private clients while focusing full-time on his ministry as a pastor. Best moved the brand forward on his own while he was still in college. After graduating, he relaunched his business under the name Ev Bravado, producing a launch collection of graphic, colorful, and crafty jeans, tees, and hoodies, all sold on his website and through Instagram."

via: Vogue

Rihanna and LVMH Make a Deal and, Possibly, History
"Is Rihanna the Coco Chanel of the 21st century? Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton LVMH, the parent company of Dior, Givenchy and Fendi, apparently thinks so. It is in the midst of a deal to back her in a fashion brand, making her the first female designer of color at the largest luxury conglomerate in the world."

via: The New York Times

After 15 Years of Influencing Streetwear, Benny Gold Calls It Quits
"What started out as a side hustle while pursuing a future in skateboarding, Benny Gold has been churning out his signature graphics since the early ’90s. From designing party flyers, sticker bombing the streets of SF, and producing T-shirts for himself and friends, a younger Benny would have never guessed that years later his eponymous brand would grow into what it is today."

via: Hypebeast

Industry Figures Explain How Fashion Week Takes a Toll on Mental Health
"Late last year, Kendall Jenner opened up about skipping the Fall/Winter 2018 fashion month to take care of her mental health. Jenner, who has been candid about her struggles with anxiety before, told Love magazine that she felt she was on the verge of a 'mental breakdown.'"

via: Highsnobiety

Meet the Painter Who Turns His Psychedelic Experiences Into Gallery Art
"Born In Madison, Wisconsin, Roberts takes inspiration from comic books, skateboarding, space exploration, and his experiences with psychedelics. Roberts, a.k.a. LSD World Peace, has collaborated with Supreme and designed graphics for GX1000, a skate brand based in San Francisco, where he works and lives. In December, Roberts released his second monograph, We Ate the Acid, which features over 100 new and recent works."

via: GQ Style

An American in Paris
"There are not many designers who can present two collections in two days at one fashion week. Yet Virgil Abloh kicked off Paris men’s fashion week with shows for Off-White and Louis Vuitton, while also cramming in an art exhibition, a jewellery launch and the opening of a flower shop in a Parisian hotel."

via: The Guardian

How the Women of the Sopranos Navigated a World Not Meant for Them
"There are not many designers who can present two collections in two days at one fashion week. Yet Virgil Abloh kicked off Paris men’s fashion week with shows for Off-White and Louis Vuitton, while also cramming in an art exhibition, a jewellery launch and the opening of a flower shop in a Parisian hotel."

via: i-D

Jason Segel in ‘I Love You, Man’ Invented Fashion
"'The well-dressed man is he whose clothes you never notice,' W. Somerset Maugham once said, and for years, men’s fashion adopted this maxim as something of a motto, dressing men in—you guessed it—suits, with maybe a 'fun tie' or a 'wild sock' for variety. Luckily, we now live in a fashion moment where men can wear couches, or capes, or sleazecore, or 'little fresh meat' attire, or any other thing they put their mind to. Men: they’ve come a long way, baby!"

via: Garage

Tags: weekend-reading