Chill.and.Go.2 film preview: Ride like a maniac

This is a film which has been showing at the Chill.and.Go.2 festival in Mexico City which is all about bikes, of the fixed variety.

Futura stopped off there before heading to the Fixed World Championships in Guatemala, which must have been great given how much I love his art and the fact that he has long been an ambassador of fixed gear cycling.

But he still hasn't sent that parcel he promised me, so he's gone down quite a bit in my estimations.

The film is about the fixed riders in New York. "It's a place in between cars and in between trucks and buses that people don't realise is there. That's the places we exist in," says Lucas Brunelle.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster if you ask me. But it's got to be fun.
Via slamxhype

The high-rollers: Let's see those ankles

If you haven't been walking around with your trousers rolled up past your ankles this summer, what have you been doing?

Living outside of London probably, although the high-water look is slowly making inroads to the home counties.

If you're one of the younger tastemakers it's now not enough to merely turn your trousers up mid-calf. You have to engage in the cinch-roll, which does require a bit of practise and basically results in a tapered appearance to your strides.

It also leaves you looking exactly like I did back in the Eighties around about the time of The Breakfast Club when I wouldn't be seen dead in anything other than a navy blazer, roll neck and a pair of tapered jeans.

Looking back on pictures of myself shortly after that period made me realise what a fool I looked, so there's no way I will be returning to the cinch-roll anytime soon. Or the boufant flick, for that matter.

But I am a purveyor of the airy ankle, and do believe the art of a successful trouser roll lies with the distance between floor and roll-up. The ideal height should be somewhere around the lower calf, maybe one turn lower if you're wearing deck shoes.

If it looks like your trousers have just had a row with your feet, you've got them at the correct height.

And if you're wearing deck shoes ditch the socks.

For the approaching autumn breeze, perhaps some high-tops or a pair of hunting boots should be brought in to play. Because something tells me the high-roll will be around for a few months yet, and you wouldn't want your ankles getting cold.

Give it a few months and I might have perfected my own roll.

That's a pair of Yuketen Sport Hunt boots in the picture. More on them later.

Skate or die: Do one, fear the other

dylan. from No Holidays for a Hooker on Vimeo.

This little film had me transfixed for a bit, if only because not learning to skate properly has to be one of the things I will always regret in life.

What I like about this is the way these guys make it all look so damn easy, like the boards are an extension of their feet.

But I never grew up around skaters. They were the kids who did stuff under flyovers while we were smoking at the back of the football terrace.

It's too late now, of course. My fearlessness left me some time ago. If I got on a skateboard now I'd be forever looking out for that bus.

So I salute the skaters, and their antics, and their style. Because they have got style.

Via You Have Broken the Internet

Nigel Cabourn fall / winter 2010: Cometh the hour, cometh the man

Nigel Cabourn has been coming up with solid garments for as long as I can remember.

His reworking of classic outdoor wear inspired by Arctic explorers and the like has always given his stuff a dependable toughness that feels like it will be with you for years.

So familiar and comfortable does this stuff look that I'm feeling all warm inside just writing this.

And as the style world turns ever more to the back country for its cues, Nigel Cabourn is becoming increasingly relevant.

He's really gone back in time for the fall/winter lookbook. The whole look is reminiscent of 1930s bird watchers. Heritage indeed.

And on a different level entirely, there's this collaboration with Yuketen. A more fitting partnership I have yet to think of.

I also slung a parka down there at the bottom, because you know I like that kind of thing.

Jake Davis for Supreme: Bloke on a wire

This is another slick little video from Jake Davis, a filmmaker known for his work with Supreme, among other things.

I'm guessing the release of this alongside the fall collection previews is more than a coincidence.

There's a theme there somewhere. Tight rope walkers. Fall. Geddit?

A few of the fall pieces are below.

Unkle Medicom Bearbrick: No match for a Pointman

Well they're not exactly Pointmen but Unkle's been at it with Medicom again and these Bearbricks are the result.

Previous Medicom incarnations of alien invaders have been replaced by the chubby cheeks of the traditional Bearbrick bear for this release to commemorate the Where Did the Night Fall album, came out a couple of months ago.

They're a bit see-through and a bit tagged up with some graphics to make them look cool.

But they're not Pointmen, which were definitely cool. And yes, I am still gutted I sold my picture disc boxed set containing three Kubrick Pointmen to some bloke in Singapore for £30. Damned Ebay.

I'm guessing these will at some point be available via the Unkle website although there's no sign of them at the moment.

This would probably be a good time to let you know about the forthcoming Brixton Academy gig on November 19. Tickets go on sale on August 20.

Via Slamxhype

Stussy fall 2010: Stussy comes of age

This year is the 30th anniversary of Stussy so it's quite fitting that the latest fall collection by New York-based artist Kostas Seremitis has got more of a grown up thing going on.

The tees and hoodies will always be there, but the whole vibe is more refined street than skatewear and happily free of massive logos.

Looks like the fella's done a decent job for the girls, too.

Dunhill shirt: They got it right this time

It's getting more and more diffficult to find anything decent by Dunhill these days, such is the kiss of death that designer Kim Jones manages to give to everything he touches, although to say he killed Umbro is a bit of an exaggeration - it would be more accurate to say he mercifully put it to sleep.

But seek and ye shall find, as they say, and after some considerable rummaging in the Bourdon House flagship store the other week I unearthed this shirt.

The untrained eye might see a sky blue business shirt here, but this is much less formal than that. Relaxed collars, an 'engineered' European fit, and the addition of a bit of canvas to the placket, has ensured this is already a well-established piece of my sartorial armoury.

Which makes me think that Kim Jones can still pull it off now and then.

My only regret is that I didn't get any more when I had the chance.

Yuketen Vintage English bag: A cow with handles

I know what you're thinking - either that is one hell of a massive satchel or the bloke carrying it is a midget.

Well it's a massive satchel. So big that there can't be much of the cow left that the leather came from. In fact if you look close enough you might even see a hoof hanging off the back of it.

But let's face it, we all need a big bag from time to time and given the oversized nature of women's handbags of late, it was inevitable that manbags were going to follow the same pattern.

And just think what you could fit in this Yuketen Vintage English satchel. Your living room, for instance, or a two-bedroomed semi detached house.

Which is a nice.

Tricky - Murder Weapon: Back with a bang

When I first heard this on BBC 6 Music (saved!) I couldn't believe Tricky was behind it. I remember him best as one of the founding fathers of trip hop back in the mid nineties, setting the bar with his album Maxinquaye and the tune I know him best for, Black Steel.

This time he reworks a 1991 dancehall number by Echo Minott which in turn uses the riff from the 1961 Peter Gunn Theme.

A couple of tough-talking Glock-related lyrics later and it's evident Tricky hasn't lost his touch, even if he did go off on a bit of a tangent with those movie roles.

I'm expecting the album to be equally impressive.



Via Slamxhype

Unkle: The Answer ... might be in the video ... then again

Unkle are back with a new five track EP called The Answer featuring a few collaborators including Lupe Fiasco, and in true James Lavelle style, there are also a couple of videos to go with the release.

One is directed by John Hilcoat, who directed that vision of apocalyptic gloom otherwise know as The Road. The other is directed by Ross Cairns, who has also done a documentary.

One above features our very own Cockerney chipolata, Ray Winstone. Diamond.

In case you have an urge to know, the tracklist is as follows:

01. The Answer (ft. Big In Japan – Baltimore)

02. Separate Half (ft. Lumerians with Rebecca Coseboom)

03. Country Tune (ft. Gavin Clark)

04. The Runaway: Lupe’s Revenge (Lupe Fiasco vs UNKLE Reconstruction)

05. Follow Me Down (ft. Sleepy Sun) (Tim Goldsworthy Remix)06. Heavy Drug (Reprise)

UNKLE - The Answer - John Hillcoat director, Ray Winstone starring from UNKLE on Vimeo.

UNKLE - The Answer - Ross Cairns director from UNKLE on Vimeo.

Via Freshness

Burberry fishtail parka: Where are the Mods?

We all know that I am partial to a fishtail parka, so I couldn't let this offering by Burberry Brit pass me by without at least a cursory nod.

And this does look the part. Waxed cotton, and quite a nice looking derivative of the 1951 pattern original so beloved of those who ride scooters.

Burberry has given the classic a slimmer silhouette a bit of check in the lining, and smartened the whole thing up a bit.

Given their pedigree with the trenchcoat (they didn't invent it, we have Aquascutum to thank for that) you really have to wonder why they didn't have a go at the fishtail yonks ago.

Woolrich: 180 years and counting

If you fancy yourself as a bit of a deer hunter this winter, Woolrich is where you should be looking. They've been churning out precisely this kind of thing for donkey's years - 180 to be precise.

I know this because this is the 180th anniversary collection from the Pennsylvania based brand and from day one they've set out their stall as the number one outfitter for the Great American Outdoors.

And they haven't really changed their style all that much during this time. So it shouldn't really bother them that the word on the street says the future is chambray.

Still, if I'm marooned on a mountainside with a moose in my sights, I'd take some heavy duty woollen plaid over poncey chambray all day long. What do the kids know anyway?

Don't confuse this stuff with Woolrich Woollen Mills. Same company, different lines, made for different countries.

Visvim Autumn Winter 2010: Ain't no mountain

Here's a bit of what you can expect from the Visvim F/W 2010 collection, and it looks like Hiroshi's gone a bit heritage on us.

Wingtip boots, plenty of plaid and something of a Rocky Mountain High kind of vibe going on, not that you'll be venturing too far into the wilderness wearing any of this.

Nice to see a bit more colour though, and those Serra hikers are the best so far.

Via Slamxhype

AIAIAI TMA-1 headphones: For having it

TMA-1 cutdown B/W from AIAIAI on Vimeo.

The last time I took a turn on the decks was at Terry's wedding in 2007, but I could start DJing again just to have an excuse to get these.

In fact with a pair of cans like this, there's a chance I wouldn't have packed it up in the first place.

These TMA-1 headphones by AIAIAI have been designed specifically with DJs in mind. Super sturdy and built to withstand the rigours of multiple banging sets, they will take anything you can throw at them.

They've been designed with the help of some of the biggest names in the business, such as 2 Many DJs, A-Track, James Murphy and 28 others.

So bombproof they look like they should be used by the Special Forces. Tune Division. For grooving in the field.

If you're quick you can get them at the Glade at a pre-launch discount.

Meanwhile I might dust off those decks.

Hollywood bites

Last week was marked by a sudden and uncharacteristic bout of depression, which began sometime around Wednesday and lasted until Sunday.

During this time I existed under a cloud of gloom so heavy that I was walking with a stoop. A veil had dropped and the world became a pretty crappy place by all accounts, populated by grim people.

I longed for smiling faces, for a sign that someone, at least, was enjoying themselves.

That must be why I watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall twice. I know this is essentially a film about a bloke who has had his heart broken by a sour faced blonde ex (we've all had them) but in my bout of melancholy the gags and the smile of Mila Kunis (pictured) were like beacons of hope. And it's got a happy ending.

The trouble is, the humour of this movie, and the laugh they seemed to have had making it, brought on anxiety like I had never experienced before. I became overwhelmed by the feeling that I was missing out on all this fun to be had in Hollywood. Life was passing me by. I could not leave it a moment longer - I would have to go over there.

So by Friday I had decided that we should no longer live in England (I would take Lizzie and her smile with me, whether she likes it or not).

The upshot of this is that our Managing Editor has an application on her desk for the position of LA Correspondent and if I had seen the job of anchorman for KTLA TV a little sooner I would probably have applied for that, too. I also know the best neighbourhoods to live in, what the traffic is like and that the sun shines for 340 days of the year.

By Saturday, day three of the depression, I had been through a blow-by-blow re-run of sad stuff and tried to find my dog's ashes on a hill. I had also researched the best place to stay in LA (Chateau Marmont).

If it had gone on any longer I would probably have booked a flight. But when I woke up on Sunday my cloud had lifted.

The cause of that episode? I reckon it has to be the antihistamine pill I took for horsefly bites. Depression and anxiety are known side effects.

I might add to that a desire to go to Hollywood. Which still seems to be in my system.