"Weekend Reading" is a weekly rundown of our favorite stories from around the web.
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How Forums Paved The Way For Streetwear
"Somewhere between the intersection of word-of-mouth, face-to-face interactions and instant social media gratification existed forums — the now extinct mode of communication for streetwear enthusiasts. The perfect vehicle for communication and community building peaked in the early 2000’s as the internet was still free from the grasps of Facebook, Reddit, Instagram and Snapchat. Even the etymology of HYPEBEAST was birthed in forums, as the term was first used on NikeTalk before becoming the platform we know now. Of the multiple forums that were available in the 2000’s — ISS/Sole Collector, BapeTalk, BapeTalk2, Kicksxchange, Strictly Supreme, Female Sneaker Fiend, Vintage Gear Addicts, N-SB and our very own HYPEBEAST — NikeTalk was without a doubt the biggest and most influential. Having been around since 1999, NT as it was known, is one of the few that are still active. Still, each forum had a very important and unique contribution to the rise and relevancy of streetwear. Sole Collector is a shell of its former self and has undergone a redesign; while BapeTalk, VGA, NSB and FSF are rarely used anymore and BT2, Kicksxchange, Strictly Supreme and HYPEBEAST Forums no longer exist."

via: Hypebeast

Men's Fashion Week: How Craig Green Caught the Stars' Attention
"Christmas is done and dusted, New Year is out of the way, and you can watch half your friends attempt regimes with names like Dry Veganuary. But if you're a menswear fashion designer, it's a different story. While most of us have been in a post-Christmas stupor, they have been busy finalising their latest creations after months of painstaking work in preparation for London Fashion Week Men's (LFWM), which returned this weekend."

via: BBC

Burberry Check Makes a Casual Comeback with Gosha Rubchinskiy
"Good news – or bad, depending on your memory. The Burberry check is back in the luxury fashion fold, thanks to a collaboration with hip Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy. Going on sale on the same day the fashion industry poured into London for the menswear shows, it launched in Dover Street Market in Piccadilly and various Burberry stores, with both featuring football-themed installations of the collaboration. A handful of teenagers arrived in the dark to queue, wearing Burberry scarves to stay warm."

via: The Guardian

Amazon's Smart Mirror Patent Teases the Future of Fashion
"On Tuesday, the tech giant was granted a patent for a blended reality mirror, which could superimpose virtual clothing onto your reflection. It would also be capable of placing you in a virtual scene, like a beach or a restaurant, to match an outfit with the occasion."

via: CNN

Will the #MeToo Movement Affect the Fall 2018 Menswear Shows?
"Starting tomorrow in London, then continuing to Milan, Florence, Paris, and finally, after a brief hiatus, New York, the world’s preeminent designers of menswear are poised to unveil their designs for Fall 2018. What will we discover? Well, form suggests that the collections will play out as a series of on-runway dialogues; back and forths between conceptual and conventional, streetwear and tailoring, technology and tradition, minimalism and dandyism, and plenty of other dress code dialectics besides. Hundreds of highly honed design sensibilities will present their answers to the question: How should men look now? And it’s up to us as individuals who love clothes and the messages they transmit to choose the answers we like best."

via: Vogue

Why Isn't Streetwear Just Called Fashion?
"For the last few years, streetwear’s rise has been one of the big storylines in fashion. In 2017, its symbolic high point came when Supreme sold a stake that reportedly valued the company at $1 billion (paywall) to the private-equity firm Carlyle Group. It was a staggering valuation for a company known for selling hoodies, t-shirts, and irreverent ephemera, like a logo-stamped brick and branded nunchucks."

via: Quartzy

For Fashion Brands, 2018 Will Be the Year of the "Influencer Roster"
"The Instagramming and unboxing mass of inspirational lifestyle gurus known as influencers are only becoming increasingly central to the marketing strategies of fashion and luxury brands in 2018. There are still frustrations, as brands figure out how to track the results of campaigns and sponsored posts, including conversions and the value in engagement. But as data tools become more sophisticated and platforms start to share more insight with both brands and influencers, brand strategies are maturing. The good news: As the space has become more established, power has shifted in favor of the brands, who have gotten smarter than to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on an Instagram post from an influencer with a lot of followers."

via: DIGIDAY

For Fashion Brands, 2018 Will Be the Year of the "Influencer Roster"
"Right now, I own two pairs of running shoes. They’ve carried me through hundreds of miles over the past five months, on dozens of runs and one marathon. They’ve been on my feet in the summer heat, during the fall rain, and in the recent freezing cold winter temps. They’ve been comfortable, consistent, and constant companions, and, most importantly, helped prevent any injury. In other words, they’ve been everything I wanted."

via: Racked

What Colette Meant to the Creative Youth of Paris
"On Dec. 20, 2017, Colette closed its doors for good. In the days leading up to and following, industry insiders across both the world and the internet have been effusively sharing their fondest memories of the Parisian concept shop and its founder, Sarah Andelman. Seen as both a cultural mecca and an educational experience, the Rue Saint Honoré staple's shuttering left the fashion industry (and beyond) disappointed, to say the least. That's because the closure certainly doesn't signify the decline of its relevance. In 2015, 18 years after it hit the retail scene, Forbes called Colette 'the trendiest store in the world.' Make no mistake: Colette left while it was still at the top of its game."

via: Fashionista

Tags: weekend-reading