Spotted by Karol Rosolen, ESAMC Coolhunt ‘10, Brazil.
The company Stone Island was set up in the 1970’s but has continually managed to keep itself fresh and on the cutting edge. Inspired by harsh work environments the clothing has a certain aesthetic that appeals to the need to be functional and protective. The Ice Jacket is a new idea in a reinterpreted package. The jacket changes color when the temperature outside is between 10 and 15 degrees Celcius. As the Italian Wait Fashion notes, it’s a beautifully cut. It changes colors through the liquid crystals.

Spotted by Luana Carvalho & Marcela Paffaro, ESAMC Coolhunt ‘10, Brazil.
The Reef Fanning sandal is a design that REEF developed together with Mick Fanning, a two time ASP World Tour surfing champion. In the sandal REEF put a bottle opener. In 2007 when Fanning won for the first time REEF brought partnered with Fanning to bring out his sandal. Now in 2010, with Fanning once again crowned the world champion, the sandal is as popular as ever.

London Undercover is run by designer Jamie Milestone. His umbrellas  have a convincing touch of “Martin Parr” Britishness. They are bold, eccentric and colorful, but never loud. Essentially British.

Mark Ronson, music producer, cover designer and cofounder of Allido Records, has designed a set of trainers for Gucci. The sneakers started to be sold at pop-up boutiques around the world beginning from the late months of 2009 on. 

Think natural materials (often organically produced), loose silhouettes and earth toned colours. Environment friendly produced fashion reaches in 2010 the level where it becomes stylish. Brands like Kohzo denim, Howies, and Kuyichi are (all in different ways) just as sexy as their lesser conscious competitors. The last hurdle these New Eco labels have to take in order to truly reach the masses, is that they have to work on True Transparency. Just claiming environmentally friendliness is not enough. You have to tell where the clothing ingredients come from and how they are produced.  This is not only a positioning necessity but could be seen as the heart of a new lifestyle: Honest, true and connected to the best of nature & the land.  In real life ‘urban farming’ is one of the most outstanding manifestations of this trend, being self-sustaining and gaining control back over our food production is ‘folkish’ but in fashion too. It all stimulates cool stories – for the right brands to tap in to. The New Eco never looked so good!

The rock star is controversial and inspires us with dreams of rebellion and authenticity. Rock, that violently and often self destructively uncompromising attitude has become scarce in youth culture with media displaying mainly the talents of those who aspire planned and marketed careers via avenues like Idols and Next Top Model. Mainstream music industry made the religion of rock into an parody of itself, while producing entertainment for the masses. Each era has a new type of rock star. These days it is: back to DIY, but then 2.0 style. In fashion this trend translates into designers like Rick Owens (the dark side) and Jeremy Scott (the bright side). True rock is neither blasé nor cynical. It’s about abandon. It’s about taking risks. The look, be it dark or bright, reflects this. 

The 1930’s saw the rise of surf clubs in major surfing areas of California. By the 1950’s Dale Velzy opened California’s first surfboard shop in Manhattan Beach. Soon after, surfing exploded in popularity. Its growth never stopped. The extreme sports graphic/skate punk style look was the biggest in the 90’s and first years of the millennium. Surfing apparel companies in the US were being outplayed (with Volcom as the only exception) in their own game by casual label Hollister (owned by Abercrombie and Fitch) that made up a fictional surf hero (Hollister) situated at the core of the brand.  Action sports industry became trapped in its own success: the progressive surf-image was traded off for a conservative one (ever heard of a gay surfer?), soul was swapped for ‘loud and louder’. True DIY and punk spirit have been lost to a large extent. Surfing as a style phenomenon is here to stay though. The cool surf look for 2010 is the result of clever mixing and matching. It’s be a sixties inspired, preppy, toned down look. V-necks and chino’s. Loud is out. Simply buy a board, get yourself a wetsuit and you are out there. It¹s probably the most affordable experience of true freedom available. The new sound is: loud is out.

Curating is mainly a men’s trend. It is about meticulously selecting your clothing ingredients, based on extremely thorough knowledge of context and history. This is about distinguishing by knowledge. Think the crew behind the Brooklyn Circus (a store based in Brooklyn), Swedish label Our Legacy (one of the most interesting Swedish menswear labels of this moment) or Danish premium menswear label Mr. Who Says Hi. This menswear is inspired by traditional menswear, but their styles / collections are remixes in the best sense of the word.
After several decennia of vintage clothing, the contemporary generation - well, its cool avantgarde - has developed an extensive vocabulary and knowledge of fashion history. These sophisticated clothing buyers develop equally sophisticated personal styles with extensive attention to detail. Therefore  we call them the ‘curators’. They effortlessly mix the old and the new. With extreme depth and knowledge.

Workerwear is back after a period of hibernating.  Now we see general workerwear brands return after years of  low key presence. Leading cool brands in Europe: Dickies, Carhartt, Wrangler. In New York Adam Kimmel clearly is the face of premium workerwear style. We call it  the ‘Nuts and Bolts’ trend.  Related to shoes Nuts & Bolts means that sneakers are not the only choice anymore. Think sturdy, workerwear boots for feet. 

The growing recognition of the beauty of raw denim is now reaching the masses while at the same time remaining an underground phenomenon. It’s a mainly European/Japanese trend, slowly conquering the Northern American market – and more. The notion that denim is the sole material which ages with beauty AND becomes more beautiful when treated savagely, makes it an eternal style element. The hand-woven and hand dyed denim varieties in which the Japanese excel are the cream of the crop. Those who have ever bought premium Japanese raw denim undoubtedly and instantly feel the difference. Think  jeans by Momotaro, Studio d’Artisan, Sugar Cane etcetera, but also the jeans of Canadian newbie label Naked & Famous which are made with the most beautiful sorts of Japanese denim. This is a cult product with long lasting capabilities. 

Clogs are in the spotlight. Think Sanita’s clogs, mostly known for their functionality during work in hospitals and farms. Now they are taken to a new, next level. The Danish clog label has added heels to its traditional design -  without losing the original look and feel. These heelded clogs, produced by more brands than Sanita alone, were a big hit in Japan, found their way to catwalks worldwide and were featured in the upcoming fashion flic, Sex and the City nr 2’. 

Too many mass luxury labels ‘betrayed’ the consumer by offering an average product for a premium price. Yes, they served us glamour via advertising, but real exclusivity and true quality got scarce. This is where the Ueberpremiums come in: with the guarantee that their items and collections are made to last a lifetime and will never be out of style. Think Hermes. Or think the US 850,- cashmere sweaters of Danish menswear designer Mr. Who: everything he makes is the best of the best of the best. Or Hussein Chalayan a designer who applies true craftmanship in his designs to breach the border between fashion and art. 

Amsterdam is the city where denim label G-Star originated. 20 years ago G-Star released the Elwood: A ‘revolutionary’ denim designed by French designer Pierre Morrisset and the new start of tailoring in denim. Right now tailoring is the latest word in the world of jeans.  It’s the skill which separates the boys from the men. Using the techniques traditionally reserved for English or Italian suits, Amsterdam based denim companies seem to be the forefront of this trend. The first name that comes to mind when speaking of tailored denim is Jason Denham. The owner of Denham the Jeansmaker is the personification of the trend. From a family of English tailors he introduced techniques that derived from classic Saville Row tailoring at Blue Blood in 2003. After he left Blue Blood to establish his own label, he ventured even deeper in the world of tailoring. But think also G-Star, Intoxica, Firetrap or somebody like Mr. Freedom in LA.

Sportswear is clearly back in fashion. However: think niche sports. Niche sports are more cool because they haven’t been claimed yet by commercial interests and mass consumerism. Great example is ping pong (http://www.spinyc.com) becoming a hip, urban underground sport in New York and Berlin, including gala tournaments and special events (endorsed by Fred Perry). Other examples are fishing (quite a few Scandic brands connecting to traditional design ranging from SNS Herring to Mads Norgaard) and roller skating.